The Burial Insurance Manifesto | Don't Buy Until You Read This (2024)

Welcome to The Burial Insurance Manifesto, the #1 online resource for burial insurance.

A letter from the owner:

Welcome,

This burial insurance resource is the most detailed article that exists completely free of charge on the internet regarding burial insurance. Reading this article will help you create a list of specific questions you can ask to help you feel good at the time you are ready to purchase burial insurance.

Why should you read this? We took the time to explain everything about burial insurance that everyone else isn’t willing to take the time for. Why do they hide this information? Because it takes too long to explain in a one hour sales presentation. It’s human nature to need to understand how something works before you make a purchase decision that feels good. So, we want to represent the gold standard in communicating value to our customers and readers.

Do we earn a commission? Yes, of course we do, but not without first earning your confidence and trust.

What are my true thoughts about discussing death of a loved one?

I understand nobody loves to talk about death, funerals of a loved one, and especially the ins and outs of how burial insurance works, but it’s a reality we all face together on this earth. This is why we spent an incredible amount of time putting this information together for you in one place, a resource you can browse based on the specific information you’re looking for. We (myself included) are all entitled to access all the information about burial insurance before ever making a purchase decision.

• Some people want all the details, and that’s okay.
• Some just want quotes, and that’s okay.
• We believe you should be empowered to make your shopping experience exactly what makes you most comfortable, because that’s the way it should be.

My name is Drew Gurley and I’m the founder of Redbird and have been working in the burial insurance market since 2009, specifically in my home town of St. Louis, MO.

Our team would love the opportunity to earn your business and help you with your burial insurance policy when the time is right, and you are ready. I hope you enjoy the information below and share it with your friends and family as it has been a great resource for thousands of people across the United States.

Thanks for visiting and reading,

Drew

Licensed Agent / Author – St. Louis, MO

Burial Insurance Guide: Table of Contents

Simply click any section below that you would like to learn about.

• What is burial insurance and how much do I need?
• How does burial insurance work?
• How to get burial insurance
• 4 different types of burial insurance
• Top burial insurance companies
• Determining how much burial insurance you need
• Cost of burial insurance
• Sample burial insurance quotes
• Burial insurance for parents
• Burial insurance for seniors
• Burial insurance for seniors over 70, 80, and 90 years old
• What does burial insurance cover and is it worth it?
• How the application process works.
• Compare and Buy Burial Insurance

What are Burial Insurance Policies?

Burial insurance is a whole life insurance policy (whole life is a permanent life insurance policy which means its will never expire and rates will never increase) to insure your loved ones aren’t burdened with your burial and other associated funeral costs. When these policies payout as designed, they provide peace of mind to the surviving family members.

It most commonly comes in the form of traditional life insurance, but can also be purchased through a pre-need funeral plan sold by a licensed pre-need specialist.

How much burial insurance do you need?

This all depends on your preference as well as the debts you need to cover.

According to the National Funeral Directors Association’s cremation and burial report, “the 2021 cremation rate is projected to be 57.5% and the burial rate is projected to be 36.6%.”

The average funeral cost with viewing is $7, 848 and cremation was $6,971. Some say cremation is much less which is true, but these stats take into consideration all associated final expense costs associated with the funeral home such as flowers, death certificates, transportation, etc.

Without getting too detailed, it’s safe to say that a burial insurance policy between $7,000 and $10,000 will work for the majority of people.

Are Burial Insurance policies the same as funeral insurance?

It depends what type of policy you buy.

If you buy funeral insurance directly from a funeral home, then it’s not likely going to be the same as burial insurance purchased from an insurance agent. Most funeral homes sell pre-need plans which allow you to pre purchase your service or the service for a loved one at a predetermined price. A pre-need plan is not a life insurance policy.

A burial insurance policy is most commonly a whole life insurance policy that has a death benefit equivalent to the market rate of a funeral. In some cases, people might use a portion of their term life insurance as well. Solving for funeral insurance can be achieved with a variety of types of life insurance.

