Final expense insurance for veterans: VA benefits and your options

What the VA covers for burial

Eligible veterans may receive burial and memorial benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs. These can include burial in a VA national cemetery, a headstone or marker, a burial flag and a Presidential Memorial Certificate. Some survivors may also qualify for a burial allowance to help with funeral and burial costs.

The VA burial allowance is limited, and the amounts change each year. Eligibility depends on factors such as whether the death was service-connected and where the veteran is buried. For the current amounts and rules, check the VA's burial benefits page at va.gov/burials-memorials.

VALife: the VA's own option to compare

Veterans Affairs Life Insurance (VALife) is guaranteed-acceptance whole life coverage offered by the VA for veterans with a service-connected disability rating. Like other guaranteed-acceptance plans, it has a waiting period before the full benefit is paid. You can read the current details and age rules at va.gov/life-insurance.

If you qualify, VALife is worth comparing. It isn't open to every veteran, though, and its coverage limits and waiting period may not match what your family needs.

Private final expense: coverage you own outside the VA

Private final expense insurance is a small whole life policy you own, separate from any VA benefit. It pays your chosen beneficiary directly, and they can use it for whatever the VA doesn't cover: funeral home services, travel for family, final medical bills or other debts.

Because it's yours, it isn't affected by changes to VA allowances, and you don't need a disability rating to apply. Many veterans use it alongside their VA benefits rather than instead of them.

Level, graded and guaranteed-issue plans

Private final expense plans are usually sorted by your answers to a few health questions.

• Level benefit: the full benefit is available from day one for applicants in reasonably good health.
• Graded benefit: for some health conditions, a limited benefit is paid for natural-cause death in the first two years, then the full benefit.
• Guaranteed issue: guaranteed approval within eligible ages with no health questions, usually with a 2-year waiting period before the full benefit pays for natural-cause death.

How to decide what you need

Start by listing the VA benefits you're likely eligible for. Then estimate the full cost of the arrangements your family would want, including anything beyond burial: services, transportation, flowers, a reception, and time off work for relatives. The gap between the two is what private coverage would need to fill.

If you have a service-connected rating, compare VALife and private options side by side, looking at coverage amount, waiting periods and premiums that stay level for life.

Talking with a licensed advisor

A BeneHub advisor can walk through the private options available in your state and how they work with the VA benefits you already have. We'll point you to the VA for anything the VA handles directly. BeneHub serves customers in all 50 states, and you're always matched with an advisor licensed in your state.