Start with your health history
The plan that fits you depends mostly on your health, not on how much you want. Final expense insurance is a smaller whole life policy meant for funeral costs and final bills, and most versions don't use a medical exam. Instead, many insurers ask a short list of yes or no health questions and check prescription history and medical records.
For example, many insurers ask about diagnosis dates, recent treatment or hospital stays, medications, oxygen use, tobacco use and whether you need help with daily activities. Your answers usually point toward one of three plan types.
Three paths, depending on your answers
If your answers meet an insurer's guidelines, you may qualify for a simplified issue or level benefit plan. If you qualify, the full benefit is usually paid from the first day. This is usually the plan to look for first.
If you have some health history, an insurer may offer a graded or modified benefit plan. If death from natural causes happens in the first two or three years, the benefit is reduced or limited, for example to a percentage of the face amount or to the premiums paid plus interest. Accidental death is usually covered in full from the start.
If health questions are hard to answer, a guaranteed issue plan may fit. It asks no health questions, and acceptance is guaranteed within its eligible ages. Its benefit is usually limited, often to the premiums paid plus interest, for natural death in the first two years, and face amounts are smaller with higher premiums.
Talk to a licensed agent: (949) 807-3995
Why comparing insurers changes the answer
The paths above aren't fixed. Each insurer writes its own health questions, so a condition that leads to a graded plan with one may qualify for a level plan with another. That's the main reason to compare several insurers before you choose.
Once you know your plan type, pick the amount. Face amounts often run from a few thousand dollars up to about $50,000. As a guide, the National Funeral Directors Association's 2023 General Price List Study put the national median cost of a funeral with viewing and burial at $8,300, and with viewing and cremation at $6,280, excluding cemetery, plot, monument and marker costs.
What to expect when you call from Missouri
On the call, the agent goes through the health questions with you, asks your age and the amount you want, and checks which plan type each insurer would offer. Then the agent compares quotes from several insurers and explains what each plan pays in the early years. You can apply by phone. The quote is free and there's no obligation.
Eterna is an independent insurance agency, which is what makes that kind of comparison possible. Its licensed agents help Missouri residents check how several insurers would treat the same health history, and the insurer you choose issues the policy. Plans, prices and availability vary by state, insurer, age and health. Agents take calls Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm Central time.
Want to confirm an agent's license? The Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance handles that at https://insurance.mo.gov/. It also regulates insurers and answers consumer questions and complaints.
