What is Funeral Insurance?
Funeral insurance is like having life insurance to cover your funeral expenses and any final expenses you may want to take care of. It may also be referred to as burial, final expense or pre-need insurance. If you can’t afford life insurance or are not insurable, but need a way to settle your end of life affairs, funeral insurance is a great, affordable alternative.
How Funeral Insurance Works
When you don’t have a plan, the financial burden of making funeral arrangements are left to family and loved ones. The failure to pre-arrange your funeral in advance could cost your loved ones more than you had anticipated and put them under unnecessary financial strain.
With pre-planning and funeral insurance, you eliminate the risk of your family emotionally overspending on your funeral and gain peace-of-mind knowing your final wishes will be respected. Funeral insurance gives your family the freedom to grieve during a difficult time and removes the stress of having to arrange and pay for your funeral.
Benefits of Funeral Insurance
Many people allocate the death benefit of their life insurance policy to cover funeral costs and final expenses. However, life insurance may not be a feasible option for everyone, especially if you’re not insurable. Perhaps you can’t afford to pay premiums or you’re unable to qualify for life insurance due to pre-existing medical conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, or heart failure.
A medical exam is not required for funeral insurance. Premiums don’t change and there is no renewal process. It doesn’t discriminate against age. Even if you are 90 years old, you can still apply and be eligible for funeral insurance. There is also no waiting period—coverage is immediate.
Funeral insurance is also a non-taxable benefit designated to a beneficiary of your choice, such as a trusted family member. Your beneficiary manages funeral expenses on your behalf based on the conditions outlined in your will and the plan you established at the time you purchased your funeral insurance policy. You also have the option to designate a funeral home to make your funeral arrangements. Remaining funds can then be used to pay off outstanding debt or last expenses. Residuals are then dispersed to your beneficiary.
Funeral insurance is a solution if you’re…
- A senior citizen without a life insurance policy that provides a death benefit to cover your funeral expenses
- A single parent on a fixed income with dependent children and want to ensure they aren’t financially burdened with your funeral costs
- Want a small amount of insurance coverage to pay for any last expenses.
- Want insurance coverage without having to go through a medical checkup or nurse visit
- Have had a change in health and need additional insurance coverage
- Applied for life insurance within the last two years and were declined.
- Have a pre-existing medical condition that makes it hard to qualify for life insurance
- Want very basic life insurance coverage between $1,000 – $50,000
- Want basic life insurance coverage with a cash value and don’t want to purchase term insurance
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