Funeral & Cremation Prepayment & Burial Insurance

• In Pennsylvania, 100% of all funeral and cremation pre-payments must be placed in a third-party account.
• This law was established for the safety and security of you, the consumer.
• It keeps your investment in a third-party account that can only be accessed when needed to pay for your final expenses.
• Pre-funeral and cremation payments should never be paid directly to a funeral home or funeral director.
• Instead, pre-paid funeral and cremation accounts must be established with accredited life insurance companies and/or with accounts established at local banks.
• Both of those options listed above will earn dividends and/or interest, meaning the funds will grow depending on the current growth rates.
• All pre-paid options permit you to designate the accounts as "Irrevocable".
• An "Irrevocable" funeral or cremation account further secures your funds so that they can only ever be used to pay for your final expenses. This designation means your funeral or cremation pre-payment cannot be considered as a cash asset. This is important for people who receive state-funded assistance.
• Keep in mind that by making a pre-paid funeral or cremation account Irrevocable, it means those accounts cannot be cashed in or withdrawn in any way, except for when they are needed to pay for the intended person's final expenses. Neither the investor nor the funeral home can access those monies until they are needed to pay for the intended person's final expenses.
• Irrevocable pre-paid funeral and cremation plans name the funeral home as the beneficiary (and sometimes owner) of the life insurance policy and/or bank account.
• While the "Irrevocable" designation secures your funds only to be used for your final expenses, you can always change the name of the funeral home that will be used to carry out your final arrangements. In short, while the "Irrevocable" designation locks your funds aside only to be used for your final expenses, it doesn't necessarily lock you into the funeral home where the plan was established. This permits you the freedom to take your pre-paid funeral or cremation plan with you if you move away from our service area or if you simply change your mind about which funeral home you want to use.

Over time, inflation will cause funeral costs to increase. But a funeral contract combined with a Preneed insurance plan can offset inflation for the funeral or cremation services you include in your policy — essentially “locking in” the cost at today’s rate. You can either pay the amount in one installment or through monthly premium plans. Upon death, the funds are used to pay the funeral home for your funeral.

Preplanning a funeral or cremation service also allows you time to understand the process and make clear choices that are right for you and your loved ones. You can decide if you want a burial or cremation, select a casket or urn, and even prearrange incidentals at the ceremony like a lunch or special gathering.

Best of all, advance funeral planning makes the entire process easier for your family. Your wishes are spelled out clearly, so it eliminates all the guesswork. They won’t need to wonder what kind of service you wanted or whether you desired a burial vs. cremation. Every detail will be outlined in advance, so they won’t be overwhelmed with choices while grieving.

If you are ready to begin the Pre-Planning process, give us

a call at 1-570-748-4525, or fill in the form below.