MetLife was advertising for "final expense insurance" on CNN the other day. A 30's something woman is talking to her 60's something mother. "Let's make the call together," she says, after her father has had a minor household accident. How would you like it, by the way, if your kids started to talk to you about your funeral arrangements after you slipped in the tub? The ad manages to catch the shit-faced grin on the daughter's face as her mother agrees to pay as little as $10 a month to make sure that her Goneril will be spared the kind of bills that could wipe her out if mom croaks. It's hard to imagine how $10 a month is going to do the trick, unless Mom starts paying for her own death rites when she's still a tyke or the extent of the coverage will be the transportation fee for taking mom's ashes to Potter's Field. The fact is that while elderly people who overstay their welcome are increasingly milking their baby boomers dry--due to advances in medical care which are extending longevity to increasingly unwieldy limits--the expense of giving mom or dad a proper send-off are escalating as funerals become an ever more lucrative business. Anyway back to the MetLife commercial and the question of "final expense insurance." Hopefully no one will be prevented from getting such coverage due to pre-existing conditions, although as Insure.com notes,
"People who have a serious health problem may receive a policy with 'graded death benefit,' which means the coverage amount increases over time and your beneficiaries won't receive the full face value if you die within the first few years of the policy."
One final observation: if you're an actor you probably won't relish being selected for the role of the mature person in future versions of the commercial. No one wants to be cast because they look like they're about to kick.
(Photo: Walmart's Star Legacy, 18 Gauge Midnight Blue)
{This was originally posted to The Screaming Pope, Francis Levy blog or rants and reactions to c contemporary politics, art and culture}