Final Expense and Burial Insurance in Hawaii

In 2021, you would have paid an average of $9,420 for a funeral with a burial or $6,971 for a funeral with a cremation. Those figures, representing a 6.6% increase in the cost of funerals in the past five years, come from a survey conducted regularly by the National Association of Funeral Directors.

Here are the current funeral prices specific to the state of Hawaii.

Average Funeral Costs in Hawaii

Depending on which city or town you live in, you will pay varying prices for a funeral. To give you an idea of funeral prices in Hawaii, we’ve provided some sample costs for two Hawaiian cities in the charts below.

The average cost of a funeral in Honolulu is $7,734 The price breakdown looks like this:

The average price for a funeral in Waikele is $7,758. This includes the following prices:

Funeral costs vary across the nation – and across each state – and the funeral that you plan will depend on where you live. The above charts are simply used to give you an idea of what funerals cost in two cities in Hawaii. To find the actual funeral costs relevant to where you live, you can reach out to several funeral homes in your area to get an estimate.

A Note About Vaults

When you put a casket in the ground, the weight of the machinery that lowers the casket and the dirt that surrounds it can make the earth surrounding the casket cave in. To avoid this, most cemeteries require that you purchase a vault when burying a body. A vault is an outer casket that maintains stability in the ground around the casket.

When searching for a vault, you will find many options. Below, we’ve outlined the options you can choose from, along with each one’s characteristics and the price that you can expect to pay for it.

• Basic, unlined concrete grave liner: $400 - $1,500
• Basic plastic- or steel-reinforced sealed concrete vault: $600 - $2,000
• Double-reinforced vault of heavy concrete lined with plastic, porcelain enamel, or metal: $2,000 - $4,000
• Premium metal burial vaults or vaults covered with a veneer of fake marble or granite: $2,000 - $16,000+
• Protective urn vaults for cremains: $125 - $900+

Help With Funeral Costs in Hawaii

Paying for a funeral in Hawaii is expensive, and that’s why so many people want to alleviate the financial burden from their loved ones. Here are some of the ways you can help pay for your own funeral and other options your loved ones have to help pay for your funeral after you pass.

Term Insurance

Term life insurance is one way to ensure that your final expenses are paid when you pass. Many people turn to this type of insurance because it appears affordable – until you understand exactly how it works. When you are young and take out a term life insurance policy, you will pay lower premiums. But those low premiums are only good until the policy expires. Term life insurance policies are good for a pre-defined amount of time, such as 10 or 20 years.

For example, if you are in your 20s when you take out the policy, you will pay a low premium – but when the policy expires in 20 years, you will be in your 40s, and your health may not be as good. That means you will pay a higher premium. Imagine that you continued with that policy and it again expired in 20 years. At that time, you would be in your 60s, and your health might have declined even more. The premium you pay at 60 will be significantly higher than the one you paid at 20.

Final Expense Insurance

The way around these ever-rising premiums is to purchase a whole life insurance policy. With this type of policy, you will pay the same amount throughout your life, as long as you continue to pay the premiums.

Final expense insurance, which is also known as burial insurance or funeral insurance, is a form of whole life insurance. This type of policy is designed to cover final expenses such as funeral costs and outstanding debt. For instance, if you have unpaid utility bills or car payments, the policy would pay them, keeping your loved ones’ inheritance intact.

The face value of final expense insurance is typically $20,000 or less, although it is possible to find policies with higher face values. This is different from other life insurance policies that have much higher face values.

Some people purchase both types of whole life insurance policies – and for good reason. For example, if you have another type of policy, the insurance company could take months to pay out the benefit. That won’t help your loved ones who will need to pay for your funeral and final expenses. Insurers like Lincoln Heritage are known to pay out approved policy benefits in about 24 hours.

Finally, another great reason to consider final expense insurance from a respected insurance company like Lincoln Heritage is the included membership with the Funeral Consumer Guardian Society® designed to help your loved ones arrange your funeral. In times of grief, it can be difficult to make smart decisions, and that’s why this insurer aids family members and helps make the process easier.

Pre-need Insurance

If you prefer to plan and pay for your own funeral, you might consider pre-need insurance. This type of policy is purchased directly from a funeral home and comes in two policy types.

The first policy you can purchase is a guaranteed pre-need insurance policy. With this type of policy, you will plan your funeral with the help of a funeral director and then pay for it. The key is that you won’t pay today’s prices – instead, you will pay an estimated rate based on your average life span. The inflated price that you pay now will ensure that you will get the funeral that you planned, even if costs have gone up considerably by the time you pass.

Your other option is to purchase a non-guaranteed pre-need insurance policy. Just like with a guaranteed pre-need insurance policy, you will plan your funeral with the funeral director. But rather than pay inflated prices to ensure that you will receive the funeral you plan, you will pay today’s prices. That means it’s likely that, by the time you pass, funeral prices will have risen. Your loved ones will have to make a decision at that time: chip in more so you can have the funeral that you planned or change the funeral arrangements to spend only the money that you paid.

While pre-need insurance seems convenient, it’s important to understand the risks associated with these types of policies. For instance, what happens to the money that you paid if the funeral home goes out of business? Or what if you paid for guaranteed pre-need insurance and passed away the next week? Would a portion of the inflated price be reimbursed to your loved ones? And how would the funeral home honor the policy if you passed away in another state or country? Be sure to do your homework and ask as many questions as you need before purchasing this type of policy.

Government Assistance

The Federal Government offers a one-time benefit of $255 to qualifying spouses and children of the deceased. This payment made by the federal government isn’t enough to cover the costs of a funeral, but it can be applied toward the overall cost.

The state of Hawaii also offers funeral assistance to qualified applicants via its Death Payments Program. Applicants can apply for a lump-sum payment for deceased individuals who received medical or financial assistance. The state also offers assistance to funeral homes when they conduct the final disposition of an unclaimed body. To apply for the program, applicants must apply within 60 days of the death.

Average Overall Rates for Final Expense Insurance in Hawaii

The next step in finding a final expense policy that is right for you is getting a customized quote from an insurance company. But before you reach out to an insurer like Lincoln Heritage, take a look at the charts below. They will give you an idea of the kind of premium you will pay based on your age and sex. Keep in mind that when the insurance company gives you a customized quote, your health will also be taken into consideration.

Monthly Premium Rates for Men*

$5,000 Death Benefit
Age	Determined 'In Good Health' by Insurer	No Health Questions Asked
50	$16	$20
55	$19	$24
60	$23	$29
65	$29	$35
70	$38	$44
75	$51	$63
80	$65	$82

* Estimated rates do not reflect the rates of any particular life insurance company.

$10,000 Death Benefit
Age	Determined 'In Good Health' by Insurer	No Health Questions Asked
50	$30	$40
55	$35	$46
60	$43	$57
65	$56	$68
70	$74	$88
75	$100	$125
80	$126	$162

* Estimated rates do not reflect the rates of any particular life insurance company.

Monthly Premium Rates for Women*

$5,000 Death Benefit
Age	Determined 'In Good Health' by Insurer	No Health Questions Asked
50	$14	$15
55	$16	$18
60	$18	$24
65	$22	$28
70	$28	$35
75	$38	$46
80	$48	$64

* Estimated rates do not reflect the rates of any particular life insurance company.

$10,000 Death Benefit
Age	Determined 'In Good Health' by Insurer	No Health Questions Asked
50	$25	$28
55	$28	$36
60	$33	$45
65	$41	$55
70	$53	$69
75	$72	$90
80	$93	$126

* Estimated rates do not reflect the rates of any particular life insurance company.