Funeral insurance at a later age: is it still possible?

It's one of those topics you put off for years. Funeral insurance, you'll sort that out later. Until "later" suddenly becomes "now" and you find yourself wondering: am I actually too late? Maybe you've just retired, maybe you've lost a partner and you're reassessing your own situation. Or maybe someone you know told you that the cost of a funeral these days is nothing to sneeze at.

That someone is right, by the way. An analysis by NOS based on CBS data (July 2025) shows that an average funeral in the Netherlands now costs more than €10,000. Funeral costs have risen by about 40% over the past ten years, nine percentage points above general inflation over the same period. If you opt for a burial, you're quickly looking at around €10,000. A cremation is slightly more affordable, but even then you'll spend at least €7,000. Back in 2017, the Nibud (based on CBS figures) calculated that an average funeral cost €7,500. At the time, one in five Dutch people already said they wouldn't be able to pay that amount themselves.

So the question isn't really whether you can still arrange something, but how. This article lays out the facts, the pitfalls and the alternatives.

Up to what age can you take out funeral insurance?

Let's start with the practical side. Most funeral insurers in the Netherlands set a maximum entry age of 75. That applies to the big names like DELA, Monuta and a.s.r.. At DELA, you can take out a regular funeral insurance policy up to and including age 74. Monuta applies the same limit of 75. There are also smaller, regional insurers that are slightly more flexible. DLE Uitvaartverzekering, for example, offers a senior insurance policy specifically designed for people aged 55 and over, with no health declaration required, but with a two-year waiting period.

Are you 80 or older? Then taking out a regular funeral insurance policy is no longer possible with virtually any insurer. The risk is simply too great for the insurer: the chance that you'll pay in enough premiums to cover the funeral costs is too small.

Tip: Don't wait until you feel "ready for it". Every month you take out a policy sooner, you pay less in premiums and you're fully covered faster. That sounds obvious, but with a topic you'd rather avoid, it's easy to keep kicking the can down the road.

Why is the premium so much higher at an older age?

An insurer makes a straightforward calculation. The insured amount (let's say €9,500) needs to be built up from the premiums you pay. If you take out a policy at thirty, you potentially have fifty years to accumulate that amount. At seventy, you might only have ten to fifteen years. So the monthly amount has to go up significantly to achieve the same level of cover.

What does that look like in practice? Monuta provides the following premium estimates on its website for an insured amount of €9,500: at age forty you pay around €10.85 per month, at fifty €16.39, at sixty €25.57, and at seventy €42.12 per month. At 65, you're looking at roughly €32 per month. These aren't shocking amounts, but the difference compared to taking out a policy twenty years earlier is clear: at seventy you pay almost four times as much as someone who signed up at forty.

There's another factor too. Most insurers require a health declaration. If you have a chronic condition or a medical history that increases the risk of death, the premium can be even higher. In some cases, you won't be accepted for a regular policy and a qualifying period (waiting period) will be imposed instead. More on that below.

Tip: Request quotes from multiple insurers. The premium differences between providers are real. Through a comparison tool like Eindstation.nl, you can compare your options side by side without committing to anything.

What is a qualifying period, and why should you watch out for it?

A term you're guaranteed to come across when comparing funeral insurance policies: the qualifying period, also known in Dutch as "carenzjaren" or "carenzperiode" (waiting period). This is the period after taking out the policy during which you're not yet entitled to a full payout upon death. In practice, most insurers apply a qualifying period of two years.

What does that mean? If you pass away within those two years from a natural cause (such as illness), the insurer won't pay out the full insured amount. Often, your next of kin will only receive the premiums paid up to that point, sometimes topped up with a small interest payment. In the case of death by accident, the full amount is usually paid out, but this varies per policy.

Insurers that don't require a health declaration almost always apply such a waiting period. That makes sense: they don't know what your health situation is and cover that risk with those two years. Insurers that do require a health declaration (such as DELA) often offer coverage from day one in return, provided you're medically accepted. There is no legally mandated maximum qualifying period. Each insurer determines for itself how long it lasts and what exactly is paid out within that period.

The Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) supervises fair information provision by insurers. This means that the terms surrounding qualifying periods must be explained clearly and comprehensibly before you sign. So actually read those terms and conditions. Not because it's fun, but because the difference between receiving a payout or not in those first two years is enormous.

Tip: When requesting a quote, explicitly ask about the qualifying period conditions. Not just how long the waiting period is, but also exactly what is paid out if you pass away within that period. Those details are in the policy terms, but you're also perfectly entitled to ask about them over the phone.

What if you're too old for a regular policy?

Say you're 77 or 82 and no insurer will accept you for a standard funeral insurance policy anymore. Does that mean there's nothing left you can arrange? No. There are alternatives, though they work fundamentally differently from insurance.

Lump-sum policy (koopsompolis). With a lump-sum policy, you make a single large payment, and in return you're insured. You don't pay monthly premiums after that. This is possible at some insurers even past age 75. The advantage: you're fully covered immediately and your next of kin know exactly where they stand. The disadvantage: you need to put that amount on the table all at once. For someone who can spare €8,000 to €10,000 in one go, this can be a sensible option.

