Recently, there have been national headlines about an alleged $600 million scheme, in Missouri, to defraud investors who purchased pre-paid funeral plans.

The facts of the case: a number of Missouri consumers purchased pre-paid funerals at a set rate (including caskets, services, and burial expenses)-for instance, $5000-to protect their heirs from having to pay for said expenses, as well as to lock in a favorable rate. That is, even if costs rose to $10,000 (these days, $10,000 is actually an average cost) the services would be paid for at the arranged upon-rate.

The company under investigation for the fraud provided false statements of customers’ accounts; their balances had been misappropriated, with funds drained from them-instead of being placed in interest-bearing trust accounts.

What is important to note: what happened here was illegal business practices practiced by unscrupulous professionals. Missouri’s insurance guarantee fund is helping to make up the difference to affected consumers. Most importantly, this example should not be used as a case of an entire industry being suspect.

Buying Missouri burial insurance is a sensible way to ensure that your heirs are not faced with bills, after your death, to cover the cost of a funeral and/or outstanding debts. Standard funeral insurance, available for extremely reasonable rates, covers the costs of services (from casket to services, cars to flowers) and also can satisfy outstanding debts not paid for while you were alive (depending on the policy amount). As such, it provides a measure of security for your heirs.

It is difficult to plan for your own death, without a doubt. However, it’s more difficult for your heirs to have to deal with the sadness of a death and then be forced to confront an expense which might not have been planned for and which can be a big hit to some household budgets. Buying Missouri final expense insurance is a quick one-step process; you need not pick out caskets or anything which might make you feel uncomfortable.

How to protect yourself from being part of the headlines?

Choose a company with an outstanding track record and a history of good business practices (they are rated by outside, independent agencies). Work with an agent that can offer you several options, and who is not tied to one particular company. Talk about what you’d like, and have that agent do the “worrying” and planning for you.