Almost nothing disqualifies you from burial insurance entirely.
What health conditions actually decide is which of three plans you are offered, and the difference between them is thousands of dollars and a two-year wait. A person with controlled high blood pressure and a person on continuous oxygen can both get covered. They will not be offered the same thing.
This page goes condition by condition and tells you the likely outcome for each. Everything here describes the typical industry pattern. Carriers differ, sometimes sharply, and the details of your case matter — which is why a decline from one company tells you very little about the next.
Three outcomes, not yes or no
| Plan type | Health questions | When coverage starts | Relative cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level benefit | Short list, no exam | Full benefit from day one | Lowest |
| Graded or modified benefit | Short list, no exam | Partial for two years, full after | Middle |
| Guaranteed acceptance | None at all | Partial for two years, full after | Highest |
Level benefit is what most people get. If you die of any cause the day after approval, the full amount is paid.
Graded and modified are for applicants with a condition the carrier wants to wait out. If you die of natural causes during the first two years, the policy does not pay the face amount — it returns your premiums, usually with interest added. A common modified structure pays back premiums plus 10% for a death in year one and premiums plus 20% in year two, with the full benefit from year three. Accidental death is normally covered in full from day one on all three plan types.
Guaranteed acceptance asks no health questions and cannot decline you. It costs roughly 40 to 80% more than a level plan for the same coverage, and it carries the same two-year waiting period.
The practical goal of an application is not "get approved." It is get approved at the best of these three that your health allows, which is exactly what varies by carrier.
The four questions that decide the most
Almost every carrier asks some version of these first. A yes to any of them usually means guaranteed acceptance is the realistic option, regardless of what else is on your record.
1. Are you currently in a nursing home, hospice, or receiving home health care? Also covers being bedridden, or having been advised to enter any of these.
2. Do you need help with activities of daily living? Bathing, dressing, eating, taking medication, using the toilet, getting in and out of a bed or chair, or bladder and bowel control.
3. Do you use a wheelchair, electric scooter, or oxygen equipment to assist breathing? Two important carve-outs here. A wheelchair or scooter used because of a fracture, bone or joint problem, or a joint replacement usually does not count. And CPAP for sleep apnea is normally excluded from the oxygen question — a great many people assume their CPAP machine disqualifies them and it does not.
4. Have you been diagnosed with a terminal illness, or given a life expectancy under 12 to 24 months?
These four are close to universal. Everything below varies far more between carriers.
Condition by condition
| Condition | Typical outcome | What actually drives it |
|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure | Level | Controlled on medication is routine. Uncontrolled, or combined with kidney or heart disease, changes it |
| High cholesterol | Level | Almost never an issue on its own |
| Type 2 diabetes, pills only | Level | Very commonly approved at level |
| Type 2 diabetes, insulin | Level or graded | The dividing line at many carriers is whether insulin began before or after age 40. Some accept insulin started after 40 at level |
| Diabetic complications | Graded, modified, or GI | Insulin shock, diabetic coma, or an amputation caused by disease are common knockouts. Neuropathy is accepted at level by some carriers and not others |
| Sleep apnea | Level | CPAP use is normally carved out of the oxygen question |
| Asthma | Level, usually | Hospital or emergency room visits for it are what change the answer |
| COPD or emphysema, no oxygen | Level or graded | Mild and stable is a different case from frequent exacerbations |
| COPD or emphysema, on oxygen | Guaranteed acceptance | Continuous oxygen use is a near-universal knockout |
| Heart attack, more than 2–3 years ago, stable | Level or graded | Some carriers look back only two years on cardiac events |
| Heart attack, stent, or bypass within 2 years | Graded or modified | Recency is the whole question |
| Congestive heart failure | Modified or GI | Commonly a knockout at most carriers |
| Atrial fibrillation | Level or graded | Usually fine if controlled and isolated |
| Angina | Graded or modified | Commonly a graded or modified trigger |
| Stroke or TIA, more than 2–3 years ago | Level or graded | |
| Stroke or TIA within 2 years | Modified or GI | |
| Aneurysm | Graded or modified | Treated and how long ago matters |
| Cancer, treatment-free 2–5 years | Level or graded | Type, stage, and years since treatment are all weighed. Some carriers use a two-year lookback |
| Cancer, in active treatment | Guaranteed acceptance | |
| Basal cell skin cancer | Level | Usually excluded from cancer questions entirely |
| Kidney disease, mild | Level or graded | |
| Dialysis | Guaranteed acceptance | Near-universal knockout |
| Liver disease or cirrhosis | Graded, modified, or GI | |
| Hepatitis C, treated and cleared | Level or graded | |
| Parkinson's disease | Graded or modified | |
| Alzheimer's or any dementia | Guaranteed acceptance | Also captured by the ADL question |
| MS, ALS, muscular dystrophy | Modified or GI | |
| Systemic lupus | Graded or modified | |
| Organ transplant | Modified or GI | |
| HIV | Varies widely | Some carriers now write it at graded; others decline to GI. This is one where shopping matters most |
| Depression or anxiety | Level | Rarely an issue on its own |
| Bipolar disorder or schizophrenia | Level or graded | Hospitalization history is what matters |
| Alcohol or drug treatment history | Graded or modified | Years since treatment is the driver |
| Height and weight outside the chart | Level or graded | Every carrier publishes a build chart, and they differ |
| Amputation caused by disease | Graded, modified, or GI | Amputation from an accident is treated differently |
| Wheelchair for a joint replacement | Level | The fracture and joint carve-out applies |
Read the pattern, not the row. Three things drive nearly every outcome above: how recent the event was, whether the condition is stable or progressing, and whether it requires equipment or assistance to manage. Two people with the same diagnosis routinely get different answers.
