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Cracking The Burial Insurance Code

Burial insurance has a morbid sound in today’s world of cremation and funeral home services. The thought of it seems to be an archaic notion, but like life insurance, it is something that should never be overlooked. You should take a little time to think about how to ensure your family won’t be left with the financial burden. The purpose of burial insurance is to cover the expenses for a loved one’s burial or funeral. Whether they be exorbitant or minimal, these costs can place a financial strain on a surviving family. Burial insurance can help alleviate that strain.

Whats a burial insurance?

Burial insurance is a type of life policy that provides coverage to help pay for funeral and burial expenses. It may also be referred to as a Final Expense policy or as Pre Need Funeral Insurance. At its simplest, burial insurance works by paying out a lump sum upon your death. However, there are differences between policies:

Some will offer to cover funeral costs for spouses.

Some provide lump sums that can be held in cash or used to pay off outstanding debts.

● Some will pay out in instalments over some time.

● Some may include cover for preneed medical expenses.

These insurance policies are an excellent way to protect your family from financial issues at the time of your passing.

Side note: Burial or funeral insurance is just what it sounds like. The critical difference between burial insurance and life insurance is that burial insurance only covers the funeral and burial costs. At the same time, life insurance also covers the loss of income for loved ones after you’re gone. Burial insurance can be cheaper than life insurance and maybe a more appropriate choice in certain situations, such as if your family doesn’t expect to rely on your income but wants to ensure they don’t have to pay for a large funeral. Typically, a burial plan is funded by the individual and/or family, but many employers choose to provide this benefit. Like any life insurance policy, there is an option to convert it into a permanent life insurance policy.

Who Needs Burial Insurance?

While many people think burial insurance is for the very old or deceased, we find that more and more millennials are opting to buy policies. After all, who wants to get stuck with the bill for your funeral?

Millennials live longer than generations considered “older” than them. They are not only buying life insurance to help pay for the funeral costs of loved ones, but they are also buying insurance to cover the costs of their funerals. They are rethinking how they plan now so that they don’t have to worry about it later. The ‘burial etiquette’ dilemma is an “it” topic in the insurance world right now. More Millennials are opting for cremation, and being environmentally conscious is a growing trend among the younger generation.

Immediate Burial Insurance Benefits

A standard life insurance policy may have a 30-60 day window for a funeral arrangement/burial in its plan. In the event of death, this time frame could cause anxiety and undue stress on family members. This stress can be avoided with a burial insurance policy that pays out immediately upon death. Family members will be able to take care of the funeral arrangements without worrying about paying for the burial costs, which can easily range from $10K to $50K depending on the services used.

Dignity and peace of mind

Burial insurance allows a policyholder to die with dignity and peace of mind. For the policyholder, death is usually something that is thought about towards the end of life, when it becomes a reality. They are not just losing their life, but their independence, their lifestyle and their ability to take care of loved ones. For a lot of us, this is a terrifying thought. On the other hand, life is too short to spend worrying about the inevitability of death, and if you have final expense insurance, it gives you the peace of mind you need to worry about other things.

Burial Insurance Options

There are several different options you can choose from when it comes to burial insurance. Traditional burial insurance is paid for at the time of death, and the benefits are paid out upon burial. Group (group plan) burial insurance is also paid for at the time of death, but the benefits are paid out through a group (co-op) and not through a funeral home. A third option is a prepaid funeral plan where you pay for your arrangements upfront, and then upon death, you pay for your funeral through the funeral home with funds leftover in your account. All of these options can be purchased through any life insurance company, but most insurance companies do not offer all of these options.

Burial Insurance Costs & Premiums The average burial insurance cost is $5,000. This price typically includes a basic burial insurance package that pays for the cost of transporting the body to a mortuary and the funeral home services, including embalming and cremation or burial. However, there are additional costs often associated with funerals and burials.

It’s also common to include a couple of other optional items to the basic package, such as an urn and/or cemetery plot.

Burial Insurance Premiums

Premiums for a burial insurance policy could range between $200 to $1,000 a year depending on a few different factors like:

● The coverage amount.

● The age of the insured and/or monthly premium payments.

● The length of the waiting period before the deceased’s beneficiaries can receive benefits.

● The type of service selected by the insured.

● The insurance company will determine the price if no waiting period is set.

Conclusion

The purpose of burial insurance is simple. It is a way of paying for your funeral and burial costs while at the same time putting your family in a position to make those decisions for themselves. When you go down this path, you have several different options available to you, with each having its positives and negatives. Some of the more common types of burial insurance include single-premium plans, which are often offered by funeral homes as part of their arrangement with the insurance company or as reimbursable plans with a built-in savings component. Other forms of burial insurance include preneed plans that you can obtain from an insurance company that lets you pay for it over time and self-funding plans that help you set aside funds for your final expenses throughout your lifetime. Whatever the reason, burial insurance can be an easy way of getting this out of your family’s way while giving them some peace of mind as well.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of editors or the management of EconoTimes

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