The life insurance unit of Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. is offering a speedy twist on paying death benefits that it claims fills a gap in most Americans’ survivor planning.
Hartford Life Insurance Co. announced Monday a program that accelerates payment of death benefits for consumers protected by its group life insurance policies.
Beneficiaries who use Everest Funeral Planning will get benefits as soon as 48 hours after the funeral home presents Hartford Life with a certificate of death. Typically, the process takes weeks or months while waiting for an official death certificate from a municipal agency.
The program, Life Conversations Express Pay, atte consumers’ needs, said Ron Gendreau, executive vice president of The Hartford’s group benefits division.
“Consumers have told us that they need life insurance to pay for funeral expenses,” Gendreau said. “However, many people don’t realize that the traditional payment of death benefits could take a month or longer.”
The Hartford’s research shows that most people estimate the average cost of a funeral is $8,800. Nearly half of those surveyed (46 percent) said they anticipate using life insurance to pay for an unexpected funeral, and 42 percent said they would use personal savings.
