Mutual of Omaha burial insurance
Mutual of Omaha is the strongest balance sheet most people can buy a burial policy from, and it is also the quickest to say no. Both of those things are true at once, and which one you meet depends entirely on your health history.
Rating read from AM Best on April 2026. AM Best calls A+ superior: the strongest assessment am best gives. How we check ratings.
The verdict
If you are in good health, this is usually the best combination of price and financial strength available to you, and it is the first place we look. If you have a recent cardiac event, active cancer treatment, oxygen use, dialysis or a dementia diagnosis, expect a decline rather than a higher price, and expect it quickly.
What is good and what is not
In its favour
- The strongest AM Best rating of any carrier we can place a burial policy with
- Level benefit from day one for applicants who pass the health questions
- Competitive pricing for non-tobacco applicants in good health
- A recognised name, which matters to families who have never bought insurance before
- Electronic application with a decision usually the same day
Against it
- Strict health questions, and a knockout is a decline rather than a rated offer
- No guaranteed acceptance product, so a decline here means starting again elsewhere
- Height and weight limits are tighter than several competitors
- Tobacco pricing is a genuine penalty rather than a small adjustment
How it treats your health
Mutual of Omaha runs a real knockout list and checks it against the prescription database. Treated high blood pressure, treated cholesterol, controlled type 2 diabetes and a distant history of most cancers are routinely fine. What stops an application is recency and severity: heart attack, stroke, stent or bypass inside the last year, any cancer still being treated, COPD requiring oxygen, kidney failure on dialysis, a dementia or Alzheimer diagnosis at any point, and terminal diagnoses. Because the prescription check is automated, an inhaler or an insulin script the applicant forgot to mention will surface anyway, which is why answering honestly costs nothing and guessing costs the policy.
What it actually sells
The relevant product is a simplified issue whole life policy sold as Living Promise, written in two tiers. The Level tier pays the full amount from day one. The Graded tier exists for applicants who fail some of the health questions but not all, and it pays a reduced amount in the first two years. An agent who does not tell you which tier you have been offered is not doing the job.
The waiting period
There is no waiting period on the Level tier, and most healthy applicants over fifty qualify for it. The Graded tier returns premiums plus interest, rather than the full face amount, if death is from natural causes in the first year, and a partial amount in the second. Accidental death is covered in full from day one on both tiers.
This is the single most misunderstood thing in this market, and it is where most people get sold the wrong policy. Our full explanation is in burial insurance with no waiting period.
What moves the price
Age at application, sex, tobacco use in the last twelve months, the face amount you choose, and your state. Health tier matters too, since a Graded offer costs more than a Level one for the same cover. Mutual of Omaha does not price by health beyond that tier split, so two Level applicants of the same age and sex pay the same regardless of how clean their history is.
Why there is no price on this page
We hold no rate tables, so any premium printed here would be invented. On a licensed site that is a compliance problem rather than a helpful touch. The honest number comes from running your age, state, health answers and coverage amount against the 25+ companies the agency can write, which takes a few minutes.
See what Mutual of Omaha would actually cost you
Six questions, about a minute. We run them across every company we can write, including this one, and come back with real prices. A typical burial runs $15,395 once the cemetery is included, so that is the number worth covering.
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Questions people ask about Mutual of Omaha
Does Mutual of Omaha burial insurance have a waiting period?
Not on the Level tier, which is what most healthy applicants over fifty are offered. The Graded tier does have a two year reduced benefit period on natural death. Which tier you are offered depends on your answers to the health questions.
What disqualifies you from Mutual of Omaha burial insurance?
A cardiac event or stroke inside the last year, cancer currently being treated, oxygen use for a lung condition, dialysis, any dementia or Alzheimer diagnosis, an organ transplant, and terminal illness. Several of these are permanent knockouts here even though other carriers will write them.
Is Mutual of Omaha good for burial insurance?
For a healthy applicant, yes, and it is usually where we start. It is a poor choice for anyone with a significant recent health history, not because the price is high but because the answer is likely to be no.
Compare it against the rest
One carrier is never the answer for everybody, because they disagree about health. The full scorecard shows every company we can write, with the verified AM Best grade and the date we read it.