Burial Insurance helps insure that your loved ones aren’t burdened with your funeral costs. This coverage generally comes as a part of the life insurance but can be purchased by our healthcare specialists through a pre-need funeral plan.
To be applicable for the Burial Insurance, there is a minimum age limit to qualify, generally this is around 50 (some companies have limits as low as 40). Similarly, there is a limit on the maximum age at which they will sell you a policy; normally this is set for people no older than 80 or 85 years.
There are three main types of burial insurance you can get yourself qualify for based on your health history.
LEVEL BENEFIT BURIAL INSURANCE
Level insurance is the traditional type of insurance plan. It comes into effect immediately and the premiums do not increase with time. It is very comprehensive in nature and provides the most amount of coverage when compared to other insurances.
So, for an example, when you purchase a level benefit burial insurance plan for a $12,000 funeral, your family will receive the benefit of $12,000 when you pass away.
Level benefit burial insurance has the lowest cost and is available for purchase through our healthcare specialists. Unfortunately, not everyone gets qualified for level benefit burial plans. It is therefore important to always familiarize yourself with the various plans, our team will make sure you’re getting the best burial plan that’s fits your needs.
GRADED BENEFIT BURIAL INSURANCE
For the Graded Benefit Burial Insurance, you need to wait for a two-year period after being accepted. The insurance cover applicants who had or are facing health complications. This plan provides lesser coverage and limited underwriting when compared to a traditional plan.
Let’s show you how this works – Now suppose for example you purchased a $12,000 graded benefit burial insurance, your payout for the two years would be structured as follows:
If you pass away in Year One = 30% of the $12,000, or $3,600, would be paid to your beneficiary.
If you pass away in Year Two = 70% of the $12,000, or $8,400, would be paid to your beneficiary.
If you pass away in Year Three = 100% of the $12,000 payout is paid to your beneficiary.
This just means that if something happens to you within the first two years of the policy, the insurance company will not pay the face value of the coverage. While some companies would repay the premiums that you would have paid for the plan, others would repay the premiums plus some interest. You must always keep in mind the benefits period of the graded benefit burial insurance policy because it could have a greater impact on your family’s financial conditions if something happens to you during that period.
GUARANTEED ISSUE BURIAL INSURANCE
The guaranteed issue burial insurance is one such type of coverage that is approved immediately for everyone who applies for it and is designed for those with pre-existing conditions that maybe uninsurable under any other type of burial policy. Since it has drastically lower limit on its protection and has no underwriting, it can be bought within a few hours.
How much should a burial insurance would I be needing?
Burial insurance is based on the different needs of an individual. Following are the factors that you would like to keep in mind when determining how much burial insurance you require:
- Location of the funeral home from your house (Transportation fees only cover within a specific radius and then prices drastically increase)
- Design and Type of the Headstone
- Number of death certificates required to close your estate
- Services desired from the Funeral Director
- Embalming (not required in all states)
- Visitation feature and its duration
- Type of Casket desired
There are several other elements that contribute to the cost of your burial and that’s why it is critical to review each of these before finalizing your plan. Funeral homes generally provide a price list which is available upon request. This can be used as a guide to estimate your burial insurance budget.