Funeral directors &/or insurers - is there a plan that would cover multiple family members for burial cost.?

Question

My siblings are trying to figure out a way to cover funeral cost for people in our family who don't have financial means but we don't know who to talk to. Seems like an insurance company or a funeral services would have a plan for this. We have had to take up donations at the funerals to help with this expense. We would like to avoid that in the future. We will pay for it but something that we could be on a 'payment plan' before anything happens - like insurance. Something that would include cover service, plot, etc for multiple family members.

Is there anything like this available or can something be set up. I don't understand why no one has come up with this. It would be a money making proposition (I'd like to know negatives of an 'offering' like this - something that would truely be helpfu to consumers) -

We would pay as a family but it's hard when money issues intrude on an already hard time for a family. So why not pay for it over time.

Answer 1

You have recieved some really BAD answers to this one.

I'm assuming your family has low funds and doesn't want to protect just one person but have an emergency fund that could be used by any one of you.

You can't do that with life insurance or an insured funeral preplan. But you can do it with most cemetery contracts. You can purchase a cemetery space, burial vault, casket, and open/close fee that could be used by anyone that the contract owner wants to allow to use it.

For the funeral service, you will need to just accumulate money in a bank account so that it will not be specific to any one person.

The guy who says buy a few hundred extra in life insurance is probably the worst answer because you would need to buy many, many thousands of dollars extra to even be close to covering future costs. You need an increasing benefit policy that will double in benefit every 12 to 15 years. But that kind of policy would have to be specific to one person so it wouldn't work in your case.

The person saying buy term insurance for a funeral is completely wrong. A lot of these guys are listening to Dave Ramsey but they don't really understand what Dave is telling them. Term should NEVER be bought for funeral coverage. It would never work unless you die at a young age. What Dave is saying is to buy term for protecting your income in case you die at a young age. Then when you are older you will be rich and will no longer need insurance of ANY kind. On Dave's plan you would pay funeral expenses out of your own wealth...not term life insurance.

Answer 2

Nope, doesn't work that way - there are no "group" life insurance policies.

You COULD talk to a funeral director who does prepaid funerals, and set it up so that everyone pays in, oh, $100 a month, and the first person that passes gets the money paid in so far towards their funeral costs . . . but that's really not much more than a savings plan.

No one has come up with this, because it's NOT a money making proposition. A funeral costs, what, $6,000 to $10,000 per person. If you have an OLDER family, you're likely to have a death every other year (great aunts, grandparents, etc) or even more often. You can't take in enough money to cover the costs, most of the time - because the YOUNGER families aren't going to bother buying in (they're better off just opening a savings account, and then they can use the money for ANYTHING.)

Answer 3

I don't feel a full dinner or meal needs to be served after a funeral. I have never been to a gathering, where there was one. I have only seen cold cuts and chips and dips and a potato or macaroni salad. And lemondade or punch for drinking. This has been typical family fare. The gathering was more of an open house, with people drifting in and out during the afternoons. My husband wants both of us cremated. I am against it. But if he does it to me, I'd want to have my ashes scattered over a well known beach I enjoyed going to, to watch families play and enjoy themselves. Even the cremation has risen in price and isn't affordable. I had wanted to be put into a mausileum but that is out of the question now. Being buried together, might not be an option now either. He'll choose the cheapest option, regardless, because he'll have to.

Answer 4

Do't go to any funeral home or cash value insurance policy. If nothing else go get term insurance on all the family for say $15000.00 to cover the expense. or put some money in a high rate of return account and let it grow. when u say pay it over time that is just what the funeral and cash value insurance companies want to hear. So take this to heart. let your money work for you not them. learn the rule of 72... example. 72 divided by 10%= 7.2 yrs and your money will double. that is all those pesky insurance companmies are doing with your money....Stealing your time use of your money....banks do it too so good luck!

Answer 5

You can pre pay I did one for my mother. The funeral director will take all your information and then it is an insurance policy.
When the sad day comes, you do not spend out of pocket.

Answer 6

there family plans for Funeral's in my country so there may be the same in your country call a few Funeral parlors & insurence companys & ask

Answer 7

This is a reason why life ins was invented.

Figure out how much a funeral would cost,add a few hundred to account for inflation, and buy a life ins policy for this amount.