Why Should I Buy Final Expense Insurance?

Chances are, you know someone who has passed away without life insurance and you’ve seen the financial impact that it’s had on that person’s family.

With no money coming in from the life insurance company to pay for the funeral, that family probably had to have a fundraiser to raise the money to pay for the funeral service. They may have had to do a carwash or garage sale, or maybe even set up a Go Fund Me account and ask strangers to donate money to help pay for the funeral.

It’s even common for someone in the family to have to take out a loan from the bank.

Funeral expenses can be very expensive and leaving this bill behind for your family to take care of after you pass can leave them in financial hardship.

Think about it… this will probably be the worst day of your loved one’s life. They’re already grieving and without a final expense policy in place, they’ll have the added stress of coming up with thousands of dollars for funeral costs.

If you’ve ever had to arrange a funeral you already know that funeral homes will require you to pay the full cost of the funeral upfront.

Funeral homes don’t offer financing options.

With the average funeral taking place within one week or less from the time of death, your loved ones won’t have a lot of time to come up with the money for the funeral.

Funeral Costs and Final Expenses

The national median cost of a funeral is $10,000 and can go as high as $20,000.

National Funeral Directors Association statistics give a breakdown of funeral costs for funerals with burial and funerals with cremation.

Even though we show a breakdown of average funeral costs below, it’s important to ask your funeral home about potential extra charges.

Funeral With Burial	Funeral With Cremation
Undeclinable basic service fee: $2,500	Undeclinable basic service fee: $2,500
Metal Casket: $2,500	Cremation casket: $1350
Wood casket: $3,000	Transportation of body: $500 (can be as high as $10,000)
Vault: $1,600	Cremation fee: $375
Transportation of body: $500 (can be as high as $10,000)	Transportation of body: $500 (can be as high as $10,000)
Embalming and body preparation: $1,075	Embalming and body preparation: $1,075
Funeral home fees: $1,500	Funeral home fees: $1,500
Service van/car: $150	Service van/car: $150
Printed memorial materials (basic package): $185	Printed memorial materials (basic package): $185
	Urn: $300

Please keep in mind that these charges don’t include the grave plot, flowers, or obituaries.

Other costs that are not included can be end-of-life expenses such as medical bills, outstanding debts, and probate fees.

FinalExpense of America

I am the CEO and founder of FinalExpense of America. I've been helping clients with insurance products since 2013 and act as a consumer advocate, educating clients and helping them understand the different types of insurance products and how they work. FinalExpense of America is an independent insurance agency that was created to help seniors get advice and honest answers about final expense and whole life insurance products and make sure their buying experience is as easy & friendly as possible.