Glossary

Burial insurance

A small whole life policy meant to cover funeral, burial and end-of-life bills, often sold to older adults with simplified or no underwriting.

Also called: final expense insurance, funeral insurance

Burial insurance is a marketing name for small whole life policies designed to pay for a funeral and related bills, and it overlaps almost completely with final expense insurance. Policies are typically sold to people in their 50s through 80s, with face amounts far smaller than ordinary life insurance and premiums that stay level for life.

Most are simplified issue, with a short health questionnaire and no exam, or guaranteed issue, with no health questions at all. Guaranteed-issue policies usually have a graded benefit: if the insured dies of natural causes in the first two or three years, the beneficiary receives the premiums paid plus interest instead of the full benefit. Hypothetical example: a 70-year-old buys a $10,000 guaranteed-issue policy and dies of an illness 18 months later; the beneficiary gets back roughly the premiums paid plus interest, not $10,000.

Burial insurance is costly per dollar of coverage, and over many years total premiums can exceed the benefit. It differs from preneed insurance, which is tied to a specific funeral home contract. Compare quotes with and without health questions, and check whether existing coverage or savings could do the job. See burial insurance vs final expense vs preneed and the final expense and funeral cost calculator.

Last reviewed October 4, 2026

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Related terms

Whole life insurance Permanent life insurance with fixed premiums, a guaranteed death benefit and guaranteed cash value growth, sometimes boosted by dividends. Guaranteed issue Coverage an insurer must approve regardless of health, with no exam or health questions, usually for small amounts and with a waiting period. Simplified issue Life insurance underwritten from health questions and database checks, without a medical exam, usually at higher prices or lower coverage limits. Graded benefit A death benefit limited during a policy's first two or three years, often to premiums paid plus interest, unless the death is accidental. Face amount The dollar amount of coverage shown on a life insurance policy's specifications page, the base death benefit before loans, riders or dividends.

Related guides

Burial insurance vs final expense vs preneed Burial and final expense insurance are the same small life policy; preneed is a prepaid funeral contract. How each works and what happens if plans change. What a funeral costs and how families pay for it NFDA's 2023 medians put a funeral with burial at $8,300 and with cremation at $6,280, before cemetery costs. What drives the bill, your FTC rights, ways to pay. Assigning life insurance to a funeral home A funeral home assignment directs part of a death benefit to the funeral bill. How it works, what to check before you sign, and alternatives if a claim is slow. Do single people without kids need life insurance? Single people with no dependents often need little coverage beyond final expenses and co-signed debts. Four reasons to buy anyway, and how to size one. Medicaid eligibility and life insurance cash value How Medicaid counts life insurance in its asset test: term vs whole life, the $1,500 face-value rule, burial exemptions, the look-back and estate recovery.

Related insurers

Americo A privately held Kansas City insurer that sells final expense, mortgage protection, term and permanent life and annuities through independent agents. CNO Financial (Bankers Life, Colonial Penn) Indiana group behind Bankers Life, Colonial Penn and Washington National, selling life, Medicare supplement, LTC and annuities to middle-income retirees. Kemper Life Kemper's home-service life insurers, selling small whole life, term and graded-benefit policies through about 2,200 employee agents who visit customers' homes. Lincoln Heritage Phoenix-based, family-owned final expense insurer selling Funeral Advantage whole life up to $35,000 with no exam; not related to Lincoln Financial. National Guardian Life (NGL) Madison, Wisconsin preneed funeral insurance specialist sold through funeral homes; policyholder-owned through a mutual holding company since January 2026. Physicians Mutual Omaha mutual founded in 1902, selling guaranteed acceptance whole life, term, Medicare Supplement and dental coverage directly by phone, mail and online.

Related tools

Final expense and funeral cost calculator Totals funeral, cemetery, medical, debt and legal costs after a death, then subtracts money already set aside to show what is left to fund.