Protect your family today. Plan the whole story — for generations.

You'll hear rules of thumb like ten times your income. They're a starting point, not an answer — because the real question is what you want the money to do. In practice it's four different conversations, and they call for very different policies.

• A cremation — done properly. When someone says they "just want a cremation," they usually mean more than that. The cremation itself runs about $1,000–$3,000, but almost everyone also wants somewhere to rest the urn — a small plot or a columbarium niche, commonly $500–$3,000 — plus the urn, an engraved plaque, and the cemetery's fees. Realistic totals often land between $3,000 and $6,000. "Simple" doesn't mean cheap, and a policy sized for the bare cremation leaves your family paying for the part they actually care about.
• A proper service. Add a viewing, a ceremony, staff and facilities, and national median costs run roughly $6,300 for cremation with a service and $8,300 for a funeral with viewing and burial — before the cemetery. Add a plot, vault and marker and families commonly land between $14,000 and $18,000. That's a materially bigger policy than the first scenario.
• Leaving something behind. Now we're past paying a bill: replacing your income, clearing the mortgage, helping with tuition, leaving a legacy for grandchildren. This is where the income-multiple rules start to earn their keep.
• Reaching the money while you're still here. Many policies include living benefits — if you're diagnosed with a terminal or chronic illness, you can access part of the death benefit early for treatment, care, or simply to set your affairs in order. Not every policy offers this and the terms vary widely. It's worth asking before you buy, not after.

Figures are national medians (National Funeral Directors Association) and typical cemetery ranges. Prices vary a great deal by region and by cemetery, so it's always worth getting a price list from the funeral home and the cemetery you'd actually use. Or get a rough figure right now with my free coverage calculator. Read the full answer →

Mostly it comes down to your age and what the coverage is for:

• Term — for younger families. The most coverage per dollar during the years a loss would be financially devastating: the mortgage, the children, the income.
• Whole life — permanent, builds cash value, never expires. Worth knowing that whole life varies far more between carriers than term does, so which company you use matters.
• Final expense — a small permanent policy built for the funeral, the cremation and the plot. Usually forgiving underwriting, and often the right answer later in life or when health has made other coverage hard.

Most people fit one of these clearly once we talk it through. Read the full answer →

There's more than one door, and which one you're standing at matters:

• IEP — Initial Enrollment Period. Seven months around your 65th birthday: the three months before your birthday month, that month, and the three after. Miss it without other qualifying coverage and late penalties can follow you permanently.
• AEP — Annual Enrollment Period. October 15 to December 7 every year. This is when you can change your drug plan or Advantage plan for a January 1 start. It's also when we do your annual review.
• OEP — Open Enrollment Period. January 1 to March 31, for people already on a Medicare Advantage plan. You get one switch — or a move back to Original Medicare — if your plan isn't working out.
• SEP — Special Enrollment Period. Life doesn't wait for October. Moving, losing employer coverage, a plan leaving your area, a change in Medicaid or Extra Help status, and a long list of other circumstances each open their own window, under their own SEP code. Many people qualify for one without knowing it.

If you're not sure which applies to you, that's a five-minute phone call. Key dates are listed near the bottom of this page. Read the full answer →