Dying is a business. An inescapable one. So better get ready for when the time comes −which hopefully will not be anytime soon, don’t worry. Many people avoid thinking about their own death as if that could make them deathless. Well, that doesn’t work like that. Death occurs to everyone who has been born and it comes with quite a few complex arrangements we have to take care of before due time. Not managing things well can result on our beloved ones having to deal with them after our painful departure. So what to do to avoid any trouble to others and make sure we have a decent funeral service? Of course, we can always trust our retirement savings will cover the expenses but people tend to die longer nowadays and there is some level of uncertainty about personal finances at the end of the life. What happens if we are not able to live and do things by ourselves but need a personal carer or even a place in a nursing home? That will cost a lot of money that will come out from the savings account month after month until the very last day.
Getting a burial insurance
A much safer option is to get a specific insurance which pays for our burial. To get to that point first we will need to decide whether if we want to be buried or cremated as the cost could be substantially different −cremation stands as a best value option though sometimes the decision is made based on spiritual reasons rather than financial motivations.
Both ways will imply huge money being spent on printing, car service, staff, facilities, embalming, casket or urn, flowers and decoration, church service −if applies, fees, etc. The final amount will be around $7,000 either way in the United States. That proves the insurance worthy no matters what. But what a burial insurance is? In some countries, you can find them as insurance products like a life or a car insurance so they can be sold as separate products. But in some other places is a bit more difficult to find an accurate definition of what burial insurance means so it is more an idea than a real thing you can buy straightaway. In that case, we will need to explore the possibilities life insurances give us to include policies or clauses to guarantee a certain amount of money is used for the burial service when we die, stopping anyone from using it for a different purpose. Whatever the case is, it is very important that we make sure we are getting a good deal.
What the insurance must cover?
In order to be effective and useful when we die, the insurance must secure some if not all of the following key points:
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Make sure you don`t pay more as you get older: it would be tricky if insurance companies made you pay much higher premiums as you get older. You could end up paying a ridiculous amount of money that you could still need to spend when alive.
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Make sure your family do not need to pay any extra money: be careful to estimate accurately the amount will be needed for your burial so you can avoid any extra costs as long as the insurance assures you that.
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Do not leave any paperwork unattended: most burial insurances also cover all the necessary paperwork that will need to be done. Forgetting about something could lead to formal defects which could affect your family as they would be held responsible if the authorities consider it fraud.
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Keep an eye on the fine print: this is more what the insurance must not include. Read carefully so your family will not find out after you die the money you were keeping for them to use it is now blocked because you signed an undesired policy.
It looks like the best way to deal with all this complexity would be not dying. Unfortunately, that is not (yet) possible so it seems a necessity to stress the importance of leaving everything sorted before it is too late −and never is too soon to start with it. Who is dead is dead but no one wants their loved ones to suffer more than they already will as human beings.
References
https://www.protective.com/learning-center/life-insurance/life-insurance-basics/is-burial-insurance-different-from-preneed-funeral-insurance/ https://www.iii.org/article/what-%C2%93burial-insurance%C2%94 https://www.trustedchoice.com/life-insurance/coverage-types/death-funeral-burial/
