While death remains a difficult topic to address, not making a proper plan about the cost of your funeral may leave your loved ones further distressed in the unfortunate event of your passing. Speaking with your loved ones ahead of time and having a detailed end of life planning checklist to include your personal care wishes, your Will, funeral and burial wishes, insurance details, and more, can help to ease the administrative burden on your family at an incredibly difficult time.

The average cost of funerals has been rising and almost doubled in Australia in the last ten years. Data from the funeral industry shows that people who prepared for their funeral in advance were actually able to save costs for their final services. Their loved ones ended up paying less compared to people who did not set up an insurance plan to take care of their burial expenses. As with all insurances, care and attention should be paid when choosing your insurance policy – it is not just a case of picking the first company you see in the directory. You need to read reviews and look carefully at what the policy includes; to ensure that it is the best one for you.

Costs Associated With Burial

There are three major costs with burial. The costs of the funeral service which is typically paid to the funeral director. The cemetery fees and the headstone cost are paid separately but two other major expenses associated with burial.

Funeral Director and Service Cost

The funeral director costs include fees of the director and all costs associate with the service which typically come to a total of $7,000 – $10,000.

Usually, the funeral director’s fees and associated expenses are part of the coverage provided by funeral insurance policy. Make sure to read the policy and ask questions from your agent to be sure about the expenses that will be covered by the insurer.

Headstone Cost

The ceremonial monument and headstone costs can vary based on your preference. People can get the choice between the type of material (metal, stone, marble and granite), design of the headstone and style of engraving.

Costs can range from$1,000 to $10,000 or even higher depending on the selection.

Cemetery Fees

Cemetery fee is made up of two costs; the right of internment and the internment fee.

The right of internment cost is paid for the right to be buried on the relevant plot. When a burial plot is purchased from the cemetery, it does not sell the actual lot to the buyer but merely the right to be buried on the concerned plot.

The internment fee is the cost of opening up and closing the grave, usually performed by the cemetery grave diggers.

Prices of cemetery plots have risen sharply due to reducing supply of land in established cemeteries. The most basic prices start at $4,000 and prices can go up to $20,000 or even higher. The cost of internment service can range from $1,000 to $3,000.

Graves also require grave liners that cost around $500 – $1,000.

Costs Covered by Your Insurance Policy

Depending on your funeral insurance policy you can have one, two or all three types of costs of the complete burial service covered by your policy. This includes the cost of the burial plot, grave marker, internment, embalming or cremation, casket or urn, flowers, cars for the funeral and funeral director fee.

Given that an average burial can cost somewhere up to $19,000, it makes sense to get funeral insurance.  This ensures that your loved ones are not left with any burdens of debt or financial problems after your passing.