Funeral Plans

Consider for a moment what would happen if you or a family member should die suddenly. Besides the obvious emotional turmoil of such event have you thought about the actual financial implications?

If the deceased was the breadwinner in the family, what would the rest of the family do for money? To provide some form of financial security for their family in the case of death, people usually take out some form of life assurance. A life insurance policy pays out an amount of money to the beneficiaries of the insured person which they can then use to live on.

However, life insurance policies usually only payout weeks or months after the insured person has died. The immediate costs associated with the funeral for the deceased need to be covered. This is where funeral plans are needed.

Funeral plans are a type of insurance that covers the immediate costs of a funeral for the deceased. Funerals usually require a casket, transport of the deceased in a hearse, a burial plot, a tombstone, newspaper obituaries and various associated services. All of these things need to be paid for and this is what funeral plans are designed for.

Funeral plans can cover just one person or the whole family and provide varying amounts of cover. When you buy a funeral plan policy cover is usually in affect right away for accidental deaths and for other types of death after a waiting period of 6 to 12 months.

These plans can cover the full cost of the funeral or provide certain services at a discounted price. Depending on the type of policy you choose, the policy will provide for:

- transport of the deceased in a hearse
- transport for funeral goers
- catering for mourners
- tombstones
- caskets
- flowers