Life Insurance Blog

“Death cancels everything but truth” – Proverbs

Perhaps when originally written this was true. Unfortunately today, even dying comes with costs attached. And, unless you have a habit of “forgetting your wallet” when gathering with family and friends, you’ll likely want to ensure that you not only go out in style, but you also pick up the tab at your last hurrah.

The cost of death

Funeral Costs

A quick online search will show you that estimates for funeral costs vary greatly, but the consensus appears to be anywhere from $5,000 to $20,000 depending upon variables such as:

• Ash or compost?
• The quality of the box
• The location of the plot (waterfront is not recommended) and accompanying headstone
• How many people care that you’re gone
• The quality of the food and drink they require to help them overcome their sorrow

Legal (Estate) Fees

Because everyone likes a good lawyer joke …

An old man was on his death bed. He wanted badly to take some of his money with him. He called his priest, his doctor and his lawyer to his bedside. “Here’s $30,000 cash to be held by each of you. I trust you to put this in my coffin when I die so I can take all my money with me.”

At the funeral, each man put an envelope in the coffin. Riding away in a limousine, the priest suddenly broke into tears and confessed, “I had only put $20,000 into the envelope because I needed $10,000 for a new baptistery.”

“Well, since we’re confiding in each other,” said the doctor, “I only put $10,000 in the envelope because we needed a new machine at the hospital which cost $20,000.”

The lawyer was aghast. “I’m ashamed of both of you,” he exclaimed. “I want it known that when I put my envelope in that coffin, it held my personal check for the full $30,000.”

In all seriousness though, there can be substantial costs associated with administering your wishes (as specified in your will) after you have died. A lawyers’ time is expensive and even a simple will/estate (where everyone agrees) can require a few thousand dollars.

Your death? Your shout!

If you have sufficient savings that would be accessible in the event of death, and are not earmarked for any other philanthropic purpose, you may not need to worry about how the bills caused by your death will be paid.

However, for those who don’t have a “Don’t open until death” envelope full of cash, another way to ensure you are responsible for covering your own death costs is to take out a small life insurance policy.

If you have debt and/or a family who relies on your income, you probably already have a life insurance policy, in which case you may wish to consider increasing it slightly.

However, even if you have no other need for life insurance you should consider a small life insurance policy to cover funeral and legal expenses at death.

A $50,000 Life Insurance policy for a 40 year old male costs less than 50 cents per day.

Nominating a Beneficiary

One way to ensure your Life Insurance benefit gets paid out quickly is to nominate a beneficiary. If a beneficiary is nominated, the life insurance company will pay that person directly, rather than paying the estate.

What about Funeral Insurance?

Funeral insurance is really just a limited form of life insurance made available to those who are unable to get life insurance due to reasons such as:

• Age
• Medical history

Because of this, Funeral Insurance also tends to be a lot more expensive than life insurance. So if you’re young and healthy enough to get life insurance, you’ll almost certainly get higher cover for a lower price.

How we can help

Our life insurance specialists have access to all Australia’s leading insurance providers. We can help you compare life insurance quotes to ensure you’re getting the cover you need at the best possible price.

Fill out our Comparison Form and we’ll contact you within 24 hours with a free life insurance quote.

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