How much do final expenses typically cost?
Final expenses are the expenses your family pays for your burial or cremation, and for other things you might want at that time, like a gathering to celebrate your life. Although thinking about final expenses can be hard, knowing what they cost and making sure you have a life insurance policy big enough to cover them can help spare your family an expense they might not be able to afford.
And you have choices in how to prepare for paying for final expenses. One option is Funeral Preplanning Insurance which allows you choose funeral products and services, and fund them with the purchase of an insurance policy. Another option is Final Expense Insurance. This type of insurance provides funds directly to your beneficiary to help pay for funeral and other expenses.
What costs more, burial or cremation?
The amount of your final expenses depends on several things, including where you live in the United States and what kind of final arrangements you want. One of the biggest factors can be whether you want a burial or cremation. It is projected that in 2023, 34.5 percent of families will choose burial and a higher percentage of families, 60.5 percent, will choose cremation1. It’s estimated that by 2045 81.4 percent of families will choose cremation2.
One reason cremation is becoming more popular is that can be less expensive than burial. All totaled, a funeral and burial may cost your family more than $10,000. In comparison, a funeral and cremation may be just over $6,000.
According to the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) 2023 Member General Price List Study, “the median cost of a funeral with casket and burial has increased only 5.8% over the past two years (from $7,848 to $8,300) and the media cost of a funeral with cremation, including alternative cremation casket and urn, has increased 8.1% over the past two years (from $5,810 to $6,280).3” You may have additional cemetery, monument or marker costs and charges for things like flowers or an obituary.
Costs of a burial
Here’s the NFDA’s breakdown of burial-related costs in 20233:
- Basic services fee: $2,459
- Removal/transfer of remains to funeral home: $395
- Embalming and other preparations of the body (if there is a viewing) $1,140
- Facility rental and staffing for viewing and funeral ceremony: $1,025
- Hearse: $375
- Service transportation: $175
- Printing for services: $195
- Metal casket: $2,500
Total cost of burial: $8,300
According to the NFDA “the national median cost [the number at which half of the figures fall below and half are above] of a funeral with viewing and cremation in 2023 was $6,280.”
Costs of cremation
- Here’s the NFDA’s breakdown of cremation-related costs in 20233:
- Basic services fee: $2,495
- Removal/transfer of remains to funeral home: $395
- Embalming and other preparations of the body (if there is a viewing) $1,140
- Facility rental and staffing for viewing and funeral ceremony: $1,025
- Service transportation: $175
- Printing for services: $195
- Cremation fee (if firm uses a third-party crematory): $400
- Alternative cremation container: $160
- Urn: $295
Total cost of cremation: $6,280
Additional final expenses besides the burial, cremation and funeral
The totals above represent the basic needs for final arrangements. Depending on what your or your family want, things like burial plots, grave markers or headstones, and caskets can increase the price. There may also be expenses in addition to the ones specifically for burial or cremation. They might include:
- Covering the cost of travel for family and loved ones so they can attend a service
- Catered meals and other expenses for a celebration of your life after the service
- Purchase of special outfits for the service
Finding the right insurance policy
Once you have a good idea what your final expenses will be, you can help prepare for them with the right insurance policy. That way, your family may not be as weighted down with the expenses. Many of the best term life insurance policies also offer burial insurance or final expense insurance. That coverage can be added to your existing policy (what’s known as a “rider”). Or you can purchase a burial insurance policy separate from your main policy.
The choice between burial and cremation or Funeral Preplanning Insurance and Final Expense Insurance are all deeply personal. By taking a thoughtful approach to planning for your final affairs, you are helping protect your wishes as well as your loved one’s financial future.
