Is It a Good Idea to Buy Burial Insurance?

Jan 29
21:22

2017

Aaron Hazeltine

Aaron Hazeltine

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Getting burial insurance is one of the most secure ways of arranging final expenses. You pay a small amount each month, and it should be enough to cover your funeral cost and modest debts if any.

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Burial policies are types of insurance that can be term life or whole life insurance products. You can purchase them straight from an insurance company rather than a funeral home. These policies cost less than other forms of insurance and allow you to name the beneficiary rather than a funeral service.This is good as it does not lock your beneficiary to using a particular funeral home. It does raise the risk of the insurance being tempted to spend the money on something else such as final medical expense. These policies can get complex and include cash value accumulation features.Death is a certainty but how the funeral for an individual gets paid is not. This financial issue following a person’s death is termed 'final expense plans' by the insurance industry. The general public knows this type of policy to be burial insurance. Many consumer advocates see these policies as being bad investments.Whatever they are called and whatever their reputations may be,Is It a Good Idea to Buy Burial Insurance? Articles these policies are forms of whole life insurance that can pay for some expenses related to death, funerals, cremation and burials.No Need for a Medical ExamBurial policies are not the same as prepaid funeral plans. These are forms of paying a particular funeral director in advance of your original final arrangements. Burial plans only require the applicant answer some questions about their health but does not force them to take a full medical exam. These policies also have simplified underwriting procedures.Waiving the need for a medical exam allows most anyone to qualify, but not guaranteed. Sometimes people with a critical condition such as cancer patients are not provided a burial insurance at first place by some of the providers. As such, the cost of burial policies can be almost 20 times more than a term life insurance policy that is fully underwritten.Prepaying versus PrearrangingA funeral home or a loved one could encourage you to prepay for your funeral arrangements. When this is the case, it could make things tricky especially when it is tied into a specific funeral service. This form of coverage is like a prepaid policy.If you choose to prepay make sure to look for transferability of the terms of the policy so you know exactly what you are getting. Determine whether you are getting current rates locked in or if premiums will go up over time. Make sure to tell your loved ones that you prepaid your arrangements, too. Make sure they also know where to find your policy paperwork, so they do not pay for coverage a second time.Having a burial insurance means you are secured and it provides peace of mind knowing the family members are not burdened after your death. You are not breaking the bank when paying burial policy premiums.