The period right after the death of a loved one is always a very stressful time. Not only is the loss of a family member or friend emotionally devastating, but it also comes with financial and legal challenges to deal with. One of the most challenging parts of death is planning the funeral. Life insurance policies are typically intended to cover the costs of a funeral, but it can take time for them to be processed. If you’re in this situation, you are probably wondering if your funeral home will wait for your life insurance payment to come through before they charge you any funeral fees.
Funeral Homes and Life Insurance
The good news is that most funeral homes will wait for a payment from your life insurance policy to come through, before demanding payment for services. They are very used to dealing with this situation and will likely have policies in place for processing payments at a later date. Before committing to a funeral home, you should always check to make sure that they will wait on your life insurance payment and what their policy is about this. While most funeral homes will have no problem with this, there are some that prefer to get the payment in full at the time of the funeral.
Although most funeral homes will accept a late payment, it will come with some strings attached. Some will have you make a down payment for a portion of the cost, while others will have you set up a temporary payment plan. For example, they may ask that you make a partial payment if the life insurance money does not come through after a month. They may make you sign an agreement to pay by a certain date for their own legal protection. If you do not pay for the funeral within a reasonable period of time, there is always a chance that the funeral home could take you to collections.
Another common solution that many funeral homes offer is an advance funding company. The funeral home will partner with an advance funding company, who will provide funding for the funeral until the death benefit comes through. Advanced funding companies are very helpful because they do a lot of work for you during this difficult time. They will contact your insurance company to verify the policy, and once they have received verification, they will fund the funeral until the policy comes through, without any time limits. This is a very helpful solution, and it’s worth searching for companies that offer this option.
Receiving Life Insurance Payment
Making a life insurance claim can be very stressful. It typically takes six to eight weeks for insurance companies to process the claim, verify it, and make the payment. However, the funeral typically needs to happen within a week or two of your loved one’s death. The first thing you should do when your loved one passes away looks into their life insurance policy and make sure it is legitimate. It’s not uncommon for people to stop paying their life insurance premiums, which causes the policy to lapse. Issues with the beneficiaries and or riders limiting the death benefit can cause further problems, which means it will be even longer before you receive the death benefit.
Because of this, it’s important to start looking into the insurance policy as soon as possible. Contact an insurance agent from the company to help you through the process. To submit a life insurance claim, you will need to get a verified copy of the death certificate and then send it to your insurance company. Every insurance company has its own claims process, which is why it’s so important to work with an insurance agent who can help you.
Preventing Future Issues
If you currently have a life insurance policy and are worried about complications with your own funeral, there are a few things you can do now to prevent problems for your loved ones down the road. The first thing is to make sure your policy doesn’t lapse. Stay up to date with your payments, and make sure to review the policy every few years to make sure it still meets your needs. You may need to change beneficiaries after major life events, such as divorce. Additionally, you may want to talk to your beneficiaries and review the policy, as well as letting them know about the claims process for your specific insurer.
If you don’t have life insurance, you can obtain coverage at any age. There are even special policies meant to cover funeral expenses known as final expense life insurance. These are whole life policies with small face amounts mean to cover the costs associated with death but nothing more. Shop around and get a price quote from different life insurance companies before you make a purchase in order to get the best deal.
You also might consider pre-paying for a funeral. Many funeral homes offer this option, which allows you to pay for your funeral in installments before your death. Depending on the funeral home and the price of the funeral, this may be a good option for you. However, it’s important to weigh your options carefully, as these plans can sometimes be much more expensive than just using life insurance on its own.
