Most people get final expense insurance to cover funeral and burial costs, medical bills, credit card debt, and other end-of-life expenses. You can also choose to add protection to cover terminal illness and take advance payments for treatment or medical bills. Funeral expenses are getting higher and higher each year. In 1960, the average cost of a funeral without a vault was just over $700. In 1985, that number rose to $2,737, and in 2014, the average cost was more than $8,508. And the costs only continue to rise!