Cremation Cost in NYC 2023
Are you looking for cremation costs in New York? Or maybe want to get the best cremation price due to managing a funeral budget. This blog post is for you.
The cremation cost depends on various factors like who is performing the cremation, the place of cremation, and what additional services you want with the cremation. The actual cremation services you may choose can be as low as a few hundred dollars to over ten thousand dollars. It means a direct cremation service can save you from huge funeral expenses and give you more control over it.
Want to know more about it? Read the blog post!
What is the average cost of a funeral in New York?
It might be surprising to know that many Americans can’t afford a full funeral service because it is one of the larger expenses they have to face. In addition to this fact, this expense is often ignored and most of them are not prepared for it well before time.
The average cost of a traditional full-service funeral is $8,347 in New York. When you add cemetery fees with it, the cost may go up from $9,000 to $11,000 for a standard funeral service.
That’s the reason why many families can’t afford this expense and go for direct cremations. In recent years in the USA, people have sought direct cremation as a reasonable end-of-life alternative instead of a traditional funeral service. When people find out that direct cremation can be arranged for $1,400 in most cities in New York and as less as $495 in some places, then they would ultimately turn to cremation in the state of New York.
Also Read: How much does cremation costs 2020-21?
What are the different types of cremation?
Four different types of cremation are available nowadays. Among them, the most expensive one is cremation with a traditional funeral service.
1- Cremation with a Traditional Funeral Service
Cremation with a traditional funeral service comes with a place where a conventional funeral is held, along with a viewing of the body. But it does not include burial because after the service body is cremated and the ashes of the remains are handed over to the family.
2- Cremation with a Memorial Service
In this type of cremation, the services are held at a funeral home and the remains of the body are not present. It is less expensive as compared to cremation with funeral services as the body has no need to be embalmed or prepared for viewing. Moreover, there is no need for a casket whether bought or rented for the service.
3- Direct Cremation
It could be a good choice for those who have a small budget as the cremation comes without a service. Direct cremation means having a less traditional service at home or the ashes are scattered somewhere meaningful to the body and their surviving family.
4- No-Cost Cremation
The last option is a no-cost cremation in which the body is donated to scientific organizations for research purposes. After that, the body is cremated and returned to the family at no cost.
How to reduce the cost of a cremation?
Although cremation funerals are less expensive than burials, sometimes they get costly. For reasonable pricing, you have to follow some practical steps. Here are some of them:
- Shop around: Call different funeral homes and crematories for price estimates.
- Don’t tell your budget: While collecting information, never tell any provider how much you can spend. Otherwise, they offer you a package that matches your budget.
- Buy the urn from some third party: You are allowed to buy a cremation container (urn) from a third party. You can get affordable urns from online stores like Amazon.
- Rent the casket: When you opt for a viewing, you will need a casket to showcase the body. Rather than buying it, rent the casket for viewing because the casket may range from $2,000 to $10,000 on average.
What are the ways to pay cremation expenses?
Planning your funeral is very important nowadays. It is an act of love and responsibility so that your loved ones do not have to suffer in emotional situations. So you have to think about how the funeral or cremation costs will be paid out.
Following are some of the most practical ways to pay for the funeral of a person.
1- Get a Cremation Insurance
A cremation insurance plan is a small whole-life plan that pays for cremation costs. The plan lasts your entire life and the monthly premiums are leveled. After your death, your beneficiaries will get the tax-free death benefit of the policy. However, there are no restrictions on how they spend the money. But they have to provide a death certificate to be able to collect the money.
2- Plan a Pre-Paid Funeral
It is an agreement directly from any local funeral home service. After you set up your whole funeral, you will get an estimate of the net cost. However, payment options may vary as you can pay it all in cash and be done with it. You can also go for monthly premiums for years. After you die, the funeral home will carry out your last wishes as you designed. It is very different from a final expense insurance policy as in policy, you designated people’s names as a beneficiary, not funeral homes.
3- Put money in a Savings Account
Being a disciplined saver you can put money into a savings account. The money in this account would be specific for your final expenses and you must not touch it in any financial mishap. Otherwise, you will be left with no money for your cremation service. Furthermore, you also have someone else’s name on your account because on your death it will be subjected to the probate process, which requires months to get completed.
4- Set up a Payable on Demand Account
A POD account is a unique bank account having a beneficiary. Upon your death, the amount in the account will ultimately be paid out to your beneficiary. But you have to make sure that your beneficiaries are aware of it so that they can file a claim after your demise.
5- Use Existing Life Insurance Policy
All types of insurance policies provide death benefits to your beneficiaries and that amount can be used to pay for your funeral expenses. Covering final expenses is one of the main reasons for buying a life insurance policy. Just ensure that your life insurance does not expire before you. Some policies like term life expire after a specific time. Ideally, if you want an insurance policy for your funeral expenses you have to buy permanent life insurance.
The Bottom Line
Hope you get an idea about different aspects of cremation costs. Moreover, it is always recommended and advisable to be prepared for your end-life expenses rather than putting the burden on your loved ones. Getting a burial or final expense insurance policy can also be a solution as this policy is designed to pay for your final expenses.