In the wake of COVID-19, it is no accident that most of us suddenly were confronted by our mortality. Only as recently as seventeen months ago, when we first heard of the news about it, this disease seems far off. “I don’t think it will reach me”, was what we say to ourselves at that time. There came a point that somebody close to us catches it. The numbers are slowly becoming names. At first, it was acquaintances. In a few weeks, the victims become our relatives. Then all of a sudden, the pandemic reaches your very doorstep. For some of us this is the closest we come face to face with death. COVID-19 does not choose the elderly as its main victims anymore. Everyone can be affected.
COVID-19 is just one of the earth-shaking issues that make us think of our own mortality. In some cases, a simple headache could mean more than just a pain in the head. Just the simple act of crossing a road can be dangerous. The point is, nobody knows what will happen next.
Death works that way. It seems far-off when you were younger. Death is an issue that you can just shrug off when you are young. But then you start to get on with life. You study, get a job, raise a family, and getting on with aging. We are just too busy to notice death sometimes. It is something that you only hear from the news. But as you grow older, grandparents, at first, leave us. Maybe some old friend or an acquaintance. As you drive home after attending a funeral, it then strikes you. Death is something that can happen to anyone. Then you will ask yourself, how if it happens to me? How if it happens to my spouse? Who will take care of my family? How will they take it?
Fortunately for you, there is help. Companies provide insurance for this very purpose. For most of us, burial insurance is one of the most affordable and the most important things you can do for your family so they don’t have to struggle to pay for your funeral and settle your bills. The terms and the total cost is not as large as, say, life insurance. Moreover, it is one of the insurance types that are easiest to acquire. It is an excellent type of insurance for people who only want a small policy and can’t qualify for a larger or less expensive policy because of their age or health. But as cited earlier, death can happen anytime, hence this type of policy can be acquired at a lower the premium cost for the insured if taken at a certain age range.
Getting burial insurance may seem to be a far-fetched suggestion to most of us. Aside from being one of the most affordable types of insurance which can be taken by people with the widest range of conditions and age, there are many more overwhelming reasons why it is important to get a burial insurance policy now.
1. You never know:
No one in the world has a
timeline of when someone will die. Even
for the terminally ill, the exact time of death can’t be determined
exactly. What more for apparently healthy
people like most of us? The numbers
just say the odds are in your favor for a certain age group. But the numbers for accidents are not getting
lower either. Consider it like gambling but with higher odds of winning
whatever happens. That is the role of
insurance companies, to give you protection for a wider range of conditions
than you would normally have if you are not covered. We will go over more benefits of getting
burial assistance along with this article.
2. Funerals are expensive:
The cost of dying is not getting lower. In May 2021, the average total cost of a funeral is $10,000. Factoring in inflation and trends from the last 10 years, it can go as high as $15,000 by 2031. $10,000 does not include common property such as cemetery plots if the option is burial. Cremation costs are substantially lower than burials but this option is limited by religious beliefs and the decision to move forward with cremation depends on the family’s decision regardless of how much it would cost. Moreover, urns (where ashes of the dead are stored in), and columbariums (the places where the urns are interred) will cost as well. The associated cost of a funeral can go even higher if you take into account the loss of productivity of those who will be affected by the event of a death. Having burial costs covered will be a huge respite in these instances.
3. Funds to Specific Needs:
The amount of protection burial insurance affords extends farther than just providing the cash to provide for the burial. As earlier cited, the loss of productivity from those affected by the event can cost much more than the burial itself. This is one way loved ones are protected. Another way is that most people don’t understand that life insurance policies do not usually cover burial expenses. The event of death may involve unforeseen expenses. Life insurance payout may not be enough to cover outstanding debts and hospital-related expenses (or even attorneys). At least the burial expenses themselves are covered.
4. Adaptable Policy:
There will be expenses that may put family members in financial hardship in the event of the death of a loved one, especially for the primary breadwinner. Preneed insurance or other life insurance may not cover the medical bills, legal fees, and other outstanding debts. In this case, burial insurance can be a ready source of funds if so instructed by the insured. This way beneficiaries can spend the money as they see fit to cover, at least, some of these expenses.
5. Burial Insurance is Actually not just Inexpensive, But It Brings a Lot of Value Given The Low Cost:
Compared to life insurance, a burial plan can be purchased for a lower price. A burial insurance policy will not expire as long as you are paying your premium and can be renewed anytime you want. Best of all, it is easy to finance since you do not have to pay at once. Given the cost of burial expenses when you are on a tight budget and can’t afford a standard life insurance policy, this is the best policy that can be taken now to anticipate the issues that will be associated with your passing.
6. Protect Those You Love:
Have you ever imagined an instance, when you have to manage a loved one’s funeral based on the funerals you may have attended? Unless you managed it yourself, the emotions involved run high that you will end up spending much more than for the funerals only to express your love for your dearly departed. Chances are, without a burial plan, managing funeral expenses, among others, will go wrong. This means having burial insurance will free your family from the issues and guilt associated with spending on the service afforded the dead.
7. Speed of Claiming:
All accounts from people who took burial insurance attest to the speed in which they were able to get funds available compared to the time it took to process their claims. This is because of the nature of burial insurance. The insurer guarantees the funds are available once it is needed. This is very important at the event itself. Taking care of burial arrangements will involve so much emotion that many things can go wrong. The availability of cash for burial will help mitigate the suffering of the beneficiary.
8. Take Charge of Planning Your Funeral:
How do you want yourself to be taken care of after you die? Do you prefer to be buried or be cremated? Where would you be buried or your ashes scattered or stored? These are some of the biggest issues that your loved ones are confronted with if this matter was not arranged before your death. The urgency of the moment, coupled with the emotions associated with taking care of your burial, will lead your loved ones to purchase services that might be more expensive than they should be.
9. You Can Use It As A Gift:
Some insurers can let you arrange to leave a portion of your death benefit as a gift to someone special. After the costs associated with your funeral are closed, the leftover money can be relegated as you choose. Since a burial insurance policy is flexible, you may plan to take a comparatively large policy offer then choose services that may probably save money at that point.
10. Easy to Apply:
Burial insurance is among the easiest insurance policies to access. Moreover, you can pick the size of your policy and the type of service you want once you die. Best of all, you can choose from many different service providers while you plan how it will be easier for your loved ones to manage the moment of your passing. Moreover, the younger the insured, the lower the premium payments will be. Everyone can be covered if you opt to.
11. Peace of Mind:
Among the benefits of burial insurance, the best one is what you leave your family, and yourself with, which is peace of mind. Just imagine the scale of problems you can help mitigate now to address something that can happen anytime. There will just be too much that happens at the point of death. Just reflecting on that makes you think of a lot of things. Investing in a burial insurance policy will put that to rest.
Overview:
The purpose of getting burial insurance is to provide for your family, or loved ones, peace of mind in the event of your unexpected passing. Having the rest of your family covered can be a prudent decision because of recent events and the reasons cited in this article. Protection from something unexpected may seem impossible, but burial insurance is one of the best ways you can achieve this. For some of us, our incomes may not be enough to afford a normal life insurance policy. Moreover, a normal life insurance policy, depending on the terms, does not cover the burial expenses themselves. In this case, it can be concluded that for most of us, the best value that can be derived from an insurance policy is through burial insurance.