There are two types of contract. Capital funeral insurance where you build up capital which, on your death, will be paid to the beneficiary(ies) designated in the contract. This capital will thus be used to pay all or part of the funeral expenses. While funeral insurance in benefits allows you to finance and organize your funeral by choosing the benefits in advance. In both cases, your wishes will be respected.
You take out funeral insurance individually or as part of a collective contract, contracted by your employer, for a limited period… or not.
Several types of subscription can be considered. For the single payment, you bring the desired capital in one go. If you are able to block a sum of €5,000, this option is the most advantageous: you pay in one go, your capital is revalued annually and the guarantee is for life.
For temporary payments you pay a sum each month, each quarter or each year over a period of 5 to 25 years. If you subscribe early, this option allows you to build up capital without impacting your budget too much.
Finally, lifetime payments are calculated according to your age and the amount of capital envisaged, with a contribution that you pay until your death. On your death, if the contributions paid are not sufficient to constitute the chosen capital, your beneficiaries will still receive the total amount defined at the signing of the contract.
This may seem advantageous, but if the contributions paid exceed the guaranteed capital, your beneficiaries will only receive the chosen capital. The excess contributions will therefore have been paid at a loss.
Planet helps you choose the right funeral insurance.
It is the insurer who will determine the minimum age of subscription. In general, it can be done from the age of 18, although some companies allow it from the age of 16. In all cases, age and state of health are determining factors for drafting a contract and estimating the amount of future contributions. You will generally have to submit to a medical questionnaire, in which you will detail your current situation but also your medical history, with supporting documents.
To have cheaper prices and contributions, it is advisable to subscribe early: the earlier you do it, the less expensive the prices and contributions will be, except for life-type payments. The latter, recommended for a subscriber over the age of 70 years, is risky for a younger insured, between 50 and 60 years old. At these ages, a single or temporary premium is preferable. The capital to be invested is generally 5,000 euros, which includes the funeral (coffin, cremation or burial, repatriation, porters, etc.) and the cremation or burial tax .
In France, the average age for taking out a funeral contract is 62 years old. But nothing prevents you from subscribing before, because the later you subscribe, the higher the amount of your payments will be. It should be noted that some insurers may limit the choice of payment according to age with a limit at 80 or 85 years. Otherwise, the choice of the age of the first contribution is rather flexible. It all depends mainly on the type of payment you want to favor, there are three of them as we saw above.
The temporary payment is made monthly, quarterly or annually. In life you pay periodically until death. In single payment, you pay the entire amount and in one go.
Planet helps you see more clearly in funeral insurance offers.
It is your objective and your situation that will determine in which age group you should subscribe. You must take into account if you are in a relationship, with dependent children or not, if you are married with an age difference, etc.
Taking into account that the funeral guarantee takes effect the day after subscription, the younger the contract is taken out, the lower the amount of the contribution paid will be. Finally, note that some insurers no longer apply guarantees to from a certain age, such as that linked to the total loss of autonomy… It is therefore essential to find out beforehand!