In both instances, the insurer is completely different as the policies are completely different.

Are burial insurance policies the same as final expense insurance?

In most cases yes.

If you’re purchasing from an insurance agent, the difference between final expense insurance and burial insurance policies is the name. They are both life insurance products designed to help cover the costs of funeral expenses at the time of a loved one’s death.

And, they are most commonly both going to be whole life insurance products.

Is final expense insurance the same as final expense life insurance?

Yes, these are exactly the same and just used differently by different companies and both are great solution to cover the cost of a funeral service.

Is a burial insurance policy a life insurance policy?

Yes, traditional burial insurance policies sold by an insurance agent is a life insurance policy and both pay a death benefit. Companies use marketing terms that often just confuse you.

If it’s sold by a insurance agent, it’s going to be a life insurance policy regardless if it’s marketed as funeral insurance or burial insurance policies. And, as with all life insurance policies, you have a 30 day free look period that allows you to cancel for any reason and get 100% of your money back.

Hopefully this simplifies the confusion.

Four main types of burial insurance

So, how does burial insurance work?

There are four main types of burial insurance you can qualify for based on a short health history questionnaire, also known as underwriting which is the key for the insurance provider to issue life insurance.

Nearly all insurance providers that offer burial plans will offer plans that are simplified issue, this means you complete a short questionnaire which is then verified in the underwriting department and given an instant decision of acceptance. All of this is done with out requiring a medical exam.

Below is a quick look at how each of these types of burial plans work.

1. Level Benefit (Least Expensive)
2. Graded Benefit
3. Modified Benefit
4. Guaranteed Issue (Most Expensive)

Level Benefit Burial Insurance Policies (Day One Coverage)

This is the type of expense coverage that will pay the full amount of the life insurance benefit starting immediately upon approval. Level benefit plans are often referred to as low cost burial insurance as they are the cheapest way to qualify.

For example, if you purchase a level benefit burial insurance plan, based on the average cost of $12,000 for a funeral ($12,000), your family will receive the death benefit of $12,000 when you pass away.

Level benefit burial plans are the lowest cost and are available through many burial insurance companies. It’s important to always shop the various plans to make sure you’re getting the best burial plan company.

How much burial insurance is needed for a $12,000 funeral? If you have a level benefit policy, you’ll need $12,000 in burial insurance.

Unfortunately, not everyone pass the underwriting questions for level benefit burial plans, so there are other options to be considered.

View Sample Quotes

Graded Benefit Burial Insurance Policies

The next low cost burial insurance is the graded plan.

Graded burial insurance is used when certain pre-existing health conditions exist and are discovered during the health history assessment. “Graded” means these plans do not pay the full death benefit amount immediately upon approve

For example, if the amount of coverage was a $10,000 burial insurance policy for an average funeral that has a graded benefit, your family’s payout would have a structured payout over two-year period as follows:

• • If you pass away in Year 1 = 30% of the $10,000, or $3,000, would be paid to your beneficiary from the final expense policy.
  • If you pass away in Year 2 = 70% of the $10,000, or $7,000, would be paid to your beneficiary.
  • Year 3 = 100% of the $10,000 payout is paid to your beneficiary.

How much burial insurance is needed if you have a $10,000 funeral and qualify for a graded policy? Using the same math above, you would need a $33,000 ($33,333 x 30% = $10,000) policy to pay out the full cost of the funeral if you passed away within the first year of owning a graded burial insurance policy.

Or, you purchase the graded policy knowing that, unless it’s an accidental death, you’re not likely to pass away until well after the 3^rd policy year.

Different companies have different payout schedules, so it’s important to fully understand before making any purchase decisions.

