3 Funeral Expenses Many People Overlook

When putting together an overall financial plan, life insurance is often used to ensure that loved ones will be taken care of in case of the unthinkable. In fact, in many cases, a financial plan without life insurance may not truly be complete.

This coverage can be used for a wide variety of different needs – and, because life insurance is received income tax-free to the beneficiary, all of a policy’s proceeds can be used for their intended purpose.

You may already have a life insurance policy that you purchased in the past, and it may be earmarked for a certain purpose. But, regarding truly covering everything, is there anything that you may have left out? The chances are that there just might be.

Final Expenses That are Often Overlooked

When planning for the financial aspect of the unthinkable, many people may determine the potential costs that their loved ones may have to ensure. In this case, oftentimes, an individual may purchase life insurance coverage in order to assist their family with ongoing living expenses in the future. This can be particularly important if the insured is also the primary (or a primary) wage earner in the household.

There may also be various debts that an individual would like their loved ones to be able to pay off so that they are not burdened in the future with excessive balances. For instance, many people will purchase life insurance coverage to pay off a mortgage balance. In so doing, they can help those that are left behind to continue maintaining their present lifestyle – in their present home. This can provide peace of mind to survivors and loved ones, especially in an already difficult time in their lives.

In some cases, an insured may have a large amount of wealth. And, knowing that their loved ones may be saddled with paying estate taxes, he or she will purchase a life insurance policy. With this strategy, the proceeds from the life insurance policy may be used for paying the tax that is due. This can save loved ones from having to hand over a large chunk of savings – or worse yet, have to sell precious family heirlooms in order to come up with the funds.

Yet, while people may often think that they have covered everything, there are a few items that many people tend to overlook – especially when it comes to planning the expense of a funeral and final expenses.

1) The Cost of Burial or Cremation.

While you may have taken care of outstand debt balances, as well as ensuring that your loved ones will be ok financially going forward, people may often leave out the cost of their burial or cremation.

Even if you have worked with a specific funeral home regarding pre-paying for your service, there is only so much that the funeral home will take care of. For example, oftentimes, a funeral home will take care of the cost of the arrangements, as well as the transportation, care and prepping the body, and even the completion of various legal forms.

However, there can still be a long list of other items that are not a part of the funeral home’s services – and these costs could be quite a bit. These can include the actual cost of the burial or the cremation. Regarding a person’s burial, there are a number of items that will be needed – and they all have a cost. These can include:

• A burial plot
• Headstone
• Obituary and other announcements and / or notices
• Motorcycle escorts in the procession
• Cost of the reception (if not held at the funeral home itself)

The cost of a cemetery plot for one’s burial or the cost of cremation, if that is preferred, will also not typically be covered in the funeral home’s overall bill. This means that your loved ones could end up with a surprising amount of bills during this time.

When all of the expenses are added up, the average cost of a funeral – coupled with other final expenses – can today exceed $10,000 in many areas of the country. This is an amount that many families and loved ones just simply do not have readily available.

So, if not properly planned for, family members may need to use the money that they have in savings to pay these costs. Worse yet, some loved ones may have to put these expenses on credit, in turn, forcing themselves into many years of future payments.

2) Pet Care

Many people have loving pets that they take care of. But, when an individual passes away, their pet may or may not be provided for – which, unfortunately, could result in the pet going to a shelter.

When taking into consideration all that may be needed upon one’s passing, it is important to include what will happen with one’s pets. Often, setting aside some money – or planning through life insurance – can help to ensure that a loved pet will still have a home upon the passing of their owner.

3) Uninsured Legal and / or Medical Expenses

Another potentially large expense upon an individual’s death can be uninsured medical and / or legal costs. Here, for instance, an individual may have had a lengthy hospital stay – some of which may not be covered under his or her regular health insurance policy. Likewise, there could also be the cost of end-of-life hospice care.

In addition, if an individual dies as the result of an accident, there may be some legal costs – possibly substantial – involved. This can especially be the case if the decedent is proven to be at fault for the accident, and has injured or killed another individual.

When all added up, even if you already have a life insurance policy in force, will it be enough?

