Life insurance · Final expense
Final expense insurance in Canada. Leave memories. Not bills.
Final expense insurance is a smaller, permanent policy that covers the costs at the end of a life, the funeral, the final bills, the taxes, so your family grieves without a single invoice attached. No exam, and a decision within 24 hours.
Check my price- No exam, ever
- Decision within 24 hours
- Permanent coverage that stays for life
- Guaranteed-acceptance path, ages 18–80
At a glance
Final expense insurance, in one paragraph.
Final expense insurance in Canada (you will also see it called funeral insurance or burial insurance) is a smaller permanent life insurance policy sized to the costs at the end of a life: the funeral or cremation, final medical bills, small debts and taxes, and a modest legacy. It pays your beneficiaries a tax-free lump sum they can use in any order, usually within weeks of a claim. At Oneday there is no medical exam at any age, applications are accepted from 18 to 80, every applicant receives an offer including a guaranteed-acceptance path, coverage starts at $5,000, your price is shown before you pay anything, and the decision arrives within 24 hours.
Ages 18 to 80
Applications accepted to 80. Everyone in range gets an offer.
From $5,000
Sized to real costs. Most answers land between $10,000 and $25,000.
Permanent
Never expires while premiums are paid. Price locked at approval.
From $20 a month
Our minimum premium. Your exact price, on the page, before you pay.
Seven provinces
ON, BC, AB, MB, SK, NB and NS. Not Quebec, NL, PEI or the territories.
Last updated August 2026 · Reviewed by Oneday’s licensed advisory team · Oneday TPA Inc. is licensed by FSRA · Read our editorial guidelines.
What it covers
One payout, four jobs.
Your beneficiaries receive a tax-free lump sum they can use in any order they choose. In practice, it goes here.
Funeral, burial, cremation
Funeral home services, casket or urn, cemetery plot and interment, ceremony, flowers, obituary, and transportation.
Final medical bills
Care costs that provincial plans did not cover, so no invoice follows the goodbye.
Debts, taxes, and fees
Outstanding credit cards or loans, probate and legal fees, and taxes owing on your final return, settled without pressure to sell family assets.
A small legacy
Whatever remains can fund a gift to a grandchild, a charitable donation, or a contribution to your community, paid quickly, to the people you named.
Planning numbers
What end-of-life costs actually run.
Costs vary by province and by your family’s choices, large Ontario and BC cities tend to run highest, the Prairies mid-range. These illustrative scenarios are a realistic starting point.
Simple: $7,000–$10,000
Direct cremation, a modest service, obituary, flowers, and incidentals.
Middle: $12,000–$16,000
Cremation with a full ceremony, venue, urn, reception, keepsakes, and travel support for family.
Traditional: $18,000–$25,000+
Visitation, casket, burial plot, interment fees, reception, and memorial materials.
Illustrative ranges only, not quotes. To size your coverage: start with a scenario above (or a local funeral quote), add final bills, small debts, and probate fees, add a 10–20% buffer, and subtract savings already set aside. That total is your coverage target.
Check my priceThe honest part
How the guarantees actually work.
Final expense coverage is built for older adults and health histories. Here is the fine print, unburied.
Everyone 18–80 gets an offer
Plain-language questions, no exam, no doctor’s note. Health answers shape the offer; a guaranteed-acceptance path exists no matter what they are. Coverage that starts is permanent, it never expires as long as premiums are paid.
The 24-month deferral, plainly
Depending on your answers, a 24-month deferral can apply. Accidental death is covered in full from day one. If death from natural causes occurs in the first 24 months, every premium you paid is returned to your beneficiary, we keep nothing. After 24 months, the full amount is payable for any cause. Full explanation here.
Your price, before you commit
Your exact coverage amount and monthly price are confirmed during the application, before you commit to anything, and before any payment is taken. Every policy includes a 30-day free look.
Reasons to choose final expense
For people who plan ahead.
I want it settled in advance
Lock in the plan now so every final bill gets paid, no matter what happens or when.
I have health conditions
Diabetes, heart history, or a decline elsewhere, every applicant aged 18 to 80 still gets an offer here.
I have debts or taxes to clear
Beyond the funeral, the payout clears what you owe so nothing passes to your family.
I want to leave something behind
A named gift for the grandkids or a cause you love, paid tax-free, exactly as you intended.
What it costs
How much does final expense insurance cost in Canada?
Prices depend on your age at application, sex, smoking status, health answers and the amount you choose. Our minimum premium is $20.00 per month, rates are set by age nearest birthday and rise on every birthday, and your exact price is printed on the page during the application, before any payment is taken and with no email wall.
The honest math
A funeral commonly runs five figures, and the CPP death benefit is a one-time $2,500 (a top-up to $5,000 applies only in narrow cases). Coverage sized with our end-of-life cost calculator beats both guessing and hoping.
What moves the price
Age is the biggest lever, which is why applying before your next birthday matters. Smoking raises the price; twelve months tobacco-free usually earns non-smoker rates. Healthier answers earn better pricing and full coverage from day one.
Buying earlier beats buying bigger
A right-sized policy bought at 62 costs less, for longer, than an oversized one bought at 72. Size it to real costs, not a round number, and let the locked premium do the rest.
The alternatives
Final expense insurance vs a prepaid funeral vs savings.
