Social Security Pays Your Family $255. The Funeral Home Wants $8,000.
Final expense insurance is a small whole life policy that pays your family in cash, usually within days, so the funeral, the hospital bill, and the credit cards get handled without a GoFundMe.
- Coverage from $5,000 to $35,000 and up
- Premiums that never go up and coverage that never expires
- No medical exam on most plans, just health questions by phone
- Options for diabetes, COPD, heart history, and more
Appointed with
- Mutual of OmahaAM Best A+ · Since 1909
- TransamericaAM Best A · Since 1904
- Foresters FinancialAM Best A · Since 1874
- Royal NeighborsAM Best A · Since 1895
- Corebridge FinancialAM Best A · Since 1926
- AflacAM Best A+ · Since 1955
- Chubb / CombinedAM Best A+ · Since 1922
Ratings are AM Best financial strength ratings as of October 2026 and can change. We are compensated by the carrier that issues your policy; you never pay us a fee.
What It Costs To Die In America.
The numbers nobody puts in the brochure.
Funeral figures are national medians from the NFDA 2023 General Price List Study and do not include cemetery costs, a headstone, flowers, or an obituary. Your family's cost depends on where you live and what they choose.
Three Options, Built From Your Numbers.
We do not read you a rate card. We take the funeral cost you named and your budget and build 3 plans around them, then recommend one.
BRONZE
The basics covered
Enough to cover a basic service so nobody passes the hat. The plan we fall back to when the budget is tight, because some protection beats none.
SILVER
The full cost, with room
The full cost you named, with room for prices to rise between now and then. Our recommendation for most families.
GOLD
Covered, plus something left
The funeral covered and a check left behind: a few months of bills, a debt paid, or money for the grandkids.
When It Pays. The Honest Version.
Every final expense plan is one of these 3. An agent who does not tell you which one you are buying is hiding the schedule.
Level
Full benefit from day one
You answered the health questions and qualified. Your family gets 100% of the face amount from the first day, for any cause of death.
Graded
Builds over 2 to 3 years
For health histories a level plan declines. Pays a portion in the early years (a return of premiums plus interest, or a percentage of the face, depending on carrier), then the full amount. Accidental death is usually covered in full from day one.
Guaranteed Issue
No health questions
Anyone in the age range is accepted. Pays premiums back plus interest if death occurs in the first 2 years, then the full face amount. The last resort, and we tell you when it is the right one.
What Your Family Actually Receives.
Most agents send a policy number by text and disappear. Here is what leaves our office after your policy is approved.
- The Legacy CertificateA 3-page packet: the certificate of protection you see here, a page on why the carrier was chosen for you with your policy at a glance, and a security page. Printed, mailed, and sent to your phone.
- Your Security Code WordYou pick a word. It goes on your packet and wallet card. Anyone who calls about your policy and cannot say it is not us, so you hang up. It stops the replacement agents and the scam calls that follow every new policy.
- Legacy Safeguard Membership NO COSTA planning membership included with your coverage: tools to record your final wishes, help getting a will and power of attorney done, connections to funeral homes in your area, and survivor assistance for your family. You can share it with up to 5 people.
- One Agent, for the Life of the PolicyThe agent who writes your policy is the one who answers when you call 2 years later to change a beneficiary or add coverage. Direct line, not a call center.
How a Call With Us Goes.
1. Your why
Who picks up the pieces if something happens to you this week, and what would they face? We get that down first, in your words, because everything else is built on it.
2. The real cost
Burial or cremation, your area, your wishes. We walk the actual numbers so the coverage fits the bill instead of a guess.
3. What you have now
If you already have something, good. We write it down exactly as it is and tell you straight whether it does the job. Most of the time we add to it instead of replacing it.
4. Lock it in
Your health and budget decide which carrier and which plan. You pick Bronze, Silver, or Gold, we apply by phone, and many people hear back the same day.
Every week I talk to a widow who thought the $255 was a typo. It is not. Ten minutes on the phone with me and her kids would have had a check instead of a fundraiser.Nathaniel Ruiz, U.S. Army veteran and founder, Innovations Financial
Questions Worth Asking Any Agent.
Will my price go up as I get older?
Not on a whole life final expense plan. The premium is fixed when the policy starts and the coverage does not end at 80 or 85 the way term does. Your agent confirms this on the exact plan you choose.
Do I need a medical exam?
Usually not. Most plans use a short list of health questions answered on the phone. No blood work, no nurse at the door. Your answers are checked against your prescription history, which is why we ask you to answer exactly.
Can I get coverage with health problems?
Often, yes, and the carrier matters. One carrier treats insulin diabetes as a decline while another writes it level. We know the difference, so we send your application where you are most likely to be approved at the best rate, and we tell you up front if the plan you qualify for is graded.
How much coverage do I need?
Most families land between $10,000 and $20,000: the funeral plus a cushion. If you want a specific number, tell us what you want your family to be able to do and we size it to that.
When will the payment come out of my account?
On or after the day your money lands. Social Security pays on the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th Wednesday depending on your birthday, SSI on the 1st, VA on the 1st. We set the draft after your deposit so it never bounces.
What is the free look period?
After the policy arrives you have a window, usually 10 to 30 days depending on your state, to read it and cancel for a full refund if it is not what you were told. We walk you through the packet before that clock matters, so there are no surprises in it.
What happens if I miss a payment?
Every carrier gives a grace period, typically 30 or 31 days, before a policy lapses. We set your draft on or after the day your money lands so it does not come to that, and we call before the draft when something changes.
What is the 2-year contestability period?
For the first 2 years the carrier can review your application if a claim is filed. That is why we record your health answers exactly as you give them. An honest application is a claim that pays.
Is the $9.95 plan on TV a real policy?
That price buys 1 unit of coverage, and a unit at 70 is a few hundred dollars, not a funeral. It is sold by unit so the ad can show a low number. We quote the real face amount and the real monthly price for your age.
How fast does my family get paid?
On a level policy, a clean claim with a death certificate usually pays within days to a couple of weeks. The code word and the packet exist so your beneficiary knows exactly who to call and what to send.
Benefits, rates, and eligibility vary by carrier, state, age, and health, and all coverage is subject to underwriting.
Leave Them a Check, Not a Bill.
A licensed agent will compare carriers for you and tell you exactly what it costs. No cost, no obligation.
Get My Free Quote