In the following article we will talking about the best burial life insurance for seniors. When you are done reading this article you will have a better understanding of the different types of burial insurance policies available, the unique features of the policies, as well as what companies offer the top burial life insurance coverage.
Best Burial Life Insurance Policies for Seniors
Most individuals don’t handle confronting their mortality very well. It would be an understatement to say, anyone likes talking about death let alone planning for financing their burial costs or funeral expenses.
Although it can be quite a creepy topic of discussion, death is a reality check that we all need to pay attention to sooner or later.
We cannot predict the future, but we can erect structures to better manage some of life’s unfavorable outcomes.
One of the safest ways to mitigate the stress and financial burdens that could arise is through a valid burial insurance or funeral life insurance plan.
Life itself comes with many uncertainties, twists and quite a few wrong turns.
Absolutely nothing is guaranteed, from the moment we are born into this world, except one undeniable but impending fact. Someday, we all will die.
Preparing for the day we are no longer here is something most people are reluctant to do.
Working and saving for the future, that dream car or device, education, holiday, personal property or retirement is a rather more pleasant set of responsibilities people are willing to entertain or plan for, but not so much death.
Funerals can be an exhausting and daunting affair. Therefore, making sure you have adequate financial resource to cover the rising costs of a burial and funeral is extremely important.
As a senior citizen, having burial insurance or final expense life insurance could be one of the best financial decisions you have ever made for you and your family.
A good burial policy for seniors could spell the difference between either leaving your family in significant financial stress and hardship or providing your family with financial security when that inevitable day occurs.
So it is only best we plan properly for the inevitable.
Burial Insurance and Funeral Expense Insurance
Did you know there are a few varieties of burial insurance policies suitable for seniors?
In this article we are going to explore two types of burial or funeral insurance and highlight how relevant it could be to your peculiar coverage needs.
There are two common types of funeral expense life insurance coverage. There are:
- Burial insurance – popularly known as final expense insurance,
- Preened or prepaid funeral expense insurance.
Having any of the two insurance policies allows you to plan ahead and sufficiently make provisions for the costs associated with your burial/funeral and final expenses and any end of life costs.
These two insurance policies have unique differences. In this article, we will take an in-depth look at their respective attributes, pros and cons.
What is burial insurance or funeral life insurance?
Burial or funeral life insurance is a type of insurance policy that provides a safety net for middle aged or senior citizens. This policy absorbs the tasking financial obligations of planning and paying for a funeral, which usually falls on the surviving family members of the deceased. This is a coverage that takes care of burial and funeral expenses when a person dies. The death benefits are paid to a named beneficiary. It is one of the most reliable means to pay for your end of life costs and expenses.
Several top companies offer burial insurance plans. Depending on the company, senior burial insurance comes in two forms: a term life policy or whole life policy.
When discussing any type of insurance, and for clarity sake, it is important to understand what the differences are, for better guidance.
Burial Term Life Insurance
Burial term insurance typically has three key components:
- Term Protection or death benefit
- Increasing premiums to be paid (Cost to be insured)
- A few health questions
A burial insurance term policy is designed to provide cheap funeral insurance. The named beneficiary receives the death benefit, if you die within the term of your policy. Think of term life policy as temporary insurance. A term usually lasts between 10 – 30 year periods. Term is renewable on expiration, but the premiums are most likely to go up dramatically. The pros of going with term for your funeral expenses and burial costs is that it is cheaper coverage—INITIALLY.
Many final expense policies are sold as term life insurance. The main cons of term for covering your final expenses is that the term eventually ENDS. Further, these policies usually lock you in at a teaser rate (Globe Life only charges $1 for the first month’s premium), but the longer you keep the term burial insurance policy the more expensive it gets.
Burial Whole Life Insurance
Burial whole life insurance typically has four key components:
- Lifelong Protection or death benefit
- Fixed premiums to be paid (Cost to be insured)
- Simplified issue or Guaranteed issue
- Cash value accumulation
Burial whole life insurance for seniors is permanent coverage, so it stays with you until the day you die. Although these final expense and funeral insurance policies are INITIALLY more expensive, over time the policy will be less than burial term life insurance, because the term premiums for final expense policies typically INCREASE every five years.
The second common type of burial insurance worthy of some consideration is preened or prepaid funeral expense insurance.
Preneed Funeral Insurance
Preneed funeral insurance is often linked to funeral service providers. The policy holder will specify his or her funeral wishes, a policy is then sold by a licensed agent, to cover these end of life costs and expenses. This type of policy could be ideal for a senior with a terminal or life threatening condition since no medical examination is required. The funeral homes are usually the named beneficiary.
Who should consider buying a Burial Insurance Policy?
Some questions to consider:
- Do you have savings or other means for paying for your burial and funeral expenses?
- Do you have existing life insurance cover?
- Do you have outstanding debts and liabilities with little or no savings?
- If you were to pass away will all the financial needs of your dependents taken care of?
- Or maybe you want a standalone policy solely for end of life costs and expenses?
How a burial insurance policy works
This is a small life policies used to discharge any expenses left after a person dies; ranging from medical bills, credit card bills including personal debt. The policies are either simplified issue, which require some health questions, or guaranteed issue which require no health questions. The coverage on simplified issue can range between $25,000 to $100,000. The coverage for guaranteed issue life insurance policies ranges between $1,000 – $25,000.
Who is eligible for burial whole life insurance?
The first requirement is that you live in a state where the company sells its final expense or burial insurance product.
The second requirement is that you fall into the required age brackets. There is a minimum age requirement of somewhere between 40 – 50 years, which must be satisfied before you can purchase burial insurance. Likewise there exist a maximum age limit; seniors over 85 are not eligible to purchase a burial insurance policy.
What companies offer the best burial life insurance policies for seniors?
We have put together an article that covers many of the best burial and final expense insurance companies. The list is not exhaustive but it does contain what we at JustBuryMe believe are the top companies offering this type of funeral expense insurance.
Costs of burial insurance
The cost of a senior burial insurance policy will depend on certain factors depending on the policy type you choose (simplified issue or guaranteed issue). Some factors a company offering simplified issue life insurance will look at are: health, age, vices (like smoking) and gender. A senior citizen can expect to pay monthly, the sum of $100 – $200 dollars for a $10,000 – $20,000 burial insurance policy.
INFORMATION YOU NEED TO APPLY
- Personal Identification,
- Payment options; which could be cash or direct debits orders
- A named beneficiary of the burial policy.
Burial Insurance Benefits
It is important for you to conduct due diligence before you make a final commitment to any burial insurance plan.
For example, the death benefit of a guaranteed issue whole life insurance policy is graded. This means even with severe illness or disease you can still be covered, no questions asked. But there is a catch. Higher premiums would be attached to your policy, especially if you are a senior or well over 50 years.
A recent 2012 data, released by the National funeral directors association, pegged the total average US burial costs at about $10,000. These cost estimates does not include extra add-ons like, flowers, cemetery fees and monuments, corpse transportation between cities, travel and etc. Imagine what the going price tag of a decent burial would be?
As we grow older, it is mandatory we become more concerned about end of life issues like burial and funeral arrangements. We should not only show concern, but take steps to ensure we are leaving behind a legacy of bliss and not of debt and chaos when we shuffle off this mortal coil.
It is difficult to say that a particular burial policy for seniors is the best, but with a little homework and some diligent search, it is possible to find a suitable burial or funeral life insurance policy for a senior that is best for their peculiar needs.
And note: It’s always wise to cross check the financial rating of the company before buying their policy.