How to Ensure that Your Loved Ones Have the Funds for Your Final Expenses

If you find that you may have overlooked certain potential costs – even if you already have a current life insurance policy in place – there ways to easily ensure that the remainder of the potential expenses will not be burden to loved ones. One of the best ways to do so is to purchase a final expense policy.

These policies are oftentimes offered to those who are between the age of 50 and 85. However, there are people of all ages who may purchase a final expense policy. Often, the coverage amount on these policies will be somewhere in the range of $5,000 to $25,000 – although there are many insurance carriers that will allow more coverage.

How Does Final Expense Insurance Work?

In many ways, Final expense insurance – which is also oftentimes referred to as funeral insurance or burial insurance coverage – works like most other types of life insurance in that, in exchange for a premium payment, a death benefit will be paid out to a named beneficiary (or beneficiaries). Also like regular life insurance proceeds, the funds that are received from final expense insurance will be income tax-free.

Even having just a small amount of addition life insurance through a final expense policy can help loved ones to know that they will not be responsible for these overlooked costs at the end of an individual’s life.

Will You Qualify for Final Expense Insurance?

In most cases, qualifying for final expense life insurance will not require an applicant to undergo a medical exam. This means that there is no blood and urine testing to worry about – and because of the no medical exam process, oftentimes, an applicant who has certain health issues will still be able to qualify for coverage, such as with a guaranteed issue life insurance policy.

Also, because there are no medical tests for the insurance underwriters to review, a final expense life insurance policy can also often be approved much more quickly than a regular, medically underwritten policy would be. With that in mind, the protection for your overlooked expenses can be in place very quickly – sometimes even the very same day that you apply.

How Much Does Final Expense Insurance Cost?

As with other types of life insurance coverage, the cost of a final exam policy will be dependent on many factors. These will typically include the age and gender of the applicant. The amount of coverage that you are purchasing will also come into play.

Another big factor in the cost of final exam insurance is the insurance company that you purchase the policy through. What many people may not realize is that different life insurance companies will price their policies differently – even for the very same type and amount of coverage.

With that in mind, it is usually best to shop around and to compare several different final expense life insurance policies before making your policy decision. If, however, you were going to go to several individual insurance carriers, one by one, it could be quite time-consuming. Rather, working with an independent life insurance brokerage or agency can allow you to directly compare multiple policies, side-by-side, all in one convenient place.

By reviewing the coverage, the policy, the insurance company, and the premium cost, you will then be able to make a much better determination as to which final expense will be right for you and your specific needs.

Where to Find the Best Premium Quotes on Final Expense Insurance Coverage

It has often been said that in life, the only constant is change. As your needs change over time, it may be that there are items in your life that come up and that need to be addressed with life insurance. In other cases, some items can just be overlooked.

Even if you think that you have everything covered, there may be some items that you have inadvertently left out. If you have overlooked any of the potential expenses that you will leave behind, the purchase of a final expense life insurance policy may be a perfect solution. These types of policies can oftentimes be issued quickly – and, because many of the final expense plans that are offered will not require a medical exam, you may be able to obtain the coverage that you require, even if you have an adverse health condition.

When you are ready to move forward with the purchase of final exam insurance, we can help. We work with many of the top life insurance carriers in the marketplace today, and we can assist you with obtaining all of the important details that you will require for making an informed purchasing decision.

We can do this for you very quickly, easily, and conveniently – all from your home computer, and without the requirement of meeting in person with a life insurance agent. So, if you are ready to proceed, then just simply filling out the form on this page.

Should you find that you still have any additional questions regarding final expense coverage – or even if you have a question or a concern about life insurance in general – then please feel free to contact us directly. Our experts can walk you through the quote process, as well as help you to better understand that type and amount of additional coverage that you may require. We can be reached via phone, toll-free, by dialing 888-389-8676.

We understand that the purchase of any life insurance can seem a bit overwhelming. This can especially be the case if you have been turned down for life insurance protection in the past. But the good news is that you have several options that are available to you for covering your overlooked expenses – with final exam life insurance coverage.

We will assist you in determining any of your additional coverage needs – so that you and those you love and care about can have the peace of mind that you deserve. So, contact us today – we are here to help.