What Does Preneed Mean?
Preneed could be buying a funeral in advance of need, preneed could be telling someone your desires, preneed could be buying an insurance policy for final expenses and completing a plan book, preneed could be making a will or trust instrument, etc.
You see preneed is not a standardized product. It is often packaged and sold differently by funeral homes, cemeteries, insurance companies and other professionals. The variations are dictated by marketing and sales philosophies and the legal environment in each state. So given all these differences, what is preneed?
Preneed can be final expenses or burial insurance, a product that has been around for numerous years and is popular in the southern states. It allows consumers to purchase an insurance policy that will provide them with money for the funerals. (It rarely offers any type of funeral planning guide or options.)
Insurance products sold for final expenses are typically whole life plans offering level premiums payable during the life of the insured and a level benefit. The level benefit means the policy will not increase in value to keep pace with the increasing cost of funerals.
Another preneed plan offers inflation protection features and some type of planning guide. It allows the families to prefund and prearrange. In many cases, the family has made the majority of their arrangements and everything is spelled out except the selection of specific funeral goods and services.
Blair A. Hawkins, Sr.