Final expense and burial insurance
Burial insurance with no waiting period, and life cover with no exam
Type a graded policy’s premium, face amount and waiting period. The calculator shows what it pays on a death in each of the first years, and the odds of one.
Independent site, not an insurer or a broker, and not a funeral home or a government agency.
Graded benefit: the waiting period in numbers
Example, not your result yet· change a figure to see yours
Chance of dying in the first 2 years
4.6%
| Paid on a death in year 1 | $660 |
| Paid on a death in year 2 | $1,320 |
| Paid from year 3 | $8,000 |
Refund modeled as premiums paid plus the percentage you type. Many policies pay the full amount at once for an accidental death: read yours.
Life insurance with no medical exam comes in two kinds. Simplified issue policies ask a few health questions on the application and decide on the answers, without an exam or blood test; an applicant who passes usually gets the full face amount from the first day, with no waiting period. Guaranteed issue policies ask no health questions and accept every applicant in the age range, but usually pay only a graded benefit in the first two or three years: on a death from natural causes in that period, the beneficiary receives the premiums paid plus a stated percentage, not the face amount. Deaths from accidents are often paid in full from the start. For a man of 70, the NCHS life table gives a 4.6% chance of dying within two years, so the waiting period matters to few buyers but greatly to those it touches. The calculator shows what a graded policy pays on a death in each of its first years, using your own quote.
Data read and sums checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How the figures are worked out
The chance of a death inside the waiting period
Probability of dying within two or three years of buying, by age and sex, on the NCHS United States life table. The table covers the whole population; buyers of guaranteed issue policies include people in poorer health than average, so their odds are higher, which is why insurers grade the benefit.
| Age | 2 years, men | 2 years, women | 3 years, men | 3 years, women |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | 1.0% | 0.60% | 1.6% | 0.94% |
| 55 | 1.5% | 0.89% | 2.3% | 1.4% |
| 60 | 2.3% | 1.4% | 3.5% | 2.2% |
| 65 | 3.2% | 2.1% | 5.0% | 3.2% |
| 70 | 4.6% | 3.0% | 7.0% | 4.6% |
| 75 | 6.8% | 4.8% | 10% | 7.5% |
| 80 | 11% | 8.3% | 17% | 13% |
| 85 | 18% | 14% | 27% | 22% |
What a graded policy pays, worked through
A man of 70 buys a guaranteed issue policy of $8,000 for $50 a month, with a two-year graded period that returns premiums plus 10%. If he dies from natural causes in the first year, his beneficiary receives $660; in the second year, $1,320; from the third year, the full $8,000. These are example figures; real policies differ in the length of the period, the refund rule and the treatment of accidents. Type your own into the calculator.
The trade is plain once the numbers are side by side. A buyer who could pass a simplified issue application gets the full benefit from the first day, usually at a lower premium. A buyer who cannot, or does not want to answer questions, accepts a period in which the policy works like a savings account with a small return, in exchange for certain acceptance.
Simplified issue, guaranteed issue, fully underwritten
- Fully underwritten: an application, often an exam and records. The lowest premiums for those who qualify, and the largest face amounts.
- Simplified issue: health questions only, a decision in days or minutes. Full benefit from day one if accepted; face amounts usually smaller.
- Guaranteed issue: no questions within an age range set by the insurer. A graded benefit for the first years and the highest premium for the cover.
Whatever the type, the break-even calculator shows how many years of premiums add up to the face amount, and the burial insurance page whether the face amount will still cover a funeral in your state.
Other ways to avoid a waiting period
Group life insurance at work is usually issued without health questions up to a set amount, but it ends when the job does. Veterans leaving service can convert their service members’ group cover to VGLI without health questions if they apply within a set period after separation; the term rates page shows the VGLI rates. Money set aside in a payable-on-death account has no waiting period at all.