View Sample Quotes

Modified Benefit Burial Insurance Policies

Modified burial insurance plans are nearly identical to graded plans, except the payout schedule. These plans are still used when you have a pre-existing condition, but the condition poses a higher risk, which results in a reduced payout schedule as follows (using a $10,000 policy as the example):

• Year 1 = Return of your premiums paid to date + 10% interest
• Year 2 = Return of your premiums paid to date + 12% interest
• Year 3 = 100% of the $10,000 payout

The important thing to remember about modified burial insurance plans is that it is worth shopping other insurance companies because you might be able to qualify for a graded plan, which would increase the payout to your family and lower your costs.

Guaranteed Issue Whole Life Insurance or Guaranteed Acceptance Burial Insurance Policies

The last type of burial insurance is called guaranteed issue whole life insurance, also known as guaranteed acceptance. This means there are no health questions whatsoever and everyone who applies is approved. The biggest difference is the waiting period.

Guaranteed issue burial insurance is designed for those with pre-existing conditions that deem them uninsurable for any other type of burial policy. These kinds of conditions may include alzheimer’s, kidney failure, past organ transplant, and other conditions.

These are the types of plans you commonly see sold through the mail. It’s unfortunate that many healthy people are buying these types of plans and putting their family at risk should they pass away in the first 3 years. However, it’s great for those that truly need it to help their loved ones avoid financial burden and cover end-of-life expenses.

Guaranteed issue payout waiting period schedule:

• Year 1 = Return of your premiums paid to date + 5% interest
• Year 2 = Return of your premiums paid to date + 7% interest
• Year 3 = Return of your premiums paid to date + 10% interest
• Year 4 = 100% of the $10,000 payout.

How much burial insurance do you need if you have a guaranteed acceptance policy? In this instance, you shouldn’t try to purchase a larger policy due to the tiered payouts being so low.

This is very important: If you do not have any pre-existing health conditions and your agent isn’t asking health questions during your meeting, you need to speak up so you don’t over pay for your burial insurance. This is why it is so important to shop your options.

View Sample Quotes

How Does Burial Insurance Work?

Now that you understand the 4 different types of burial plans, lets answer your question, “How does burial insurance work?”

Burial insurance works like any other life whole life insurance plan, with a focus being on funding burial expenses.

If the policy holder passes away, their beneficiary will receive a death benefit based on one of the 4 types of burial plans we just listed above which have different types of payout schedules based on the policy type from the insurance providers.

1. Level Benefit (Least Expensive and pays out immediately)
2. Graded Benefit (Pays an increasing percentage of the policy year 1 and year 2
3. Modified Benefit (returns premium plus a small percentage for the first 3 years)
4. Guaranteed Issue (Most Expensive and takes the longest to pay out a full benefit)

Filing a claim for burial insurance

To file a claim with burial insurance, follow these steps.

Step 1: Get copies of death certificates. You will need multiple death certificates to close out the various items in your loved one’s estate.

Step 2: Contact the insurance provider’s claims department at the burial insurance company where the policy is held. You don’t need to know a specific phone number, you can always call the general customer service phone number and simply tell them you need to file a claim.

Step 3: Verify the policy number and request the contact information where you can send a copy of the death certificate.

Top Burial Insurance Providers

Burial insurance is very much a commodity, especially when you consider the total number of burial insurance providers that exist with strong financial ratings. And, you’ll find rates are pretty standard across the various states. For example, someone shopping the best companies in Florida will likely have the same rates whether they are a resident of Florida or a resident of another state. Florida rates could be completely identical to others.

Below is a list of some of the top burial insurance companies that you can expect to offer comparable insurance coverage when shopping. As you’ll see, there are more than 30 companies listed and the top 8 are the companies we recommend the most often to our customers.

How Much Burial Insurance Coverage Do I Need?

Great question.

Everyone has different needs for burial insurance based on their final wishes which ultimately impacts the amount of insurance coverage needed. Below are some questions you should ask yourself to help determine how much burial insurance you need.

