First of all, let’s remember the purpose of buying burial insurance for seniors. The aim of burial insurance is to protect your loved ones from undergoing any financial hardships after your death. This is a minimal coverage whole life insurance policy sold separately to comfort the family members.
Basically, it relieves them of the immediate after-death funeral costs such as:
- Burial costs
- Cremation costs
- A casket or urn charges
- Flowers or obituary expense
- Funeral ceremony arrangement expense
- Post-hospitalization pending medical bills
- Small credit card loans
Senior burial insurance is also called:
What is the difference between a whole life insurance policy and burial insurance?
Senior burial insurance is only a type of whole life insurance policy. It has permanent nature so it will pay a sure-shot death benefit payout at the death of the policyholder. Similarly, it has leveled premiums for life. It offers the immediate payout within 24-48 hours, after-death payout.
How Does Burial Insurance For Seniors Usually Work?
Senior citizens get truly lenient underwriting with senior burial insurance. Since the purpose is to facilitate the policyholder with peace of mind that his death will not burden his family with his funeral expense. It is permissible to all people, even with chronic diseases except for a fatal heart condition.
An applicant has to give answers to some health-related questions and he can buy the senior burial insurance with no waiting period. The benefits are an immediate payout after his death, leveled premiums, and cash value exempted from tax.
The face value or death benefit payout of this burial insurance policy usually ranges from $1000-$50,000. The average amount is between $10,000-$15,000 which only caters to the funeral expenses after the death of the policyholder.
Types of policies for the senior citizens
For senior citizens, there are two types of burial insurance policies available:
Simplified Issue No Medical Exam
The elderly applicant does not have to undergo any medical exam or give his blood or urine sample. But the applicant has to honestly answer health-related queries and he has to fill in a health questionnaire too. This type usually has an immediate death benefit payout. It has no waiting period of 2 years, after the death of the policyholder. For seniors, it is lenient, so chronic health conditions make no difference apart from fatal heart disease or cancers.
Guaranteed Acceptance Issue No Health Questions and 2 years waiting period
In this plan, the senior citizen has to answer no health questions or fill out any health questionnaire. So anyone can apply for it but it is way costlier due to the risk that the insurance firm undertakes. For a guaranteed issue, the beneficiaries of the deceased policyholder can only get the payout after 2 years after his death.
How Much Does Senior Final Expense Insurance Normally Cost?
It’s a fairly cheap life insurance policy that aims to cover only the after-death expenses of the policyholder such as funeral costs. Mostly the death benefit payout for it is $10,000-$15,000. Similarly, for monthly premiums the cost ranges from $50 to $150, varying with age. Also, remember that it is better to get insured before the age of 90 years. Apart from Pre-Need Funeral Insurance, no other burial insurance is offered by any company after the age of 90 years.
Pre-Need is inflexible and one loses all benefits if he dies outside his state or if the funeral home preplanned the funeral ceremony goes bankrupt or out of business. Pre-Need funeral insurance is too risky and not advisable.
How To Get Burial Insurance For Seniors With No Waiting Period?
It is also a fairly simple process, just answer the health questions. Fill out a health-related questionnaire and do not worry in the least bit about having chronic diseases. Unless and until, you have any terminal illness, fatal heart condition, or a form of cancer, you’re good to go.
You’re eligible and would easily buy the necessary senior burial insurance coverage without a waiting period, for yourself.
Which are the top Senior Burial Insurance companies?
- Mutual of Omaha
- Aetna
- Royal Neighbors of America
- American Amicable
- Transamerica
How to find the best burial insurance for the elderly?
Focus on the right research approach, instead of consulting a captive agent, contact an independent agent. Captive agents or agencies give you limited exposure, independent consultants will show you the bigger picture.
Independence
Where a captive insurance broker agency is allowed to only share one company’s senior burial insurance plans and features, an independent one will show you all available options. Having multi options from all companies in the market allows you to choose the best senior burial insurance at the lowest possible costs.
Reputation
Browse websites for reviews of senior burial insurance agencies. Shortlist the ones with favorable reviews and contact them through your independent insurance broker agency or agent.
Expertise
For the insurance field, there is no jack of all trades. Make sure that you are looking for only senior burial insurance with no waiting period policies. Do not sidetrack or revert to any alternatives.
Beware of term life burial insurance
Senior burial insurance is a type of whole life insurance policy and some firms offer it in the form of a temporary term life policy. Never fall for false advertisements. They usually offer the lowest premium catch to their pitch.
Unfortunately, elderly people actually fall for that too and buy term life senior burial insurance with them. This can be catastrophic. Any term life will cover you for burial expenses, maximum till the age of 80 years and what do you think you’d do afterward? If you outlive it, how do you redeem it at the age of 80 years?
It’s recommended to use a financial expert as your independent insurance broker, never buy a term life senior burial insurance. Specifically, be wary of burial insurance offered by AARP and Globe Life Insurance.
Where these two agencies offer other great life insurance offers, their term life burial insurance sucks. After 80 years, your senior burial insurance runs out, and you get neither any premium refunds nor are you insured any longer. In fact, you get a letter informing you that you have gone uninsured at the age of 80 years.
How do you get coverage for your old parents?
You cannot buy burial insurance for seniors without their consent, signature, and active participation. Their signature is needed many times on the insurance application.