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The cheapest burial insurance for a healthy senior is Mutual of Omaha’s Living Promise, whose own published examples put $10,000 of coverage at $32.46 a month for a 50-year-old woman and $47.47 for a 60-year-old woman. If health problems rule out a simplified health questionnaire, Colonial Penn’s guaranteed-issue plan starts at $9.95 a month per unit, but each unit buys a smaller benefit, so $10,000 of coverage can cost $90 to $130 a month at 65. Your health profile, not the company name, decides which end of that range you land on.
What is burial insurance?
Burial insurance is a small whole life insurance policy, usually $5,000 to $25,000, designed to cover final expenses: the funeral, burial or cremation, and any small bills left behind. It is also called final expense insurance. Premiums are level for life, the benefit never decreases, and most policies build a small cash value. The median traditional funeral costs over $9,000, which is why $10,000 has become the standard comparison amount.
There are two underwriting types, and the price difference between them is the single most important thing to understand. Simplified issue policies ask a short health questionnaire and charge less; guaranteed issue policies ask nothing and charge more, with a two-year waiting period on natural-cause deaths. If you can pass the health questions, you should almost never buy guaranteed issue.
Cheapest burial insurance by health profile
Stop shopping by brand first and sort yourself into the right bucket. The cheapest policy in the wrong bucket is still the wrong policy.
| Your situation | Buy this type | Typical $10,000 monthly cost | Waiting period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reasonably healthy, can answer health questions | Simplified issue (Mutual of Omaha, Gerber, AIG) | $30 to $85 at ages 50-70 | None, full benefit from day one |
| Some health issues, may qualify | Simplified issue, or graded simplified | $50 to $120 | None on level benefit; graded version pays partial in first 2 years |
| Serious health conditions, cannot pass questions | Guaranteed issue (Colonial Penn, Gerber, Mutual of Omaha graded) | $90 to $210 | 2 years: natural death pays premiums back plus interest |
The pattern is consistent across every 2026 rate analysis: guaranteed issue costs roughly double simplified issue for the same benefit, because the insurer accepts everyone including people already seriously ill. If there is any chance you can pass the health questions, get a simplified issue quote first.
Mutual of Omaha Living Promise: the price leader for healthy seniors
Mutual of Omaha’s Living Promise is the benchmark other final expense policies get measured against. It is a simplified issue whole life policy for ages 45 to 85, up to $50,000 in coverage, with an A+ financial strength rating from AM Best and the top spot in J.D. Power’s U.S. Individual Life Insurance Study. Mutual of Omaha publishes its own example rates, and they are the cheapest widely available numbers in the market:
| Age | Female, $10,000/mo | Male, $10,000/mo |
|---|---|---|
| 50 | $32.46 | $42.81 |
| 60 | $47.47 | $57.79 |
| 70 | $68.87 | $86.70 |
| 80 | $128.44 | $166.52 |
These are Mutual of Omaha’s published examples; your quote will vary with state, exact health answers, and tobacco use. Note the two patterns every buyer should see: women pay meaningfully less than men at every age, and waiting from 60 to 70 roughly doubles the premium. Buying earlier is the cheapest move in final expense insurance, full stop.
Two close alternatives worth a quote: AIG Direct and Globe Life land within a few dollars of Mutual of Omaha in independent rate analyses for healthy applicants, and Gerber Life advertises rates from $0.59 a day with an 8% discount for automatic payments.
Colonial Penn’s $9.95 plan: cheapest entry point, not cheapest coverage
Colonial Penn’s famous $9.95-a-month plan is guaranteed issue: no health questions, no medical exam, approval for ages 50 to 85. That accessibility is real, and for seniors with serious health conditions it can be the only option. But $9.95 buys one unit of coverage, and the death benefit each unit buys shrinks with your age, gender, and state. A 65-year-old typically needs 10 to 12 units for $10,000 of coverage, which puts the real monthly cost at roughly $90 to $130.
