Why Funeral Insurance Makes Good Sense Many people assume that life insurance will cover all the costs of a death, leaving the family in a good financial position. While a good life insurance policy will definitely accomplish this goal, the payout of these policies is not immediate. This often leaves the family with the very real possibility of having to go into debt to pay for a funeral. One way to avoid this financial crunch for your family at an already very emotional and stressful time is to have funeral insurance coverage. The benefit of funeral insurance in addition to life insurance is that your family will get a significant amount of cash immediately to deal with all the bills, expenses and costs associated with your burial and funeral service. This does not decrease or change the amount of your life insurance benefits either, it is not a direct advance on the other policy, rather it is an additional lump sum of money to provide for expenses. Another key feature of this type of insurance is that it can be extended to include other optional benefits. There are options to provide coverage in the case of a serious accident that caused permanent significant injury. This may include paraplegia, loss of limbs, blindness, deafness and other injuries that would fall under the umbrella of Accidental Serious Injury Insurance. This can also be an addition to a life insurance policy as well, providing total coverage for you and your family when tragedies occur. Determining the person in the family that will be your beneficiary should you have a fatal accident or illness is really up to you with this type of insurance as with life insurance. For many married couples it is the surviving spouse that becomes the beneficiary, but it is really up to the policy holder. Each policyowner will simply have to provide a beneficiary form that provides information to the insurance company as to how the policy will be dispersed upon the policyowner's death. For most policies there are no exclusions to the insurance after one year. During that first year the policy pays out only under conditions when the policyowner dies or became injured due to an accident. This would exclude self-inflicted injuries and death as well as life threatening sicknesses and diseases. After the first year both accidents and illness is fully covered under the insurance policy to the amount selected by the individual taking out the policy. Flexibility in the policy limits allows for benefits of up to fifteen thousand dollars. In the event of an accident the benefit value triples, providing extra funds for loved ones to deal with sudden and unexpected bills and expenses. It is important to consider that the average funeral cost is between four thousand five hundred and five thousand five hundred for a standard cremation service. Generally a burial type of funeral service will be about two thousand dollars more than a cremation, providing the family stays with the basic packages offered. Additions to the packages including floral arrangements and different services can easily double the cost of any type of funeral, so having some type of coverage is essential. Imagine being able to provide your loved ones with the immediate access to the funds they need to quickly and with as little financial stress as possible manage your funeral service. Funeral insurance is really the only way to provide that option, plus it also gives you the opportunity to sit down with your family and discuss your wishes as to your burial or cremation as well as other important factors. Added By WOA Member Email WOA Member Category Finance Author WOA Member Added On 22 February 2010