Burial Insurance
Should I prepay for funeral costs or buy insurance specific for those costs.
Terry Says: If you think you might spend down all your assets before death, then you might consider buying a cemetary lot and prepay expenses now. Just make sure you are dealing with a reputable burial service that will be around when needed. After all, you are paying them now for an expense you hope your family members won’t have to deal with for many years!
In searching for some articles about pricing prepaid funeral expenses, I found this excellent article in U.S. News explaining how to shop carefully for prepaid funeral programs. I think you (and others) will benefit from reading it.
I don’t recommend buying specific “death insurance” as it is generally too expensive. It is appealing, because you can buy it up to age 85. But the insurance company knows for sure it is going to pay out on the policy — pretty soon. So they build in a big profit. If you need life insurance for any other purpose (to take care of your heirs) then you should consult a life insurance expert (www.Accuquote.com is a place to start). If you are too old, or ill to qualify for inexpensive life insurance then either set some money aside for burial purposes or prepay those expenses.