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The best burial insurance in 2026
There is no single best company, and any page that gives you one has not thought about it. Carriers disagree about health, so the best policy is the best policy for your history. Here are the criteria that decide it and how the carriers compare on each.
Read this before the rankings
We are a licensed agency and we are paid a commission by the companies below. That is a conflict of interest and pretending otherwise would be worse than naming it. So this page publishes its criteria first, ranks on facts you can verify rather than opinion, and includes the one carrier we can write that sits below the Excellent tier. Our full disclosures explain how we are paid.
The five things that actually decide it
Almost every “best burial insurance” list ranks on brand recognition, which tells you nothing. These are the criteria that change what a family receives.
Will it pay from day one
The single biggest difference between two policies at the same price. A graded policy that returns premiums for two years is a very different product from one that pays in full immediately, and they are sold side by side.
Will it accept your health history
The best carrier for a healthy sixty year old is frequently the one that declines a sixty year old with COPD. This is why one company can never be the answer for everybody, and why a decline is not the end of the market.
Financial strength, verified
AM Best grades, read from source and dated. A B++ carrier is not unsafe, it has a thinner cushion, and you should only accept one when an A rated carrier will not write you.
The premium never rises
A level premium whole life policy is fixed for life. Several heavily advertised products step up as you move through age bands, which is the opposite of what a burial policy is for.
It covers the actual bill
A typical burial runs $15,395 once the cemetery is counted. A policy that covers half of it leaves the family finding the rest.
How the carriers we can write compare
Every grade below was read from AM Best directly, entity by entity, on the date shown. Four widely published grades turned out to be wrong when we checked them.
| Carrier | AM Best | Day one | Ages | Best suited to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mutual of Omaha | A+ | Yes | 45 to 85 | Applicants in good health who want the best price from the strongest balance sheet |
| Transamerica | A | Yes | 0 to 85 | Health histories that other carriers turn down |
| Americo | A | Yes | 50 to 85 | Fast decisions without a medical exam |
| Foresters Financial | A | Yes | 50 to 85 | Applicants who want member benefits alongside the policy |
| Ameritas | A | Yes | 20 to 85 | Applicants who want a fully online application |
| Royal Neighbors of America | A | Yes | 50 to 85 | Female applicants and some conditions other carriers decline |
| Fidelity Life Association | A- | Yes | 50 to 85 | Applicants who want a quick online decision |
| Ethos | A | Yes | 20 to 85 | Applicants who would rather not speak to anyone |
| Baltimore Life | B++ | Yes | 50 to 85 | Applicants who do not qualify at the carriers above |
Which one is best for you
- Good health, want the strongest company. Mutual of Omaha, first every time, and it is the quickest to decline if your history is not clean.
- Declined somewhere else. Transamerica or Royal Neighbors, then American Amicable. A decline at one carrier says nothing about the next.
- A woman over sixty. Royal Neighbors is frequently the cheapest, a legacy of who the society was founded to serve.
- You smoke. American Amicable loads tobacco more lightly than most of the market.
- You want it done online with no phone call. Ameritas or Ethos, which is Ameritas paper.
- Everyone else has said no. Baltimore Life, and only then, because it is the one carrier we write below the Excellent tier.
The only way to know which is best for you
Is to have the health questions asked. Six questions, about a minute, run across the 25+ companies the agency can write. No price is shown on this site because we hold no rate tables, and an invented number would be worse than none.
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Common questions
What is the best burial insurance company?
There is no single answer, because carriers disagree about health. For a healthy applicant Mutual of Omaha is usually the strongest combination of price and financial strength. For someone declined elsewhere it is frequently Transamerica or Royal Neighbors. The best company is the one that will write you at the best price, and finding it means having the questions asked.
What is the best burial insurance with no waiting period?
Most burial insurance has no waiting period if you can answer the health questions. The waiting period belongs to guaranteed acceptance policies, which exist for people who cannot. Our full explanation is on the no waiting period page.
How do I know a best list is not just selling me something?
Check whether it publishes its criteria before its rankings, whether it discloses commission, and whether it says anything unflattering about a company it earns from. A list where every carrier is excellent is an advert.
Keep reading
The full carrier scorecard · The cheapest burial insurance · Policies with no waiting period