Final expense insurance is typically sold under one of two underwriting types — simplified issue or guaranteed issue — and which one you qualify for affects both how easy it is to get approved and what you’ll pay.
Simplified-Issue Coverage
Simplified-issue policies ask a short list of health questions and don’t require a medical exam. Based on your answers, you can be approved, offered a modified policy, or in some cases declined. Because some higher-risk applicants are filtered out at this stage, simplified-issue premiums are generally lower for the same coverage amount.
Guaranteed-Issue Coverage
Guaranteed-issue policies ask no health questions at all and can’t be declined for health reasons. In exchange, they almost always include a modified (or “graded”) benefit period — commonly around the first two years, though the exact length varies by carrier. If death occurs from natural causes during that window, the policy typically pays back the premiums paid plus interest rather than the full face amount. Death from an accident is usually covered at the full benefit from day one.
Cost And Who Each One Fits
Guaranteed-issue premiums run higher than simplified-issue for the same face amount, since the carrier is taking on more risk without asking any health questions. Guaranteed-issue tends to fit people with a more serious health history who wouldn’t pass simplified-issue underwriting, while simplified-issue is usually the better value for people in reasonably good health.
Not sure which category you’d fall into? See our Final Expense page, or talk to an agent — we can compare both types across carriers for you.