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Is Funeral Insurance for You?

It is said that the hardest thing about life, is death. The only thing harder than that may be talking to your loved ones about your death, and planning out the way you'd like to have your funeral. C'est la vie, death is a part of life, but wouldn't it be great if there was some kind of coverage, or some way to pre-pay and pre-plan your funeral arrangements? Luckily, there is! It's called "pre-need insurance," also known as funeral or burial insurance, and it is meant to help you plan out your funeral and pay for it in advance, so the burden isn't left to your family or beneficiaries.

With the ever-rising cost of funeral arrangements and services, it's good to have money set aside to take care of the bills once your time comes. Without funeral insurance, your beneficiaries may get stuck paying the price and having to use money from your life insurance policy or even out of their own pocket.

How funeral insurance works
There is no standard plan when it comes to funeral insurance, and it is totally dependent on the person looking to be insured. The sky is the limit when it comes to your funeral insurance policy, unless there is a dollar amount cap, which won't cover anything above a set limit. A life insurance agent or funeral director will write the policy, and what it covers, such as:

• Burial plot
• Digging and filling the grave
• Grave marker
• Casket or urn
• Cremation
• Embalming
• Grave Liner or Burial Vault
• Hearse and other funeral vehicles
• Flowers

Funeral insurance premiums
Generally, you must buy a funeral insurance policy in one, lump-sum payment. After that, depending on what options you have in your policy, you may be able to choose from a payment plan ranging from three to 10 years.

Your coverage is also dependent on what kind of premium you have, such as:

• Single-premium policy.
  Once you pay the lump-sum payment, you have immediate coverage for the full death benefit



• Graded death benefit.
  This means the coverage amount increases over time. If you choose a five year payment policy, you may have a death benefit that is 30 percent of the face amount in the first year, 70 percent the next year, and 100 percent from there-on-out

Age is another factor when it comes to premiums, and you may only be offered a single-premium if you are over 70. It's all at the discretion of your life insurance agency.

Tips when considering funeral insurance

• Know your state's laws on pre-need insurance
• Discuss a burial policy with your family and lawyer
• Get all agreements in writing
• Research before agreeing to go with one company
• Verify all licenses (insurance company, agent, and funeral director)
• A written list of available goods and services is required to be given to you by the funeral home (a Federal Trade Commission requirement)
• Be sure all documents are filled out in your presence. Never sign anything that has been altered or done without your consent
• Ask your funeral director if they offer price guarantees, and if they don't, find out what their policy is
• If your state has a "pre-lock law" use it! This entitles you to review your policy in its entirety before you get locked into it
• Check if funeral arrangements can be moved at any time to any funeral home-in case you move away after you buy your pre-need insurance
• Be sure you have (in writing) that the services, arrangements and products that were sold to you or that you are agreeing upon are included in your pre-need plan.
• Request a yearly statement (if not more) that details your account and its status
• Find out if there is a policy cancellation fee or if you can be refunded for services and products if you do decide to cancel

Use Caution
Many states are giving consumers added protection by enforcing laws that will protect their rights when it comes to pre-paying for funeral expenses. Some states ban the sale of new burial insurance policies, because it was noted that many insureds paid more in premiums than they got back in their death benefit. Others, like New Jersey, enforced a Preneed Act, which prohibits checks to purchase burial insurance to be made out to the funeral home-they must be made out to the life insurance company. Also, anything that is paid to the funeral home ahead of time (for preneed) is still the insured's, and must be available to them at any time, no questions asked.

If you're interested in finding out if funeral insurance is for you, or if you're interested in getting a life insurance quote, log on to Insurance.com. Here you will be able to evaluate multiple rates from best-in-class life insurance providers-helping you find the best life insurance coverage for you and your family.