Final expense insurance speaks to both practical and emotional necessities. Such policies are responsible for paying off your funeral cost so that your loved ones aren’t burdened with bills. In the United States, the cremation cost can be somewhere between $7,000 and $12,000. For some states, this can be as high as $15,000.
Foresters Final Expense or any other burial expense plan will pay to cover the cost when you’re gone. While getting approved for such policies is easy, the trickier part is estimating the coverage you’d need for your funeral.
Type of Expenses After Death
The first thing you need to understand is the type of expenses you’re (or your family members, to be precise) will incur after your death. Basically, there will be two types of expenses. Those are:
- Funeral Expenses
- Family Expenses
Funeral expenses are those that your family members will pay towards your funeral. Those are casket cost, funeral house cost, flower and decor cost, among others. Family expenses are often overlooked. These are those expenses that your family will be responsible for paying when you’re gone. Prime examples are mortgages, college debt repayments, car loan repayment, and things along those lines.
You need to take both types of costs into account when determining coverage.
Funeral costs are not only exclusive for funeral purposes. The beneficiary is allowed to use the amount in whichever way he/she feels right. With that knowledge, you’ll be able to have a better estimate of how much coverage you’d need.
Expenses to Consider
When determining coverage, you need to understand the expenses associated with your funeral. This varies from person to person. The main influencing factors are:
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Type of Cremation
The type of cremation you want determines how much your family will have to incur towards funeral expenses. You can have a funeral with a traditional service, including embalming, speech ceremonies, and casketing. These will push the cost higher. On the other hand, you can opt for direct cremation, which costs the lowest. Therefore, you must first determine what services you want for your cremation.
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Funeral Cost
The type of cremation direct impacts funeral costs. Here’s an approximate price range of each service you may opt for at your funeral:
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- Funeral home service fee – $2000-$2500
- Embalming – $700-$800
- Makeup and hairstyling – $200-300
- Staff members fees – $500-$1000
- Hearse – $300-$400
- Basic printed packages – $150-$250
- Metal casket – $2500-$3000
- Vault – $1300-$1500
By adding up the cost, you get a price range of $7,650 to $9,750. If you want to cover only the funeral cost, you can select a “Preneed Insurance” package. In these policies, you name the funeral home as the beneficiary, and they receive the amount when you pass away.
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Transportation cost
Is the funeral home of your choice located far away from your home? Then your family members will have to arrange special hearse vans to transport your body. Plus, there will be additional staff members engaged in moving your body. Hence, these will add up to the cost.
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Medical bills
If you’re ailing and predict that you might be spending your final days in a hospital bed, then you can add medical bills to your final expenses insurance. In your later years, it’s quite difficult to get insured for medical expenses. You can include the cost in your final expense policy. You can increase the premiums in Foresters Final Expense or any other carrier’s final expense package, thus covering the medical bills.
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Debt
As per surveys, 73% of American consumers die in debt, the average balance of around $61,554. Once you die, this debt is passed on to your family members. If you’re under a debt, no matter what it might be, you can ease some of the pressure from your loved ones by increasing the premium on your final expense policy. After paying off your funeral cost, the residual amount will be transferred to the beneficiary family member who can use it to pay off the debt.
Final Expenses Insurance Cost
On average, a final insurance policy will cost you between $30 and $70. The total coverage on average is $10,000. This is if you’re selecting cremation with traditional service. The more premium you pay, the bigger the coverage amount will be. Females can expect to pay more than their male counterparts. Senior citizens will have to pay more than younger people.
To truly understand the coverage and choose the correct carrier, you must first do some online research and read reviews. Read reviews on Foresters Final Expense policies and other carriers. Lastly, request a quote from agents who are more than happy to offer you a free quotation on request.
