People nowadays want to have things personalised including their own funeral. In many countries, it is common for the elderly to pre-plan their funeral because they want it to be conducted according to their wishes. In addition to this, they do not want their loved ones to be troubled with shouldering the responsibility of arranging their funeral. Pre-planning a funeral is fast becoming a trend where a person decides on how their funeral ceremony should take place and whether they want to be buried or cremated. The location of their funeral is also pre-decided and so are other items such as the visitors list, the funeral parlour, flowers, music and décor. Apart from these decisions, there are also some who choose to pay a certain amount to the funeral parlour while pre-planning in order to book a plot for their burial.
Funerals can be costly, which is why many banking institutions have come forward with plans that can actually help families in meeting the funeral costs during their time of loss.
For example, there are two types of funeral Insurance:
Standard Funeral Insurance
Pre-need Funeral Insurance

Both of these insurance plans will help you in planning and setting aside the money required for your funeral arrangements.
STANDARD FUNERAL INSURANCE
Standard funeral insurances are provided in the form of a whole life policy with funds given to the beneficiaries upon the passing of their loved ones to pay for their funeral arrangements costs. The cost of a typical funeral includes expenses for
Funeral parlour services
Transportation of the body and/or those paying respects from the funeral location to the site of burial or cremation
Casket/Coffin
Opening and closing of grave for a burial
Headstone, obituary notice, grave vault, flowers
Cremation procedure
Cremation urn
The beneficiary also has an option to use the funds for other expenses or debts incurred by the deceased such as medical bills, legal services, credit card debts, mortgage, car loans or any other personal loans.

PRE-NEED FUNERAL INSURANCE
Pre-need insurances are provided by life insurance companies but in certain cases can also be provided by funeral companies. However, upon the death of your loved one, these funds are disbursed directly to the funeral company of your choice to carry out the funeral arrangements you had pre-planned. This policy will take care of expenditures including the casket, burial, cemetery plot and other services.
Benefits of pre-need insurance
If you have a standard whole life insurance policy, your appointed beneficiary will receive the insured amount and will have full autonomy on how to spend the money for the funeral arrangement of their loved ones and all other expenses incurred by the deceased. This can be a difficult task when they are already grieving. They will have to decide on the funeral parlour, discuss the funeral details with the funeral director and potentially coordinate other arrangements. It can be overwhelming for the beneficiary during this time of grieving.
This is where the pre-need funeral insurance policy comes in handy and can be a tremendous help to the grieving family because the funeral has been pre-arranged. All funeral arrangement details are worked out prior to the passing of your loved one and decisions are made ahead of time by them so there is no need to stress over how to conduct the funeral in a way that would meet their wishes. The policy covers the full costs of the pre-planned funeral so the family is freed from this responsibility and can focus on the grieving process.
Drawbacks of pre-need insurance
The drawback of this policy is its restricted usage. The funds will be paid directly to the funeral parlour and so your family will not be able to use the funds with flexibility. It can also leave you bonded up to a policy for a longer time if you end up living longer. You may find that it’s better to invest money on your loved ones rather than getting tied up to a policy where your family will not be able to use the funds after your passing. At any time if your plan is not completely funded, your family may have to reconcile the difference.
The other disadvantage of this policy is you will have to pay a predetermined cost for the policy and in such a case it’s better to do market analysis so that you don’t pay extra to the insurance company. It’s essential to know that pre-need policies are non-refundable and non-transferable. So before investing make sure you aren’t overpaying as you will not receive any returns. In addition to this, if the funeral parlour goes bust, you could incur a loss.
To recapitulate, we can say that pre-need policies are a bit pricey whereas in the case of life policy, although the coverage amount is less, you receive far more benefits compared to the pre-need policy.

Choosing a funeral insurance is totally up to you, and is a very important decision, thus you need to consider certain factors, before coming up to a decision.
How much coverage will you require?
Will you need to undergo any medical examination?
Does the policy include support services for the family?
What is the average expenses of a funeral in your area?

Buying insurance should not be taken lightly and you will need to look into all the pros and cons and every detail of the policy to be able to make an informed choice. Make sure you go for a policy that actually supports your reason for investing and the returns can meet your needs.