If life insurance wasn’t already confusing enough, now, companies and agents have created new names for their policies to help with marketing. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing because the different names they come up with are pretty much an indication of the coverage the policy provides and why you should buy it.
When you think about it, these marketing terms add purpose to products that have been in the marketplace for a very long time.
Whole Life Insurance
Whole Life Insurance is permanent insurance, designed to cover you from the day the policy is issued until the day you die. There are fixed premiums and a fixed death benefit with this type of life insurance. Whole life also has a cash value savings vehicle that can be accessed for any reason via policy loans and cash withdrawals (partial surrenders).
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Whole Life Insurance
Whole Life Insurance is permanent insurance, designed to cover you from the day the policy is issued until the day you die. There are fixed premiums and a fixed death benefit with this type of life insurance. Whole life also has a cash value savings vehicle that can be accessed for any reason via policy loans and cash withdrawals (partial surrenders).
Whole Life Insurance
Whole Life Insurance is permanent insurance, designed to cover you from the day the policy is issued until the day you die. There are fixed premiums and a fixed death benefit with this type of life insurance. Whole life also has a cash value savings vehicle that can be accessed for any reason via policy loans and cash withdrawals (partial surrenders).
For example, Mortgage Protection insurance is simply a term life insurance policy that is designated to pay off your mortgage when you die. Your purpose for buying the policy is so that you can leave a paid-for home to surviving loved ones.
So, knowing this, it’s easy to figure out that Final Expense insurance is used to pay your final expenses like a funeral, burial, or cremation, rather than pass those expenses on to surviving loved ones.
Whole Life Insurance
Whole Life Insurance is permanent insurance, designed to cover you from the day the policy is issued until the day you die. There are fixed premiums and a fixed death benefit with this type of life insurance. Whole life also has a cash value savings vehicle that can be accessed for any reason via policy loans and cash withdrawals (partial surrenders).
What is Final Expense Insurance?
Whole Life Insurance
Whole Life Insurance is permanent insurance, designed to cover you from the day the policy is issued until the day you die. There are fixed premiums and a fixed death benefit with this type of life insurance. Whole life also has a cash value savings vehicle that can be accessed for any reason via policy loans and cash withdrawals (partial surrenders).
Final expense insurance is typically a whole life insurance policy that is sold to individuals (usually seniors) who want to make certain that their final expenses are paid by the policy death benefit rather than passing on those expenses to friends and loved ones.
The majority of final expense insurance policies are whole life insurance because whole life policies contain guarantees that will last your entire life:
- Guaranteed lifetime death benefit as long as premiums are paid.
- Guaranteed level premium payments. The insurer cannot increase your premiums or cancel your policy even if you are diagnosed with a terminal illness or must live the rest of your life in a nursing home or hospice facility.
- Your policy’s cash value will earn a guaranteed rate of tax-deferred interest that you can access for any reason.
Whole Life Insurance
Whole Life Insurance is permanent insurance, designed to cover you from the day the policy is issued until the day you die. There are fixed premiums and a fixed death benefit with this type of life insurance. Whole life also has a cash value savings vehicle that can be accessed for any reason via policy loans and cash withdrawals (partial surrenders).
What are Final Expenses?
Final expenses are the expenses that need to be paid after your death. Everyone who dies will have final expenses. Yes, these expenses can be paid with any cash or other liquid assets in your estate but in most cases, all of your assets (other than life insurance) will have to go through probate whether or not you have a duly executed will.
Probate can take weeks or months and rarely will a funeral home operator agree to wait that long to get paid.
There are also other final expenses beyond your funeral, burial, or cremation expenses:
- Unpaid medical bills
- Unpaid nursing home costs
- Any outstanding loans where your spouse, family member, or close friend is a co-signor
Whole Life Insurance
Whole Life Insurance is permanent insurance, designed to cover you from the day the policy is issued until the day you die. There are fixed premiums and a fixed death benefit with this type of life insurance. Whole life also has a cash value savings vehicle that can be accessed for any reason via policy loans and cash withdrawals (partial surrenders).