The waiting period is the other half of the trade. If you die of natural causes in the first two years, your beneficiary gets back the premiums you paid plus 7% interest, not the full benefit. Accidental death is covered in full from day one. Compare that against the graded terms typical of guaranteed issue policies:
| Insurer (guaranteed issue) | First-2-year natural death payout | After 2 years |
|---|---|---|
| Colonial Penn | Premiums paid plus 7% interest | Full benefit |
| Mutual of Omaha (graded) | 110% of premiums paid | Full benefit |
| Gerber Life | 110% of premiums paid | Full benefit |
| Corebridge Financial | 110% of premiums paid | Full benefit |
The honest way to read Colonial Penn: it is the cheapest way to start coverage when nothing else will approve you, not the cheapest coverage per dollar. A healthy 65-year-old woman can get $10,000 from Mutual of Omaha’s Living Promise for roughly $40 to $55 a month with no waiting period, less than half of Colonial Penn’s effective price for the same benefit.
How to keep the monthly cost down
Four levers actually move the number. Buy as early as you can, since every five years of age adds roughly 40 to 60 percent to the premium. Answer the health questionnaire honestly and completely if you can, because simplified issue beats guaranteed issue at every age. Ask about payment discounts: Gerber’s 8% automatic-payment discount and annual-payment discounts at several carriers are real money over a 20-year premium stream. And right-size the benefit: $10,000 covers the median funeral with room to spare, and $15,000 usually costs only about 50 percent more than $10,000, so do not default to $25,000 out of caution.
If you are deciding between burial insurance and a larger policy, read the difference between life insurance and burial insurance and whether burial insurance is worth it first. For the closest thing to this post’s opposite, no health questions with no waiting period at all, see our comparison of the best burial insurance with no waiting period, and if you are over 50 and want broader coverage without an exam, cheapest life insurance over 50 with no medical exam covers the bigger policies.
The bottom line
Cheapest burial insurance for seniors is a two-answer question. Healthy enough for a short health questionnaire: Mutual of Omaha Living Promise, starting around $32 a month for $10,000 at 50, with no waiting period. Not healthy enough: Colonial Penn at $9.95 a month per unit, understanding that $10,000 of real coverage will run $90 to $130 a month with a two-year graded waiting period. Get the simplified issue quote first, buy sooner rather than later, and match the benefit to the actual cost of a funeral rather than a round number that sounds safe.
Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest burial insurance for seniors?
For seniors healthy enough to answer a short health questionnaire, Mutual of Omaha’s Living Promise is consistently the cheapest widely available option, with published examples from $32.46 a month for $10,000 at age 50. For seniors who cannot pass health questions, Colonial Penn’s $9.95-a-month guaranteed issue plan is the cheapest entry point, though $10,000 of coverage typically costs $90 to $130 a month.
How much does burial insurance cost per month?
Simplified issue policies run roughly $30 to $85 a month for $10,000 of coverage at ages 50 to 70, rising to $130 to $210 by age 80. Guaranteed issue policies cost about double for the same benefit. Women pay 15 to 25 percent less than men at every age, and tobacco use raises premiums substantially.
Is there really no waiting period on some burial insurance?
Yes. Simplified issue policies like Mutual of Omaha’s Living Promise pay the full death benefit from day one if you qualify through the health questionnaire. Guaranteed issue policies almost always have a two-year graded period: a natural-cause death in the first two years returns premiums paid plus a set amount, typically 7 to 10 percent interest, rather than the full benefit.
What does Colonial Penn’s $9.95 plan actually cover?
One unit of guaranteed issue whole life coverage. The death benefit per unit depends on your age, gender, and state, and is typically modest, so $10,000 of coverage at 65 usually requires 10 to 12 units at $90 to $130 a month. There is a two-year waiting period on natural-cause deaths, with accidental death covered in full from day one.
Should I get burial insurance or regular life insurance?
Burial insurance makes sense when the goal is covering final expenses with a small, simple policy and level premiums for life. If you need to replace income, pay off a mortgage, or leave a larger legacy, a small term or whole life policy usually delivers more coverage per premium dollar. Our comparison of burial vs life insurance walks through the trade-offs.
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