Death insurance – it sounds as if you can insure yourself against dying. Unfortunately, this is not the case. However, you can insure yourself against the costs that will hit your surviving dependents with full force in the event of your demise. The payments associated with a funeral in particular are often considerable – not to mention any outstanding bills. We show you when it makes sense to take out a funeral insurance policy, where you can find a reputable comparison or test and what it costs.<\/p>\n
How useful is a death insurance? This is what many people ask themselves when they think about their own funeral. After all, the surviving dependents are faced with considerable costs.<\/p>\n
Especially if there is little inheritance or your surviving dependents have little other financial means, a death insurance can make sense.<\/p>\n
However, the term "death benefit insurance" is more of a colloquial term. Correctly one speaks of a "death benefit insurance" – so at least it is offered everywhere. It steps in after the death with a predetermined sum to cover the costs around the funeral. Thus, it works like a "small" life insurance (more precisely, like a term life insurance) without a health check.<\/p>\n
And just like in life insurance, the younger the policyholder, the lower the premiums. This makes death insurance interesting even for people with low incomes.<\/p>\n
Spouses in particular often take out a mutual death insurance policy. This means that they pay into a contract together – the agreed sum is then due as soon as the first of the two partners dies.<\/p>\n
In this way, the remaining spouse is covered. This makes sense especially for married couples, if no large inheritance can be left behind. Or if your partner or your relatives do not have the necessary financial means or are not willing to bear the extensive costs of your funeral.<\/p>\n
This also often applies to married couples without children. After the death of the partner, the other must pay for the entire cost of the funeral. With a death insurance you can be sure that it does not have to go into debt for your funeral.<\/p>\n
When comparing the individual death insurance policies, the costs are decisive for many people. Direct insurers such as HUK, Hannoversche or Ergo-Direkt are usually the cheapest providers. So death insurance does not necessarily have to be taken out with an insurance intermediary. There is no health check anyway – so you do not need any advice in this respect.<\/p>\n
Consumer portals or commercial providers that offer an insurance comparison can help with the comparison. Thus Check24, Verivox and Co have again and again death insurances in the offer and in the test. Nevertheless, these providers do not act independently but on a commission basis. We therefore recommend the page Comparison.org.<\/p>\n
In the reports of the Stiftung Warentest often the HDH came off best. Nevertheless, it is important to compare the current premiums with each other. In addition to the usual insurance groups, also take into account so-called death funds, which have been offering death insurance for many decades already. You can also take out a death insurance policy with several insurers. However, the total amount must not exceed the smallest joint maximum sum offered by one of the companies.<\/p>\n
Offers for death insurance are available from the entry age of 40 years. Keep in mind that, as mentioned, the earlier you sign the contract, the cheaper the monthly premiums will be. However, the longer you pay, the more relative the savings.<\/p>\n
Also remember that there are waiting periods. Death insurance doesn't kick in immediately after you take it out – unless it's proven to be an accidental death. Otherwise, only the premiums paid are refunded in the first six to twelve months (depending on the insurer). And even in the year after, the benefit is often staggered on a monthly basis between 25 and 75 percent of the sum insured. In order to shorten this waiting period or even exclude it altogether, some insurers offer an additional health examination.<\/p>\n
Most policies are taken out by policyholders between the ages of 50 and 60. They often combine this with a visit to the funeral home. In many cases, you can not only arrange details here about how you would like your funeral to go in advance, but also purchase the appropriate death insurance right away. However, there is no comparison then.<\/p>\n
There is a big difference between a death benefit insurance and a term life insurance, both in terms of the sum insured and correspondingly in terms of premiums. These are in each case significantly lower. Finally, no long-term obligations, such as a mortgage, need to be insured, but "only" the one-time expenses for a funeral.<\/p>\n
The cost of a death insurance policy depends on the age of the policyholder when the policy is taken out, as well as the sum insured. Here, most death insurance policies have a minimum and a maximum amount. These are usually between 3.000 euros and 20.000 euros – sometimes they are reduced to 10.000 Euro limited to the top. If you want a higher sum insured, you have to take out a regular term life insurance policy. However, this is usually associated with additional health issues.<\/p>\n
To give you a rough idea of what a death insurance policy costs, we have calculated the premiums for an average sum insured of 7.500 euros broken down. Depending on your age when you sign the contract, you can expect the following average contributions:<\/p>\n
Whether you actually have the sum of 7.500 euros, which is covered on average by a death insurance policy, or more or less, depends on exactly what kind of funeral you have in mind. The more extensive your wishes, the higher the sum insured should be.<\/p>\n
It is therefore a good idea to talk to a funeral director you trust to estimate costs. For comparison, on average, the following minimum amounts can be applied if you want to assume a dignified burial:<\/p>\n
Elaborate ceremonies or a fancy headstone, as well as a coffin made of more expensive wood, can quickly raise the cost to more than 20 depending on the region, however.000 Euro increase. And the cost of the funeral service is not included in the above calculation either.<\/p>\n
A death insurance you pay for your whole life. That's why consumer advocates often criticize the risk of overpayment when you pay in over a long period of time – in other words, that you pay in more than you get paid out over the years.<\/p>\n
As a result, many are turning to bank savings plans as an alternative. However, this has the disadvantage that only the amount paid in and earning interest will be available after your death, which could be too little in the end.<\/p>\n
Still, taking out a death insurance policy is something to consider carefully. Because in retrospect, a cancellation is often only possible with losses. Or you can make the contract non-contributory. This means that you no longer have to pay premiums, but in the event of death only the reserves saved up to that point will be paid out – not the entire sum insured.<\/p>\n
Despite all reservations, the advantages of mortality insurance outweigh the disadvantages for many. These are specifically:<\/p>\n
Death insurance – it sounds as if you can insure yourself against dying. Unfortunately, this is not the case. However, you can insure yourself against the costs that…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n