How Much Final Expense Insurance Should I Buy?
The amount of final expense insurance you should buy depends on your financial circumstances and budget. However, you should at least buy enough to cover your funeral or cremation, and if you don’t have a burial plot, you’ll need to cover that as well.
An average funeral generally costs much more than most people think unless they’ve been involved with funeral arrangements or helped to pay for someone else’s funeral and burial.
The average cost of a funeral and burial service today is:
| Fee or Product | Average Cost |
| Basic Funeral Service Fee | $2,300 |
| Transfer or removal of remains to funeral home | $350 |
| Embalming | $775 |
| Other preparation of the body | $275 |
| Facility and staff needed for viewing | $450 |
| Facilities and staff needed for funeral service | $515 |
| Hearse | $350 |
| Service vehicle or Van | $150 |
| Print materials | $185 |
| Metal casket | $2,500 |
| Burial Vault | $1,575 |
| Total Average Cost of Funeral & Burial | $9,425 |
| Burial Plot (public cemetery) | $525 to $2,500 |
| Grave marker | $350 to $3,000 |
Using the average costs listed above, we recommend that prospective clients purchase at least $15,000 in coverage when you consider funeral and burial costs along with a burial plot and marker. Additionally, unless you expect to die within the next couple of years, your costs will likely increase due to inflation.
Whole Life Insurance
Whole Life Insurance is permanent insurance, designed to cover you from the day the policy is issued until the day you die. There are fixed premiums and a fixed death benefit with this type of life insurance. Whole life also has a cash value savings vehicle that can be accessed for any reason via policy loans and cash withdrawals (partial surrenders).
Other Frequently Asked Questions
Unless you are okay with your surviving loved ones paying $12,000 or more to bury you, yes final expense insurance is worth every penny for the peace of mind knowing that you have taken care of your final expenses BEFORE you die.
The short answer is:
· Guaranteed coverage for a lifetime
· Cash value that earns tax-deferred interest
· Peace of mind knowing that your loved ones will not have to cover funeral and burial costs
Your cost for final expense life insurance will depend on your age, health, and death benefit at the time of your application. For example, the cost of a $15,000 policy for a 60-year-old male non-smoker is about $64 per month.
Final Expense insurance, also known as burial or funeral insurance falls under the whole life insurance category. Although some people sell term insurance as final expense insurance, term insurance is not guaranteed for life.
Yes. Since final expense insurance is generally built on whole life insurance, a portion of your premium goes to a cash-value account that earns tax-deferred interest.
Most funeral homes offer pre-need insurance which is a form of life insurance but the funeral home is the beneficiary rather than a loved one whom you trust to handle your funeral with love and care.
Yes. Your beneficiary is not legally required to spend the death benefit on your funeral and burial. For this reason, you should always speak with your beneficiary so he or she is clear on your final wishes.
Typically, final expense insurance is purchased to pay for the insured’s funeral and burial expenses, unpaid medical bills, and nursing home costs that were not covered under health insurance or Medicare.
Whole Life Insurance
Whole Life Insurance is permanent insurance, designed to cover you from the day the policy is issued until the day you die. There are fixed premiums and a fixed death benefit with this type of life insurance. Whole life also has a cash value savings vehicle that can be accessed for any reason via policy loans and cash withdrawals (partial surrenders).
In Conclusion
If you truly care about your surviving loved ones having to pay for your funeral when you die, get the peace of mind that comes from taking care of these expenses in advance with Final Expense insurance.
For more information about Final Expense Insurance, call us during normal business hours at (631) 391-2993 or contact us through our website 24/7.
Whole Life Insurance
Whole Life Insurance is permanent insurance, designed to cover you from the day the policy is issued until the day you die. There are fixed premiums and a fixed death benefit with this type of life insurance. Whole life also has a cash value savings vehicle that can be accessed for any reason via policy loans and cash withdrawals (partial surrenders).