Final expense insurance is meant to cover the costs your family faces when you die: the funeral, burial or cremation, and other bills. The question is how much. Too little, and your family may still be left with bills. Too much, and you may pay for coverage you don’t need. Here’s a simple way to estimate it, starting with published funeral cost data.
Quick takeaway
- NFDA’s 2023 study put the national median cost of a funeral with viewing and burial at $8,300, and with viewing and cremation at $6,280.
- Those medians leave out cemetery costs, a monument or marker, and cash-advance items like flowers and obituaries.
- Add other end-of-life bills, subtract savings and benefits, and choose an amount your budget can sustain.
- Ask funeral homes for their General Price List to see real local prices.
What a funeral costs, according to NFDA
The National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) publishes a General Price List study of its members. According to its 2023 study, the latest NFDA lists on its statistics page:
| NFDA 2023 national median | Cost |
|---|---|
| Funeral with viewing and burial | $8,300 |
| Burial vault | $1,695 |
| Funeral with viewing and burial, including vault | $9,995 |
| Funeral with viewing and cremation | $6,280 |
NFDA also reports regional medians. For the East South Central region, which includes Tennessee, Alabama, Kentucky, and Mississippi, the 2023 study listed $7,615 for a funeral with viewing and burial and $5,858 for a funeral with viewing and cremation.
These are medians from 2023. Prices vary widely by funeral home and by the choices you make, and costs may have changed since then.
What those numbers leave out
NFDA’s burial median includes items like the basic services fee, transfer of remains, embalming, a metal casket, viewing and ceremony, a hearse, and printed materials. It doesn’t include:
- A cemetery plot or opening and closing the grave
- A headstone, monument, or marker
- Cash-advance items, like flowers, an obituary, or clergy honorariums
The cremation median includes a cremation fee, an alternative container, and an urn, but not cemetery or niche costs. Your total could be noticeably higher than the median once you add these.
Other end-of-life costs
Final expense coverage can also help with:
- Final medical bills not covered by insurance
- Credit card or other debts
- Travel for family members
- A month or two of household bills while your family settles things
- Legal or probate costs
A simple worksheet
- Funeral choice: burial or cremation, and the services you’d want. Start with a local funeral home’s price list.
- Cemetery and marker: plot, opening and closing, vault if required, and marker.
- Cash advances: flowers, obituary, reception.
- Other bills: medical, debts, travel, household.
- Subtract what’s already set aside: savings, a preneed contract, existing life insurance, and expected benefits.
What’s left is a reasonable coverage target. Then check that the premium fits your budget for life, since final expense policies are usually meant to stay in force until death.
Benefits that may help
- Social Security may pay, according to the Social Security Administration, a one-time $255 lump-sum death payment to an eligible surviving spouse or child.
- Veterans may qualify for VA burial benefits. See our guide to VA burial benefits and final expense insurance.
These benefits help but usually cover only part of the cost.
Get real prices
Under the FTC Funeral Rule, a funeral home must give you a written, itemized General Price List when you visit. Collecting price lists from a couple of local funeral homes in your area, whether in Madison, Gallatin, or Lebanon, is the best way to see what your choices would actually cost. The rule also lets you buy only the goods and services you want, rather than a package, and lets you provide a casket or urn bought elsewhere without being charged a handling fee.
Prepaying vs. insurance
Some people prepay through a funeral home with a preneed contract instead of, or in addition to, buying insurance. Our article on preneed funeral plans vs. final expense insurance compares the two.
A hypothetical example
Imagine a widow in Old Hickory who wants a traditional funeral and burial next to her late husband, where the plot is already paid for. She gets a price list from a local funeral home and adds the vault, opening and closing, a marker inscription, flowers, and an obituary. She also wants to leave a few thousand dollars for final bills. After subtracting $3,000 in savings set aside for this, she arrives at a coverage target and compares final expense quotes for that amount. These details are for illustration only; her actual numbers would come from local price lists.
Common coverage choices
Final expense policies are usually small whole life policies, often with face amounts in the thousands to tens of thousands of dollars, depending on the carrier and your age. Our guide to graded death benefits explains how simplified and guaranteed issue policies differ.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a funeral cost?
NFDA’s 2023 study put the national median at $8,300 for a funeral with viewing and burial and $6,280 with viewing and cremation, excluding cemetery costs, markers, and cash-advance items. Local prices vary.
How much final expense insurance should I get?
Add up your expected funeral, cemetery, and other final costs, then subtract savings and benefits. Choose an amount whose premium you can keep paying.
Is cremation cheaper than burial?
In NFDA’s 2023 study, the median funeral with viewing and cremation cost less than the median with viewing and burial. Your choices determine your actual costs.
Can final expense insurance be used for anything?
Usually, yes. The death benefit is paid to your beneficiary, who can use it for the funeral or other bills.
Next step
Eric can help you turn your worksheet into a coverage amount and compare final expense options. Learn more about final expense insurance with Eric Henry, Insurance Agent, or start with our final expense insurance guide.
Coverage descriptions are general information only; your policy documents determine actual coverage. Availability varies by carrier.