1. Do I want a burial or cremation?
2. How far is my funeral home from my house (Transportation fees only cover within a specific radius and then prices drastically increase)?
3. What type of headstone should I choose?
4. How many death certificates will my family need to close my estate?
5. What types of services do I want the funeral director to provide?
6. Do I want to be embalmed (not required in all states)?
7. Should I have a visitation? And, for how long?
8. What other types of funeral home facilities will my family need to use?
9. If I’m not using my local funeral home, what will it cost for them to transport me to another funeral home?
10. What type of casket should I choose?

There are many elements that contribute to the cost of your burial which is why it’s so important to review before making a purchase decision. Every funeral home is required to have a general price list available upon request. You can use that as a guide to determine how much burial insurance you need.

As we mentioned at the top of the article, the NFDA stated the average funeral cost in 2021 was around $7,848.

How to Get Burial Insurance

Once you have determined how much burial insurance you need, the next step is figuring out how to get a burial insurance policy.

There are three main ways to get burial insurance:

1. Online
2. Through the Mail
3. Meeting with an agent (face-to-face or over the phone)

Lets review all three options.

Online Burial Insurance Comparison Tools

Shopping online for burial insurance is extremely easy as the internet has aggregated the best burial insurance companies for you to review. There are different types of quote comparison tools, but they all basically work the same way.

Learning how to get burial insurance is simple.

• Find a burial insurance policy comparison tool.
• Enter the required information such as your date of birth, gender, resident state and insurance coverage amount.
• Choose your health class:
  • Preferred health class is for those of you who do not have pre-existing conditions or family history of heart disease or cancer that resulted in death prior to age 60.
  • Standard health class is used if you have moderate health conditions such as being overweight, controlled type II diabetes, or something like depression or anxiety disorder.
  • Guaranteed issue or guaranteed acceptance is a class we mentioned earlier that should be used when pre-existing conditions exist that would otherwise classify you as uninsurable.
• Review your options based on the information you provided.
• Complete a trial application.
• Confirm the options with an independent agent over the phone.

Once you have completed these steps, you can finalize and get instant approval from the burial insurance company directly over the phone. It’s very simple and easy, and never requires you to leave your home.

Get Burial Insurance Through the Mail

A common way some people get burial insurance is by simply signing up through a letter they receive in the mail. While this may be a simple way to get your burial policy, we caution you against this method as burial insurance sold through the mail isn’t always the best policy for you and your family.

Mail order burial insurance typically doesn’t require any health questions. As we discussed earlier, if there are no health questions asked, it means you are getting a guaranteed issue burial policy. If you are healthy, the last thing you should do is take a guaranteed issue burial policy due to the three-year waiting period.

Remember this important rule of thumb: the more health questions on the underwriting questionnaire that you are willing to answer, the cheaper your burial insurance will be.

Make sure if you’re getting burial insurance through the mail that it’s something that corresponds with your current health condition. If not, you should be speaking with an independent agent or using an online burial insurance comparison tool.

How much burial insurance can you buy through the mail? Typically it’s going to be capped at $10,000-$15,000.

Appointment with a Burial Insurance Agent

The last way to get burial insurance is to meet face-to-face with a burial insurance agent. There are many licensed life insurance agents that are contracted with the state approved burial insurance companies.

They will be able to walk you through your options and help you find the best plan that fits your needs.

How much burial insurance can you buy from an independent agent? As much as you need assuming you can qualify.

How the burial insurance application process works

The application process is relatively simple and pretty similar with most companies that offer these types of plans. Below are the steps you can expect to take when when applying to buy burial insurance.

1. Work with an agent to find the best life insurance plan for you.
2. Review the plans with good financial strength. Mutual of Omaha and AIG are among the best, but there are plenty of others.
3. Complete the health questionnaire which determines good health or bad health based on pre-existing health issues.
4. Review the monthly premium to ensure you can afford it.
5. Choose the day you want your premium payments deducted from your bank account or credit card.
6. Sign the application and in many cases, receive instant approval from the insurance company.
7. Receive your policy 1-10 business days depending if you elect to receive a paper copy in the mail or electronic to your email.

