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Final Expense Funeral Insurance

By Peggy Mace

You don't need to save thousands of dollars to pre-pay a funeral You don't even have to go to a funeral home to do it.

No one wants to deal with scraping up money for a funeral while grieving for the loss of a loved one. But no one has to be left in that predicament. There are life insurance policies that fund final expenses before the event occurs.

Why is this a good option?

  • The policy can be paid monthly, quarterly, semi-annually or annually. No one has to come up with the entire amount all at once.
  • The policy can be purchased to pay for one's own funeral OR the funeral of someone else.
  • The death benefit is usually tax free and does not have to go through probate.
  • Whatever is left beyond funeral and burial expenses can cover other expenses.
  • You don't have to visit the funeral home or make funeral plans to purchase a final expense life insurance policy.

Burial policies are unique and must have certain features to meet the needs for which they are intended:

  • They must last until the funeral. Usually, that means they must be permanent. The two main types of permanent life insurance are Whole Life and Universal Life with no-lapse guarantee.
  • They must be available in face amounts under $50,000.
  • They must be available to people of all ages, including those who may have some health problems.
  • They must be with stable companies that have a reputation for quick payment.

To find such a policy, go to a web site that specializes in that type of coverage. Your agent should ask you some health questions, which shows that he/she is trying to find you the lowest priced policy for which you qualify.

Most final expense policies do not require an exam or medical records. Many will ask for a short phone interview.

Look for those that are guaranteed to stay the same price for the rest of your life. If the fine print says they cannot single you out for an increase, that means they CAN raise the price for the entire group. There are enough policies that will guarantee the price for a lifetime that you should not have to settle for a policy that will continually raise the price.

Permanent policies that do not require an exam are available that will pay 100% from day one for death by any reason. With very poor health, the policy may pay a limited death benefit the first 2-4 years.

Since it cannot be spent while one is alive, life insurance is the safest way to be sure the funds will be there when needed. In troubled economic times life insurance has proven to be one of the most dependable financial vehicles. It is also the most personal, as the beneficiary is hand picked by the person obtaining the policy.

Take a look at life insurance for a way to meet your final expense needs!

Everyone will eventually die, sooner or later. That is why you should start thinking about the inevitable no matter how morbid it is. Start saving some cash or buy burial insurance to prepare for the future financial headaches caused by funeral and burial budgets. Moreover, having burial insurance can give you peace of mind knowing that once you have finally bid farewell to this world, your family will not be burdened with the costs and organization of your funeral.

There are some tips that can help you when you have finally decided to buy burial insurance:

The first thing that you should know is how much your burial insurance needs to cover. You can find out about this if you research over the internet, or if you interview the owner of a local funeral home. List down all the things that every burial service needs and write down their corresponding costs. Keep in mind that these things become more expensive as time goes by. You should consider the amount of the increase in computing the total amount of burial expenses.

Also, you should ask different burial insurance agents from different companies about the policies or plans that they offer and the cost and coverage of each plan. Your premium is based on the plan that you have chosen. Of course, your main consideration should be the coverage of the burial insurance, not the amount of its premium.

Once you have decided on the burial insurance plan, you should now proceed to submitting all the required documents for your application to be processed. Make sure to submit everything right away. You will never know when you will come face to face with death.

When the insurance company finally approves your application, make a copy of all the important documents. Keep them in a place where your loved ones, especially your partner, have easy access. Never keep something as big as buying a burial plan a secret to your family. You should tell them so that when the inevitable happens, they will know what to do and where to go for financial assistance.

Keep in mind that you do not need to buy extras from the funeral home when organizing your funeral insurance. But it is okay to buy them if there are items that really appeal to you, like buying extra flowers or other additions to ensure a funeral and burial service that you feel really encompasses your likes.

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