What surprises people
Taking a lot of medication is not disqualifying. Carriers care what the medication is for, not how many bottles are in the cabinet. A person on eight prescriptions for controlled chronic conditions often qualifies at level.
A CPAP machine is not oxygen equipment. The oxygen question is normally written to exclude sleep apnea use.
A wheelchair after a hip replacement is not the same as a wheelchair for a neurological condition. The fracture, bone and joint carve-out exists specifically for this.
Basal cell skin cancer usually is not "cancer" for application purposes.
A decline at one carrier is not a decline everywhere. This is the most costly misunderstanding in the category. Carriers compete primarily on price and on which conditions they accept, and they deliberately differ. One will write insulin-dependent diabetes at level while another sends the same applicant to graded. Someone declined three years ago by one company may qualify at level today somewhere else.
If you have been declined before
Bring the decline letter to the call if you have it. It names the reason, which tells a licensed agent immediately which carriers to skip and which to try.
If you do not have it, none of the following is lost — an agent works through the same questions from your medical history. The things worth having ready:
- Your medications and roughly when each was started
- Dates of any hospital stays, surgeries or cardiac events
- For cancer, the type and the date treatment ended
- For diabetes, when it was diagnosed and when insulin began, if applicable
- Your height and weight
Answer everything accurately. A policy issued on an inaccurate application can be contested during the first two years, which defeats the entire purpose of buying it.
What it costs, by plan type
Monthly premium for $10,000 of coverage. Level benefit figures are market averages; guaranteed acceptance runs roughly 40 to 80% higher.
| Age | Women, level | Men, level | Women, GI | Men, GI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 55 | $36 | $46 | $51–$65 | $65–$83 |
| 60 | $42 | $53 | $60–$76 | $75–$95 |
| 65 | $50 | $66 | $71–$90 | $94–$119 |
| 70 | $64 | $84 | $91–$115 | $119–$151 |
| 75 | $87 | $113 | $124–$157 | $160–$203 |
| 80 | $125 | $164 | $178–$225 | $233–$295 |
Tobacco use typically adds 25 to 30%. Guaranteed acceptance generally caps at $25,000 of coverage.
See full rates by age and coverage amount →Estimate your own monthly range →
The gap between the level and GI columns is the reason it is worth having a licensed agent work the case rather than buying the first guaranteed acceptance plan advertised on television. For a 70-year-old man, the difference between qualifying at level and defaulting to guaranteed acceptance is roughly $35 to $67 a month, every month, for life — plus two years of full coverage.
Common questions
Can I be turned down for burial insurance?
For a level benefit plan, yes. For coverage of some kind, effectively no — guaranteed acceptance plans take everyone within their age range, without health questions.
What conditions disqualify you from burial insurance?
No condition rules out coverage altogether. Conditions that commonly move an applicant to guaranteed acceptance include active cancer treatment, dialysis, dementia, continuous oxygen use, nursing home or hospice residence, and needing help with daily activities.
Can I get burial insurance with no waiting period?
Yes, if you qualify for a level benefit plan. That is the plan most applicants get, including many with common chronic conditions. The waiting period applies to graded, modified and guaranteed acceptance plans.
Can I get life insurance if I am on dialysis?
Through a guaranteed acceptance plan, yes. Dialysis is a knockout at nearly every carrier for level coverage.
I have diabetes. Will I be approved?
Usually, and often at level. Type 2 managed with pills is routine. Insulin use is where carriers diverge, with many drawing the line at whether insulin started before or after age 40.
I was declined last year. Is it worth applying again?
Often yes. Carriers differ on which conditions they accept, and underwriting rules change. A decline for a specific condition at one company says nothing about another company's rules.
Do I need a medical exam?
No. Final expense underwriting uses a short list of health questions, a prescription history check and a database review. There is no exam, no blood work and no nurse visit.
Does guaranteed acceptance pay nothing if I die in the first two years?
It pays something, just not the face amount. Most plans return the premiums paid, commonly with interest added. Accidental death is normally covered in full from day one.
