Premiums for this product are set by insurers and vary by insurer, state, and applicant. This page explains the factors that move them and how to compare two offers on equal terms. It does not publish rates.
What insurers price on
Age at issue
The single largest factor. Life insurance is priced against mortality, and the annual cost of insuring a life rises steeply with age. Because premiums are locked at the age the policy is issued, the difference between buying at 60 and buying at 72 persists for the life of the policy. This is the mechanism behind the industry's standard "rates increase with age" line, and it is accurate — though it is also routinely used to create urgency, and a birthday is not a reason to skip reading a contract.
Health and the resulting underwriting class
Which of the three underwriting outcomes you land in — simplified issue at a preferred class, graded benefit, or guaranteed issue — typically changes cost more than shopping between insurers does. Conditions that commonly affect classification include cancer history and how recent it is, cardiovascular events, insulin use and diabetic complications, COPD and oxygen use, kidney disease and dialysis, dementia, and current hospice or nursing home care. Insurers weigh these differently, which is why one company may decline an applicant another accepts.
Tobacco and nicotine use
Nearly every insurer rates tobacco users separately, often substantially higher. Definitions vary: some insurers treat cigars, chewing tobacco, vaping, and nicotine replacement products differently from cigarettes, and lookback periods for having quit differ too. Answer accurately regardless — nicotine is detectable, and a misstatement is exactly the kind of thing that surfaces during contestability.
Face amount
Premium scales with the benefit amount, close to proportionally within a product's range. Deciding the amount you actually need before shopping makes comparison meaningful.
Sex
Life insurance pricing reflects mortality tables that differ by sex, subject to state law. Women generally pay less than men of the same age for equivalent coverage.
State of residence
Insurance products are filed with and approved by each state's insurance department. A product available in one state may be unavailable in another or approved with different terms, waiting periods, or free look provisions. This is also why a quote from a national advertisement may not apply where you live.
Riders
Optional additions carry their own cost. Common ones include accidental death benefits, which pay an additional amount for death by accident; accelerated death benefit or terminal illness riders, which allow early access to part of the benefit on a qualifying diagnosis and are frequently included at no extra premium; and child or grandchild riders. Whether any is worth its cost depends on circumstances, and an accidental death rider in particular tends to be priced attractively because accidental death is statistically unlikely at these ages.
The insurer itself
Different companies underwrite the same health history differently and price to different assumptions. This is a genuine reason two quotes for the same person diverge, and a reason an independent agent representing several insurers may be able to find a better classification than a captive agent representing one.
Comparing two offers fairly
A lower monthly premium is not by itself a better deal. It may reflect a smaller face amount, a graded structure, or a two-year waiting period. A fair comparison holds three things constant:
- The face amount. Compare $10,000 against $10,000.
- The benefit structure. Compare immediate coverage against immediate coverage. Comparing a guaranteed issue premium with a simplified issue premium is comparing two different products.
- The riders included. Strip them out or match them.
With those held equal, the premium becomes a meaningful number.
Two calculations worth doing before deciding
Total premiums over time. Multiply the monthly premium by 12, then by 10, 15, and 20 years, and compare against the face amount. On a policy issued at an older age, total premiums can approach or exceed the benefit if the insured lives a long time. That is inherent to the product rather than a flaw, but you are entitled to see the number.
Affordability at the oldest age you might reach. Premiums are payable for life on a fixed income that may shrink. A policy that lapses at 88 after 20 years of payments returns only whatever nonforfeiture value the contract provides.
Alternatives to weigh against it
A final expense policy is one approach to these costs, not the only one. Depending on circumstances, people also use:
- Existing coverage through an employer, retiree plan, union, or association.
- A dedicated savings account with a payable-on-death designation, which passes directly to the named person outside probate, remains fully accessible while you are alive, and costs nothing to maintain — but only holds what has actually been saved, which is the entire risk if death comes early.
- A preneed contract with a funeral home, which may guarantee prices for specified goods and services.
- Veterans' burial benefits, which can cover a substantial part of a burial for eligible veterans.
- A fully underwritten small whole life policy, which for someone in good health may cost meaningfully less per dollar of coverage than a simplified issue product.
Each involves different trade-offs in cost, certainty, accessibility, and how quickly funds reach the family. A licensed professional can compare them against an actual situation.
General information only
Senior Benefits Central publishes no rates, quotes, or estimates and makes no guarantee of eligibility, approval, coverage, or price. Pricing is determined solely by insurers, varies by state and applicant, and is available only from licensed agents and insurers.