It’s hard to think about, but one day you will die. And when that day comes, your loved ones will have to bear the burden of your funeral costs. The average funeral in the United States costs around $8,000, and that number is only going up! If you want to ensure that your loved ones are not left with a massive bill after you die, it’s important to purchase burial insurance or final expense life insurance. In this blog post, we will discuss the cost of funerals in 2022 and how best to prepare for them.
What is Surprising?
How unprepared many folks are to learn just how expensive it can be to bury or cremate someone nowadays. Especially in a respectable and dignified manner.
This is why…
We wanted to take a moment and discuss how much it might cost to bury a loved one so that you can gain a better understanding of why you may want to consider purchasing a final expense or burial life insurance policy.
2022 is not that far away and the average funeral costs are only going up!
Did You Know?
The cost of a funeral has gone up more than 50% in the last ten years!
Inflation affects all aspects of life, and funerals are no different. The average cost of a funeral was just over $8000 in 2020. This is a significant increase from $5000 in 2010.
What Does the Future Hold?
While no one can say for certain, it is reasonable to expect that the cost of funerals will continue to rise in the coming years. This is why it is more important than ever to plan and purchase burial insurance or final expense life insurance.
Burial insurance is a type of whole life insurance that is specifically designed to cover the costs of your funeral. Final expense life insurance is another term for burial insurance. Both types of policies are relatively inexpensive and can be purchased by people of all ages.
Policies typically range from $5000 to $25000, depending on the age and health of the applicant.
If you are thinking about purchasing a policy, it is important to shop around and compare rates from different companies. It is also important to make sure that the company you choose is reputable and has a good rating with the Better Business Bureau.
When looking for a policy, be sure to ask about any riders or additional benefits that may be available. Riders are additional benefits that can be added to your policy for an additional cost.
Some common riders include:
- Accelerated death benefit rider: This rider allows you to access a portion of your death benefit while you are still alive if you are diagnosed with a terminal illness.
- Child rider: This rider provides coverage for your children at a discounted rate.
- Spouse rider: This rider provides coverage for your spouse at a discounted rate.
Purchasing burial insurance or final expense life insurance is one of the best ways to prepare for the future and protect your loved ones from financial burdens. If you are unsure about which type of policy is right for you.
Quick Lists of Some of The Services:
- Funeral Home Service
- Embalming
- Body preparation (cosmetics and hair)
- Viewing fees
- Service fees
- Transportation for close family members
- Programs
- Photo display
- Flowers
- Catering
- Casket
- Vault
- Burial plot
- Tombstone
- Hearse
- Cremation
- Urn
- Burial plot
Now clearly…
Not everyone will have all of these expenses when they die (for example, you will either need a casket or an urn, not typically both), but most of the items on this list will add up.
And of course, there are options.
Cremation vs Burial
This is the one major choice that usually lies with the deceased. Hopefully, it has been discussed and decided upon before death because it’s very personal.
Many things, like religion and belief systems, can influence the decision.
In addition to it playing a vital role in deciding where a person’s final remains spend eternity, it also impacts the cost.
In general…
What you’re likely to find is that cremation is going to be much more affordable than a traditional burial.
This is because when you cremate a body, you don’t have to account for a burial plot, casket, transportation of a casket, and embalming.
You see…
With cremation, all you have to account for is the cost of cremation, a cremation casket, and the cost of an urn. This is why a cremation can cost as little as one-third the price of burial.
The average cost of burying a body is roughly $7000, and the cost of cremation is about $1800-2000. These costs can and often will vary depending on one’s location.
Service Fees
If you are an active member of a religious community, you may not have to pay – or at least the fee will be nominal – to use the religious building for the service. However, this is only likely the case if you are truly invested in the community.
Most people, however, do have to pay for funeral service, whether it be held at a religious or non-religious venue.
On average, this costs somewhere between $500-2000, depending on the type of facility.
Viewing Fees
Body viewings are sometimes on a different day than the actual funeral, which means an additional cost.
Sometimes, even if the viewing is on the same day as the funeral, the facility where you have the funeral will charge additional fees because they have to make further arrangements to allow for the viewing.
On average, body viewing fees range from $300-500.
Caskets
Caskets are kind of like cars – they come in all categories, from basic to luxurious. Hemp caskets are a new, affordable option, and they can cost as low as $1200.
However, the average cost of a mid-range casket is $2,500. High-end caskets can even cost as much as $10,000 or more.
This is one area where grieving family members might get convinced into spending more money than is necessary.
After all…
When you lose someone, you want to do anything you can, and the casket business is a business just like any other – they’ll do their best to upsell.
This is why some people decide to choose their casket before their death – to ensure their family doesn’t spend a ton of unnecessary money on the “best” one.
Burial Plot
Burial plots are just like real estate. In cities where land costs more, so do burial plots. In small towns or rural areas, the cost of a burial plot is significantly less.
The average cost of a burial plot can be anywhere from $200-3000.
Transportation
The price of renting a hearse and renting transportation for family members is again an area that can vary significantly.
If you want a brand-new hearse, it’s going to cost more to rent.
Furthermore…
If you want to transport your relatives in limos, that too is an expense. Now it is not mandatory to provide transportation for close family members, but it’s often done because people are too distraught to drive themselves.
In total, transport rental fees can cost between $300-1500.
Embalming and Prep Fees
Embalming a body is very common in America. This is because funerals typically happen a few days after the person dies. However, in many cultures, a funeral must occur within a short window of time, thus there is no need for embalming a body. If you want to avoid this expense, you can try for a rush funeral; however, it’s probably difficult to accomplish in the United States.
In general…
People aren’t used to it, and even funeral homes likely won’t be able to pull it off. Thus, you’re likely to be stuck with at least basic embalming fees.
Prep fees will depend on whether or not you want an open casket. This is something you should think about long and hard before your funeral – and it’s something to discuss with loved ones you may have to one day bury.
It’s a very personal thing to have people looking at your deceased body. Some people may not even feel comfortable with it.
Regardless…
The cost for embalming a body is roughly $700-800, and basic preparatory work is roughly $300 (if the body is in normal condition i.e. there are no wounds to cover or repair).
General Funeral Service Fees
Funeral homes take care of the basic things such as processing death certificates, filing for benefits, directing the funeral, and communicating with the cemetery and other venues.
On average, this costs about $2000-4000.
The cost of funeral service fees generally varies greatly depending on location. If you are in New York City it’s going to be a lot more expensive than if you are in Mobile, Alabama.
Printed Materials
Most people like to give a program to every person who attends a funeral. The cost of this will depend on things like paper quality, the number of guests, embossing, and color vs. black and white.
In the end, if you know you have the means to take care of everything. You can relax! Give us a call today to get some quotes.