You insure your valuable assets, such as your home and automobiles against damage and loss, usually to the full amount they are worth. Have you taken steps to protect your family’s most valuable asset – YOU? Term life insurance is generally the most affordable way to protect yourself and your family. While your employer may offer you term life insurance, it is likely not your full Economic Life Value.
70% of all households said they would have trouble covering everyday living expenses after several months if the primary wage earner died.
A life insurance policy can provide an umbrella from the financial unknowns if something happens to you. Life insurance is a contract between you and an insurance company. The main purpose of life insurance is to provide a financial benefit to your loved ones in the event of an early death. Life insurance is an easy way to have peace of mind that your family will be protected.
Typical reasons for buying life insurance include:
Whether or not you have dependents, life insurance could be beneficial in future situations. Suppose you had unsettled debt at the time of your death. The death benefit from life insurance could help pay down any existing debt.
In order to plan for and help protect your loved ones in the future, it’s important to think about the financial requirements that may arise with each milestone – throughout career changes, home ownership, and saving a nest egg for you and your spouse or partner.
At this point in your life you may have young children, or teenagers attending college soon that you want to help protect and provide for in the future. You may be faced with concurrent long-term expenses, such as saving for your retirement, while at the same time funding a child’s day care expenses or college tuition.
With your working years nearly complete, now may be the time to help protect your loved ones and strategically allocate your savings. By doing so, you could be better prepared and more comfortable in the years that lie ahead.
Final expense insurance is designed to help provide affordable burial coverage to help cover unplanned bills that your family would otherwise incur after your death.
Burial insurance is different than your typical life insurance policy, as life insurance doesn’t provide an immediate benefit, often taking months and much paperwork. Most people don’t have $10,000 lying around at the time of a typically unplanned death of yourself or a loved one, so final expense insurance is a great way to guarantee you are protected against costly medical bills and funeral expenses. These costs often create even more stress and grief to an already challenging situation.
It’s not a pleasant thing to discuss, but end-of-life expense costs have become astronomical for the average American. End of life costs are known as final expense or burial coverage. The price of attending to and burying a loved one has increased by over 1200% in the last 60 years and almost 320% in the last 30 years.
Facts are facts, but most people still wonder why they need final expense insurance. Here are some key points as to the benefits of a typical Final Expense Policy.
• Coverage options range from $2,500 – $100,000
• Payment is issued within 24-48 hours after a death
• Family beneficiaries can typically use the money for any purpose
• Best for Seniors but policies can be provided for those 25-80 years old
• Premiums are often for low double-digit monthly amounts and do not increase
As you get older, and your kids leave home, most people abandon their term life insurance policy. Term life policies are used to help a spouse or family member pay for a home, replace job income, pay for college and more in the event of an untimely death. Upon retirement age in your 50’s and 60’s, most of these big-ticket items have been paid for. At this point, you are left with no insurance coverage and must adapt to life on a smaller fixed income. Therefore, it makes financial sense to get even a small final expense insurance policy to cover the anticipated $9,000-$10,000 in funeral and other end of life type expenses down the road.
There are a number of advantages to going through a funeral home trust route for planning and pre-paying funeral expenses.
You have control of every detail, from the music to the flowers to the photos that are on display.
Every decision you make about your funeral arrangements is one less thing for your grieving loved ones to worry about.
Like everything else, the cost of funeral merchandise rises over time. Pre-paying allows you to lock in prices.
A funeral plan is an excludable asset by Medicaid, which could help you qualify for benefits.
A prepaid funeral is part of the process of careful estate planning to protect your loved ones from the difficulties of probate.
You have time to approach the funeral planning process thoughtfully, so no one has to be rushed into decisions.
There are some negative aspects to trusting your funeral home with future arrangements. Insufficient consumer protection: Laws protecting consumers from predatory funeral home practices vary from state to state, and you cannot always rely on these laws to protect you or your loved ones.
If you place your assets in an irrevocable trust, you won’t be able to withdraw them in an emergency.
The funeral home cannot make any guarantee that it will still be in business when the time comes to provide services.
If the funeral home has your money, you then have no recourse if they declare bankruptcy or use the funds for their own benefit.
If you decide you want a different service or product, even if it’s something as simple as the choice of flowers, you may not be able to.
In this arrangement, you may be required to name the funeral home as your beneficiary. This gives them the ability to absorb your life insurance payout by adding on extra services and expenses.
With so many details and contingencies, your contract with the funeral home may require the expert eye of a lawyer.
Some third-party costs (like obituary filing and payment of clergy or officiants) may be out of the control of the funeral home.
In many states, funeral homes are not required to refund any part of your prepaid funeral payments if you cancel them or change your mind.
You have control of every detail, from the music to the flowers to the photos that are on display.
Every decision you make about your funeral arrangements is one less thing for your grieving loved ones to worry about.
Like everything else, the cost of funeral merchandise rises over time. Pre-paying allows you to lock in prices.
A funeral plan is an excludable asset by Medicaid, which could help you qualify for benefits.
Your Preminum won't go up and he money will be there when you need it.
One con of final expense insurance is that it is not designed to cover all aspects of the beneficiary’s life. The typical payout for this type of insurance is between $5,000 and $35,000 to cover funerary expenses. The average funeral cost of $8,000 does not include the price of the headstone, cemetery plot, and any end-of-life medical expenses that might be racking up.
Final expense insurance is designed to give your loved one’s peace of mind while dealing with your final arrangements, but it is not intended to support them long after you are gone. Term life insurance or whole life insurance is a better option for anyone looking to provide long support to loved ones after passing due to higher payout benefits.
We do not offer every plan available in your area. Any information we provide is limited to those plans we do offer in your area. Please contact Medicare.gov or 1-800-MEDICARE to get information on all of your options.
