Life Insurance For Your Final Expenses

Funeral expenses can be a huge burden for a family who is unprepared to pay for them. Nowadays, even simple funerals and burials can cost several thousand dollars, and these numbers are still on the rise. Fortunately, life insurance can help. Keep reading to learn more about the benefits of life insurance and your coverage options for final expenses.

The Cost of Dying

Depending on where you live, the average cost of a funeral in the United States can range anywhere from $7,000 to $10,000. Cremation can be a more affordable option, but even the least expensive cremation with a memorial service can still cost your family several thousand dollars.

Below is a list of the average funeral costs per service in the United States, according to Parting.com:

Funeral director’s service: $1,500
Casket: $2,500
Embalming: $500
Using a Funeral Home for Service: $500
Gravesite: $1,000
Grave digging: $600
Burial vault: $1,000
Headstone: $1,500

Total cost: $9,100

Keep in mind that these numbers are an estimate, and prices could be significantly more or less depending on your location and the providers you choose.

Your Life Insurance Options

When it comes to covering the cost of your funeral, you have several life insurance options, which include:

Final Expense Life Insurance. Final expense plans are specifically designed to cover the costs your loved ones will face after you die, including funeral and burial expenses. For this reason, they come with smaller death benefits than other types of life insurance.

Final expense insurance is a type of Guaranteed-Acceptance Whole Life insurance. These plans are also “guaranteed-issue,” meaning you don’t have to take a medical exam or answer health questions. Keep in mind that these plans may have a graded death benefit for an initial period of time
Term Life Insurance. If you only need coverage for a specific amount of time, a term life insurance policy might be all you need. Term life insurance will pay your beneficiaries a death benefit if you die within the specified time period (or “term”) of the policy.
Whole Life Insurance. Final expense insurance is a type of whole life insurance, but there are other types of plans that could help pay for your final expenses. Because these plans last your entire life, they are almost always more expensive than term life policies. Whole life insurance policies also accrue cash value that you can borrow from.