Burial, or funeral, Expense Insurance is just that, an insurance policy that pays the costs associated with your funeral. The costs of a modest funeral can vary upwards from $5,000 and average around$10,000. There are several different forms of these policies available to assist you with planning for your end-of-life costs.

Funeral expense insurance can be used to pay for the cost of the funeral alone, or it can cover additional final expenses such as outstanding medical bills, legal costs, or any other debts that you owe, such as credit card bills.

Some of the different types of Burial Insurance policies include:

Preneed Funeral Insurance: This is directly or indirectly linked to a funeral service provider. They have installment payment plans for either 1, 3 5, 7, or 10 years and will remain in effect for your entire life after the premiums are paid. These policies can be either a permanent policy or a term insurance policy. Sometimes you can get a free dinner for attending one of their sales seminars.

Final Expense Insurance: This type of policy is not linked to a funeral service provider and tends to be cheaper than preneed funeral insurance. It may consist of either a term or a permanent life insurance policy.

Burial Insurance: This type of policy is usually a term life insurance policy with lower death benefits such as $5,000 to $15,000 dollars. The death benefits are paid to a named beneficiary who can use the death benefits in the manner of their choosing.

Sometimes, you can also factor in funeral coverage in the life insurance policy of your choosing, like:

Term life insurance: This is a type of insurance policy that covers you for a specific period of time such as a 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 or 30 year term. These policies cover death benefits only.

Permanent insurance: This can be purchased as either a whole life policy or a universal life policy, and is more expensive than a term policy. It covers you for your entire life and also comes with a cash value accumulation feature.

Additionally, smaller death benefit policies can be purchased in some “guaranteed” life insurance policies. These policies do not require a medical exam or a medical questionnaire for coverage. These policies will cost more than policies that do require a medical exam. However, they are ideal for those who have a life-threatening or terminal illness and cannot find insurance coverage from a standard insurance carrier.