Final Expense Life Insurance is a family planning tool designed to protect and benefit your loved ones when you pass away. When an individual passes, a family is faced with a great deal of work and numerous bills and expenses. Final Expense Life Insurance provides an instant death benefit that enables your loved ones to have a clear plan and source of funds to handle these costs, allowing an appropriate and effective environment to come to peace and celebrate the life of their loved one.

• Final expense insurance is always a type of whole life insurance, which is a form of permanent life insurance. Unlike term insurance, which only pays off if you die during the “term” of the policy, a whole life policy remains in effect for your entire life, guaranteeing that the benefit will be there no matter how long you live (as long as you continue to pay your premiums).

• With a level benefit whole life insurance, the premiums and the death benefit are guaranteed to remain the same for as long as you keep the policy in effect.

• A whole life policy also comes with guaranteed cash values that grow over time on a tax-deferred basis. If necessary, you can access your cash account for a variety of purposes. The death benefit paid to your beneficiaries will always be tax free.

The average face amount (Death Benefit) of a Final Expense Life Insurance policy in 2015 is about $14,776, however, everyone’s situation is unique. A good guide is to start with the estimated cost of the funeral service of your choice and then to add the additional benefits you would like to leave to your loved ones. The calculator above helps you do this. It is important to remember that funeral and burial costs have consistently increased over time.

• The average funeral cost today is $9,343.

• Additional fees for cemetery, monument, flowers, & obituaries can increase this cost to nearly $12,000.

• When considering the cost increases over the past 40 years, with an estimate of 5% inflation per year, by 2030 the cost would rise to $18,276.

• The Social Security Death Benefit only provides a lump sum benefit of $255 for those who qualify.

The sooner the better, and the sooner the cheaper. Life Insurance policy premiums go up in price the older you are at the time that you first initiate your policy. Insurers typically offer Final Expense policies to those between the ages of 50 and 85. A few insurers offer coverage to those who are over age 85. The average issue age for those purchasing Final Expense Insurance in 2015 is 64 years old.

No your premiums are guaranteed to stay the same. Once you have purchased a final expense insurance policy, your premiums will remain fixed for the entire life of the policy. Policies and premiums are issued based on your current age and health and will not change or increase as you get older or if you get sick or injured.

A final expense life insurance policy is permanent life insurance, so the coverage is guaranteed to last for your entire life, no matter what age you live to. Once you pass away, your beneficiaries will receive a cash payout of the amount of your policy (known as the Death Benefit), which can be used to pay for your funeral and memorial services, unpaid bills or debts, other expenses, or can be left as a gift or inheritance. A final expense life insurance policy will not expire and can only be cancelled if you stop paying your monthly premiums.