It is always a hard time when a loved one passes away and the last thing you want to be thinking about are the funeral costs. You want to be spending time with family and friends and have so many things to do such as meet the lawyers, doctors, funeral directors that the last thing you want on your mind is coming up for the cash to pay for a funeral - this is where funeral cover comes in.

Funeral insurance will pay for funeral costs such as casket, ceremony, church hire and more. These can add up to be around $10,000 or more and to try and find that sort of money when there are so many other things to do is hard. The last thing you want is more stress and there is no doubt that financial strain equals stress.

A funeral program consists of many items including: Burial, headstone, transport, coffin, flowers, cloths, embalming and service fees such as the church. You will also need to be guided through this experience by a funeral director who can organise all the different things that need to be done and put them all together.

Funeral insurance will cover a family or an individual: the funeral insurance companies will usually be able to tailor a solution to anyone’s needs. Benefits can include;

• Monthly or fortnightly payment options

• Benefit paid in the event of accidental death

• Premiums stop at age 90 and cover can continue for life

• Cover all your dependent children until they reach age 21

• No medical or health questions to answer

Many funeral cover policies are basically the same with most of them only differing in the payout amount for each item and the price you pay for the insurance cover. For instance, some companies may only provide $5000 worth of cover whilst some may pay you $10,000. Insurance companies either cover a funeral with a lump sum or by item.

Funeral plans can be as low as 80c per day and can cover your while family. The question you have to ask yourself is ‘is it worth it’. Is 80c a day worth saving up to $10k in the future? If you are young and in good health then the answer is probably no, but if you are retired or thinking of retirement then it could be the perfect time to get funeral cover for you and your partner – a small amount each day could be a blessing in the future.