Who Sells Burial Insurance?

Good question.

There are three common types of people who sell burial insurance.

Independent Burial Insurance Agent

Independent means that the agent is not working for a specific burial insurance company, so they can represent many different companies. This is important for you because, in many cases, burial insurance is a commodity and having an independent agent working for you to find the best and least expensive policy will save you money.

There are many A-rated, financially-stable companies that offer burial insurance and, in most cases, it simply comes down to how much burial insurance costs.

Working with an independent agent will allow you to review the best burial insurance companies and choose the policy that fits your needs best. Your agent should supply you with a simple price comparison of your best options.

Also, you can work with an agent from any state as long as they are licensed where you live. For example, if you live in any city like Orlando, Jacksonville, Tampa, Atlanta, etc… and speak to an agent over the phone who lives in New York, they can still help you as long as they have a license to do business in the state of Florida. This is very common for insurance agents to have licenses in multiple states.

Captive Burial Insurance Agent

Captive means the agent works for one company and can only sell burial insurance offered by that one company, meaning that agent won’t be able to help you compare prices of other plans. Some people are okay with that, but it’s important you know your options.

We find in most cases where people work with a captive agent is due to pre-existing policies such as home and auto insurance.

Relationships are important, but at the end of the day, you shouldn’t be overpaying for your burial insurance.

How much burial insurance can captive agents sell? Typically, captive companies only have access to sell up to $25,000 of burial insurance.

Licensed Funeral Director

Licensed funeral directors at your local funeral often sell burial insurance, but their emphasis is more often in selling what are called pre-need plans, which are basically different ways for a customer to pay for their funeral in advance.

The reason for this is that when a funeral home sells a pre-need plan it assumes the customer will hold the funeral at their facility at some point in the future. Having pre-paid business increases the overall value of the funeral home if, for example, it was trying to sell its business to another company. So, for reasons that benefit the funeral home, most of what you will be presented are pre-need plans.

For example, if the average cost of a funeral in the state of Florida or any state for that matter is $10,000 and the funeral home has sold 1,000 pre-paid funerals, they have a future sales value of $10 million. Burial life insurance cannot be assigned a value as burial insurance pays your family directly and not the funeral home.

Talking to a funeral director is a great way to get burial insurance, just make sure you are reviewing all of your options.

How Much Does Burial Insurance Cost?

Now that you have a strong understanding of some of the basics, let’s help you understand the burial insurance cost differences.

Burial insurance cost varies from company to company. Below are some of the reasons burial insurance cost can vary so drastically:

• Advertising. Some companies spend more money on advertising than others. Think about it, how often do you see TV commercials for burial insurance from the same company? They are likely to have higher costs than a company that isn’t spending as much.
• Other lines of business. Burial insurance companies that have other lines of business, such as home and auto or other types of health insurance products, have vastly different financial structures. How those other businesses perform based on external factors such as weather (e.g. hurricanes in Florida) could impact the cost of burial insurance.
• Internal overhead. Like any business, the cost of overhead impacts the costs of products and services. For example, companies that pay higher agent commissions are likely to have higher premiums than companies that pay lower agent commissions. Now you can’t access that information, but it’s clearly a reason you should always shop and get the best burial insurance cost.

Other elements that impact burial insurance cost.

• Age: The younger you are, the cheaper your burial insurance cost.
• Health: The healthier you are, the cheaper your burial insurance cost.
• Plan Type: The longer the health questionnaire, the cheaper your burial insurance cost will likely be.

As you can see, your burial insurance cost can vary not only by company, but by age, health condition and plan type.

