Burial insurance for ailing dad?

Question

My 53 year old father is in extremely poor health with heart and lung disease, and is on Disability. He has no life insurance and no savings. When the time comes and he passes on, the expenses will more than likely be mine. I am in my early 30's and my husband and I are getting by in this economy, but don't have much at all in savings. Should I look in to burial insurance? What is the best thing for me to do? I know I will be devastated when my dad passes, so I will be in no shape to deal with it then. Please help, I would really appreciate it! Thanks!!

Answer 1

My agent told me he can insure anyone regardless of health.  In some cases policies will pay immediately on others he said full benefits will be payable in two years.

Answer 2

You can go to a funeral home and get a prepaid funeral and set everything up ahead.  Price a couple of them to compare because they can be quite different.  Use whatever moneys he has to pay for it.  Also a grave stone costs.  You can do that ahead, too, or he can and it will help you with less stress when it happens.  But God can heal him.  I would bring him where people pray for the sick and they get well.

Answer 3

Call a local funeral home and inquire there.  Policies may be sold without regard to health or with no waiting period but that is a big question.

Answer 4

first of all I wish your dad the best

but yeah i think burial insurance should be the best option...but never lose hope

Answer 5

My mother made her pre funeral arrangments, 2yrs ago and paid in full with the savings she had..............So no matter how high the price goes she is locked in.

What I would suggest to you is to make dad's prefuneral arrangments and if you have a funeral home that other family members have been threw or one that you preferover the other in your area, if you understand what I mean, ad ask you you can make payments now while dad is alive and maybe if you can you can use some of social security funds if he is not in a nursing home, because in KY they want the payment in 30days but know ins co's. Dont turn around that fast.......Hope this helps

Answer 6

I am in the same situation. I looked into it and it is very expensive. With his age and health issues, the payment per month will be expensive. I know it sucks, but try to put something in savings like me. I know the state allow up to 300-500 towards a funeral if you cannot afford.

Answer 7

A prepaid funeral plan might be the best bet.

Answer 8

There's no Burial Insurance. what you do is to go to a mortuary and cemetary, like forest lawn in Los Angeles (where Marilyn Monroe is buried) to sign up for a burial package for your father. it's much cheaper to buy one while your father is alive than to do it after he passed away. The burial package could include the whole thing, ceremony and burial grounds, etc.

Answer 9

my dad past away easter sunday last year he had insurance and it cost 7000.00 in expenses. you can do a payment plan they will work with you. i did a payment plan when my mom past away. best of luck. sorry your dad is not well. lost both my mom and dad to lung disease.

Answer 10

Pre-planning is less expensive so if you can make arrangements with a funeral home that is connected with a cemetery now it may cost less than when you actually lose your Dad. However, when you attempt pre-planning the funeral homes often try and push the most expensive options so you have to be on guard. It is one option.

It is true that the average funeral cost $6000, so consider that when you are meeting with a funeral director but overspending to bury your father isn't a way to honor him.

Guaranteed life insurance  is an option to help you pay these expenses. These are policies that are sold to people 50 years and older with no medical questionnaires. There are several reputable companies that sell these policies. A friend of mine purchased a $3000 policy on her (then 75 year old) Mom from Gerber Life. The premium was $25 per month.  The catch was if her Mom had died during the first two years the policy was in effective the insurance company would have paid only the total of the monthly premium plus 10%. However, if a person isn't good at savings, this really isn't a bad deal. If you put $25 in a savings account every month, you aren't going to get 10% interest.  When you have a policy, you are forced to make the payments and you make do without the money each month. In my friend's case, her Mom lived a little longer than 2 years, but even if she hadn't the policy benefit would have been helpful.

You can check with AARP for life insurance companies that sell guarantee life insurance polices. Most companies that do business with AARP are reputable. These guaranteed life insurance policies are expensive and you don't want to purchase them unless you expect to lose your love one in the fairly near future. For my friend to have paid $25 per month on a $3000 life insurance policy for a healthy person would have been ridiculous.

Also, the Internet offers ways to minimize burial expenses. Caskets and headstones can be purchased online for 50% less the regular price. They will deliver them wherever you need them in the United States.  

All my best to your father and the rest of your family during this difficult time.

Answer 11

There are numerous burial policies out there. Some will come with a time rider, where they won't pay more than the premiums paid until after a certain amount of time has passed, others are more liberal on their pay-outs. Look around at what options you have, check with AARP, the funeral home, and other sources. A $5k, $7k or $10k policy can make an enormous difference.

As for the cost itself, well he has to get buried. So while you may want to pay for it in order to get the funeral you want, if you don't have the money... he will still get buried and the bill will go to the estate. If he has no assets or estate then that's just one more uncollectable bill. They can't really come after you for that.

Stones cost extra and need to be taken up with the monument company. They are usually handled externally, so even if you don't pay the funeral bill you can later get a stone. I paid $1200 for my mom's, so they aren't terribly expensive.