The Average Funeral Now Costs Over $8,000. Here's How Families Are Making Sure Their Children Never Pay a Dime of It.

Ask almost anyone over 60 what they worry about most, and you won't hear much about themselves. You'll hear about their children.

They don't want to be a bother. They don't want anyone fussing over them. And they certainly don't want their kids handed a bill at the worst moment of their lives.

Yet that is exactly what happens in thousands of families every week.

A parent passes. The children gather. And somewhere between the phone calls and the tears, someone has to sit down with the funeral director and figure out how to pay for it.

Most people mean to take care of this. They tell themselves there's still time. They assume it will cost too much, or that they're too old, or that their health will get in the way.

Then another year goes by.

The kindest thing many parents ever do for their children isn't something they say. It's a bill their children never have to see.

What a Funeral Actually Costs Today

Most people guess a funeral costs two or three thousand dollars. The real number is much higher.

According to the National Funeral Directors Association, the median cost of a funeral with viewing and burial is $8,300. Add the burial vault most cemeteries require, and it climbs to $9,995. Even a funeral with cremation has a median cost of $6,280.

Source: National Funeral Directors Association, 2023 General Price List Study (national medians). Does not include the cemetery plot, headstone, flowers, obituary, or reception.

And that's before the cemetery plot, the headstone, the flowers and the obituary. It's also before any final medical bills, a credit card balance, or the last month of rent.

Funeral homes usually expect payment up front, within days. Life doesn't wait for anyone to get organized.

What Happens When There's No Plan

When there's no money set aside, the bill doesn't go away. It goes to the children.

Sometimes one child quietly puts it on a credit card and never says a word. Sometimes siblings argue about who can pay what, at the very moment they should be holding each other up. Sometimes a surviving husband or wife drains the savings they were counting on to live.

And more and more often, families end up posting an online fundraiser or passing around a collection jar at the service, asking friends and neighbors to help bury someone they love.

None of these families did anything wrong. Their loved one just never got around to it.

What Final Expense Insurance Is (In Plain English)

Final expense insurance is a small whole life insurance policy designed for one job: paying for your funeral and the bills you leave behind, so your family doesn't have to.

It isn't the big, complicated life insurance people buy when they have a mortgage and young kids. Coverage amounts are smaller, typically somewhere between $5,000 and $25,000, which is what keeps it affordable.

• ✅Your price never goes up. The monthly premium is locked in the day you're approved.
• ✅Your coverage never goes down. The benefit stays the same for life.
• ✅It doesn't expire. As long as premiums are paid, it stays in force no matter how long you live.
• ✅The money goes straight to the person you choose. Your beneficiary can use it for the funeral, medical bills, debts, or anything else.
• ✅It's paid directly, outside of probate. Your family isn't left waiting months for an estate to be settled.

"But I've Probably Waited Too Long..."

Most people who put this off have a reason. Here are the ones we hear most often, and the honest answers.

Having a Plan vs. Leaving It to Chance

• ✅Speak with a licensed agent at no cost and with no obligation
• ✅No medical exam required for most applicants
• ✅Options for a wide range of ages and health situations
• ✅A price that never goes up and coverage that never goes down
• ✅Understand your options fully before committing to anything

What Customers Are Saying