Below is a chart that shows you burial insurance cost by category. The important thing to remember here is the more health questions you can answer, the cheaper your burial insurance will be. Level benefit has the most health questions and guaranteed issue has no health questions.

Check out how these burial rates compare:

Sample Burial Insurance Rates for Males: $10,000

Sample Burial Insurance Rates for Females: $10,000

Do you think it makes sense to buy burial insurance while you’re still young and healthy?

What about shopping?

Here is a chart that shows you the cost difference between the top burial insurance companies.

Sample Burial Insurance Rates for 55-Year-old Females: $10,000

With these wide swing of price, do you think you should be working with an independent agent who can shop the top burial insurance companies?

How to Buy Burial Insurance for Parents

Burial costs cannot only be unexpected, but devastating to a family’s finances. One of the biggest topics for funeral planning is getting burial insurance for parents.

You may think you are prepared to cover your family in the event of your death, but what about your parents? Do they have burial insurance? Are you prepared to pay a lump sum between $8,000 and $20,000 if a tragic accident were to occur?

Getting burial insurance for parents is something all families should consider. Not only is death guaranteed, but the costs of funerals continue to rise every year. Burial insurance for parents should be a priority.

What are the steps to get burial insurance for parents?

Step 1: Find out how much debt they are carrying. This will help you understand the financial exposure you will be left with after their passing. Debt includes car loans, home loans, credit cards, medical bills, etc.

Step 2: Compete a final wishes planner or use an online funeral planner to understand what elements of a burial are important to you.

Step 3: Add up the debt and the associated costs from your funeral planner to get the total burial insurance amount needed.

Step 4: Purchase a burial insurance plan through an insurance comparison website, independent agent, or local funeral home.

Step 5: File your parent’s burial insurance policy in a safe place and review periodically to ensure the insurance amount is sufficient.

This seems like an easy process, but the problem is that if your parents do not currently have burial insurance, there is a high likely hood it’s going to be expensive. To reduce the costs, consider adjusting the items chosen in your parent’s funeral planner.

Low Cost Burial Insurance for Elderly Parents

One of the easiest ways to lower the cost of burial insurance for parents is by eliminating higher costs items in their funeral plan. This can be accomplished using the following steps.

• Buy burial insurance for parents when they are young. Sure, it’s not a fun topic to discuss but burial insurance is cheaper when you buy it young vs. when your parents are senior citizens.
• Consider a different headstone. Maybe a bench headstone is too expensive and a simpler design such as flush or lawn-level marker will provide the same level of respect for your parents. Costs of headstones can vary by the thousands and a simple change can drop the amount of burial insurance needed.
• Choose a pre-existing family plot. Often times families have plots pre-purchased. If this is the case, using the plot will reduce your costs.
• Consider cremation. Cremation is becoming more common as the costs of burials continue to rise. You can still have a memorable service paired with a cremation that will reduce the burial insurance costs for parents.

Getting burial insurance for parents should be a methodical process. Below are some tips for buying burial insurance for elderly parents and senior citizens.

Burial Insurance for Seniors

The older you are, the more you will pay for burial insurance. Why, because there is a higher likelihood you will have some type of pre-existing health condition. Below is a quick glance at cost of burial insurance for seniors. These are sample rates, it’s always important to shop the top burial insurance companies.

Burial Insurance for Seniors over 60

Getting burial insurance as a senior citizen starts when you turn 60. We always advise to buy it while you’re young to lock in the cheap burial insurance rates.

Based on your health, below is a realistic look at what you might be spending each month for your burial insurance policy. The chart is based on non-smoking males from the ages of 60-69. Burial insurance for seniors over 60 certainly increases when you compare the level benefit (healthy) to the graded benefit (unhealthy). If you’re healthy now and need burial insurance, this is a good time to lock in a cheap burial insurance policy with a financially strong company.