Funeral deposit or funeral fund. DELA offers a so-called Deposit Fund ("Depositofonds"), Monuta has the Funeral Fund ("Uitvaartfonds"). With these, you deposit a lump sum (or pay in instalments) that is reserved for your funeral. Important: this is not insurance. You build up a balance, and after your death that balance is used to pay for the funeral. If the balance isn't sufficient, your next of kin cover the difference. The big advantage: there's no maximum age and no health declaration required. At DELA, the Deposit Fund is open to everyone, regardless of age or health.

Saving yourself via a separate account. This sounds simple, and it is. You open a savings account, put a fixed amount in each month, and let your next of kin know this money is intended for the funeral. The downside: there's no guarantee. If you pass away sooner than expected, the amount won't be enough. And a savings account is legally just part of your estate, which means it's not immediately accessible after death. Banks are allowed to pay essential funeral costs directly from a frozen account to the funeral director (provided an invoice is submitted), but this doesn't always go smoothly in practice. By law, funeral costs are a debt of the estate (Article 4:7(1)(b) of the Dutch Civil Code), but in practice next of kin sometimes still have to advance the money.

Tip: Got savings but torn between saving yourself and a deposit fund? A deposit fund has the advantage that the money is earmarked for the funeral and can't just be spent on something else. That provides more certainty, both for you and for your next of kin.

Underinsurance: the silent problem

There's another important reason to take this topic seriously, even if you already have funeral insurance. Nearly half of all Dutch people with funeral insurance turn out to have a policy where the insured amount no longer matches the actual costs. This is based on combined figures from CBS and NOS, which investigated underinsurance for funeral costs. And the Nibud warned previously that many consumers don't even know what type of insurance they actually have.

How does that gap arise? Many policies were taken out decades ago, when a funeral might have cost €4,000 or €5,000. If the policy doesn't include automatic indexation (which isn't always the case), the insured amount doesn't grow along with rising costs. Insurers typically index based on CBS figures, with an average annual increase of 1.5 to 4.5%. But if you once declined indexation to save on premiums, or if your policy simply doesn't offer that option, you could be sitting with coverage of €5,000 while your funeral will cost €9,500 or more.

Industry research (2026) shows that 38.2% of Dutch people think a funeral costs less than €7,500. That's a dangerous misconception, because in reality costs are significantly higher. Younger people especially tend to underestimate costs, but older people with old policies are also at risk.

Tip: Already have a policy? Dig it out and check the insured amount. Compare it with current average funeral costs (€7,000 to €12,000, depending on your wishes). Is there a gap? Then you can top up your coverage with most insurers, often even online. That's far less drastic than taking out a completely new policy.

Cash or in-kind insurance: which type suits you?

When comparing funeral insurance at an older age, you'll quickly run into the choice between a cash policy (also called capital insurance) and an in-kind policy (also called service insurance). The difference lies in what your next of kin receive after your death.

With a cash policy (capital insurance), your next of kin receive a fixed amount. They decide what to do with it, which funeral director to hire, and how to shape the farewell. DELA offers this via the UitvaartPlan in cash, and a.s.r. works exclusively with capital insurance. The advantage: maximum freedom. The disadvantage: if costs turn out higher than the insured amount, your next of kin have to make up the difference.

With an in-kind policy (service insurance), you don't insure a cash amount but a package of services. Think of collecting and caring for the deceased, funeral transport, a coffin and the funeral service itself. The insurer arranges and pays for those services directly. DELA offers this via the UitvaartPlan in services, with a service package worth at least €8,262 (as of 2025). Because it concerns services rather than a cash amount, the value automatically keeps pace with price increases. Your next of kin don't need to deal with invoices and recalculations. The disadvantage: you're tied to the insurer's funeral director and have less freedom of choice.

There are also combination policies, where a basic service package is supplemented with a freely spendable cash amount. Monuta works this way: next of kin receive both support from a funeral director and a freely spendable amount for additional wishes.

Which type suits you best depends on your personal situation. Do you want maximum control for your next of kin? Then a cash policy makes sense. Would you rather have everything arranged so your next of kin have to make as few decisions as possible during an emotionally difficult time? Then an in-kind or combination policy offers more peace of mind.

Tip: Don't just think about what you want, but discuss it with the people who will eventually have to organise the funeral. What do they prefer? Freedom of choice, or being taken care of? That input is just as important as comparing premiums.

Conclusion: it's almost never too late, but sooner is always better

The short answer to the question in the title: yes, you still can. Up to age 75, you can take out funeral insurance with most major insurers without any issues. Older than that? Then there are alternatives like a lump-sum policy or a funeral deposit. Even at 85, you can still arrange something through a deposit fund. The options become more limited and more expensive as you get older, but they don't disappear entirely.

What does disappear is the luxury of putting it off. Every month you wait, the premium goes up. And funeral costs have been rising faster than inflation for years. The gap between what people think a funeral costs and what it actually costs keeps growing.

So whether you're 55 and thinking "maybe it's time", or 72 and wondering "can I even still arrange anything": the best step is to start looking into it. Not tomorrow, not next month, but today. Grab a cup of coffee, sit down, and compare what's possible for your age and situation.

Compare funeral insurance policies on Eindstation.nl and find out which option suits your situation.