Three honest ways Canadians plan for the same week. They are not interchangeable.
| Final expense insurance | Prepaid funeral contract | Savings account | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you buy | A tax-free lump sum your family spends as needed | Specific services from one funeral home | Whatever is in the account at the time |
| Flexibility | Any funeral home, any province we serve, any leftover becomes a legacy | Locked to the provider and the plan; changes and transfers can cost | Full flexibility, if the money is there |
| If it happens early | Full amount payable (deferral rules on some offers; accidents covered from day one) | Services covered if paid up | Only what was saved so far |
| If prices rise | Fixed benefit; size it with a buffer | Usually price-protected for the contracted services | Savings must keep pace on their own |
| If you move or change your mind | Nothing changes; the benefit follows you within our provinces | Refund and transfer rules vary by province and contract | Nothing changes |
| Discipline required | A monthly premium, locked at approval | A lump sum or instalments up front | High: the account must be funded and left alone |
Many families use two of the three. What matters is that the week is paid for, on purpose. The full picture: how final expense insurance works in Canada.
Eligibility, and how to apply
Ten minutes on your phone. A decision within 24 hours.
Apply from 18 to 80 in Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick or Nova Scotia. Every applicant receives an offer: healthier answers earn better pricing and day-one coverage, and even the toughest health history keeps the guaranteed-acceptance path. There is no medical exam for anyone.
Answer plain questions
14 health questions plus height and weight, online. No records, no doctor visit, no needles.
About 10 minutesSee your price
Your amount and monthly price, printed on the page before you commit to anything.
ImmediatelySize the coverage
Use a funeral scenario above or the calculator, add final bills and a buffer, subtract savings.
Your callDecide and activate
A decision within 24 hours. First payment secures coverage; documents arrive by email. 30-day free look.
Within 24 hoursRather talk it through? Licensed advisors, no pressure, at 1 800 655 2795. How payouts reach your family: how life insurance payouts work and how claims work.
Final expense FAQ
The questions everyone asks.
Is final expense insurance necessary in Canada?
It depends on your savings and your family’s situation. A funeral, final medical bills, and estate fees routinely add up to five figures, due within weeks. If your savings or existing life insurance would not comfortably cover that, final expense coverage means nobody you love pays out of pocket to say goodbye.
How is final expense insurance different from regular life insurance?
Same mechanism, different size and purpose. Regular life insurance carries larger benefits meant to replace income or pay off a mortgage. Final expense insurance is a smaller, permanent policy sized to cover funeral, burial or cremation, final bills, and a modest legacy, and it is built to be easy to qualify for at older ages and with health conditions.
How much does final expense insurance cost?
Your price depends on your age, gender, smoking status, health answers, and the coverage amount you choose. Our minimum premium is $20 per month, and you see your exact price during the application, before any payment is taken and with no email wall.
Does Oneday require a medical exam for final expense coverage?
No. There is no exam, no blood work, and no doctor’s note. You answer plain-language health questions, and every applicant aged 18 to 80 receives an offer, a guaranteed-acceptance path exists no matter your health.
What does final expense insurance not cover?
Standard exclusions apply, and they are printed on the page, not buried: if a 24-month deferral applies to your policy and death from natural causes occurs in that window, every premium paid is returned to your beneficiary instead of the face amount (accidental death is covered in full from day one). Suicide within the first two years and material misrepresentation on the application are excluded, as with any Canadian life policy.
How much burial insurance do I need?
Start with a local funeral estimate or the illustrative ranges on this page, add final medical bills, small debts, probate and legal fees, and family travel, then add a 10 to 20 percent buffer and subtract savings already set aside. The result is a practical coverage target, most answers land between $10,000 and $25,000.
When does my coverage start?
Your coverage starts once your application is approved and your first premium payment is processed. The effective date is printed in your policy documents, which arrive by email. Every policy includes a 30-day free look with a full refund.
Is funeral insurance and final expense insurance the same thing?
Yes. Funeral insurance, burial insurance and final expense insurance are three names for the same product: a smaller permanent life insurance policy sized to end-of-life costs. It is different from a prepaid funeral contract, which buys specific services from one funeral home; the comparison table on this page covers the trade-offs.
Can I get final expense insurance at 70, 75 or 79?
Yes. Oneday accepts applications from 18 to 80, and every applicant in that range receives an offer. Many funeral insurance plans in Canada stop taking applications in the mid-seventies; here the door stays open to 80, with no medical exam at any age.
Is there guaranteed acceptance final expense insurance?
Yes. If your health answers rule out every other offer, our guaranteed-acceptance offer remains: permanent coverage up to $50,000 (to age 50) or $25,000 (51 to 80) that no health answer can take away, with a 24-month deferral on natural-cause death. You never apply for it separately; the same 14 questions place you. Our guaranteed issue page explains it fully.
Can the premiums I pay end up exceeding the payout?
Over a very long life, yes, that is mathematically possible with any small permanent policy, here or anywhere. Two honest counterweights: your price is locked and the payout is guaranteed and tax-free the day it is needed, which savings cannot promise; and if cost-versus-benefit worries you, buy earlier (prices are set by age at application) and size the coverage to real costs with our calculator rather than rounding up.
Which provinces is final expense insurance from Oneday available in?
Seven provinces: Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. We do not currently serve Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island or the territories.
Who underwrites my policy?
Oneday TPA Inc. is a third-party administrator. Every policy we issue is underwritten by Humania Assurance Inc., a Canadian life insurer founded in 1874.
Policies are underwritten by Humania Assurance Inc. Product features, eligibility, and maximum amounts vary by province and product, and coverage is always subject to the terms of your policy. If something is unclear about a policy or claim, our Complaints Policy explains exactly what to do.
Keep reading
Planning guides worth ten minutes.
How final expense insurance works
Costs, eligibility and timelines, in depth.
End-of-life cost calculator
A realistic number in a couple of minutes.
End-of-life planning
A kindness they will never have to ask for.
Guaranteed issue life insurance
The yes that is always there, up to $50,000.
Life insurance at 55 and over
What changes after 55, and what doesn't.
Naming a beneficiary
Who gets paid, and how to make it painless.
Find out in 60 seconds if we can cover you.
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