Burial Insurance Rates for Seniors Over 60: $12,000 for Male Non-Smoker

Burial Insurance for Seniors over 75

Turning 75 is a milestone and certainly impacts the costs of burial insurance for seniors. If you or your parents are over 75, you’ll want to make sure and shop the top burial insurance companies to get the best rates.

Notice below the burial insurance cost difference from the 75-year-old level to the 75-year-old graded. It’s nearly 70% more expensive.

One of the ways burial insurance for seniors over 70 can be reduced is by shopping the companies. For example, one company might consider you graded if you are an insulin-dependent diabetic, and the other company might consider you for level. This is exactly why you need to shop your plans based on your health, not based on some letter you receive in the mail.

Do you want to spend an extra $70 per month on burial insurance when you don’t have to? We don’t want you to either.

Burial Insurance for Seniors Over 75: $12,000 for Male Non-Smoker

Burial Insurance for Seniors over 80

80 is a tough age to get approved for burial insurance, but it’s not impossible. Fewer companies offer burial insurance for seniors over 80.

As you can see at age 80, the price nearly doubles from level to graded. This is another example of where shopping the top burial insurance companies will ensure you aren’t over spending.

Sample Burial Insurance Rates for Seniors Over 80: $10,000 for Male Non-Smoker

Burial Insurance for Seniors over 90

Getting burial insurance at age 90 is extremely difficult as most insurance companies will not offer coverage. And, those that do typically cap the coverage amount to $5,000. Currently, there are no burial insurance companies offering policies to seniors 90 and over.

We have come across companies in the past that will try to write these policies, but they end up leaving the market, so it’s sort of a waiting game.

If you’re lucky and need life insurance over age 90, then you should call and discuss your options with one of our independent agents.

Sample Burial Insurance Rates for Seniors over 90: $10,000 for Male Non-Smoker

When planned right, you can keep burial insurance costs down by reviewing the companies and always shopping for a second opinion.

What Does Burial Insurance Cover?

Burial insurance is put in place to fund all the associated costs with planning a funeral and burial. Those costs that should be considered when choosing a burial plan are as follows.

• Funeral costs
• Family transportation and lodging
• Paying off debt

Common examples of funeral costs

There are numerous elements that a funeral home will offer / provide which attribute to the overall funeral costs for your loved ones.

Funeral expenses may include:

• Transportation of your loved one from one facility to another
• Caskets
• Embalming
• Flowers
• Facilities rental
• Death certificates
• Opening and closing of the burial plot
• Facility rental
• Funeral Director services
• Flowers
• Drinks / Meals
• Memorial cards
• Head stone or other grave markers
• Vault
• Embalming

Is it Worth It?

This is a great question, but the answer is different from family to family.

Burial insurance is not designed for you, it’s for those you leave behind. Ensuring your loved ones can properly say goodbye and respect your final wishes. However, you don’t necessarily need burial insurance to do that.

So, burial insurance: Is it worth it for you?

Below are some common scenarios we find where burial insurance is worth it:.

1. You have not pre-planned your funeral
2. Your savings doesn’t include enough to cover the costs of a funeral.
3. You do not currently have any life insurance.
4. You are carrying excessive debt.
5. You family and friends are not in the financial position to cover the cost of your burial.
6. You don’t want to be a financial burden on your family when you are gone.

Compare and Buy Burial Insurance

Conclusion

Determining how much burial insurance you need clearly isn’t as cut and dried as it may seem. You need to take the time to shop the top burial insurance companies and ask your agent a lot of questions.

• Are the options you’re showing me the top burial insurance companies?
• Are these cheap burial insurance companies or A rated?
• I appreciate you showing me affordable burial insurance options, but are these the only plans I qualify for?
• Am I better off relying on my social security death benefit vs. buying a $5,000 guaranteed issue policy?
• Does this end-of-life insurance pay out immediately or build cash value?
• Are you showing me final expense or term life insurance?

Ask as many questions as possible to ensure you are getting the best burial insurance plan for your family.