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Most people don't want to burden their family with the cost of a funeral and other end-of-life expenses after they pass.

Nationally, the average cost of a traditional funeral with a viewing and burial ranges from $7,500 to $10,000, but that does not include the cost of the headstone, which can add thousands to the tab. For a full-service cremation, the national average is closer to $6,200 to $7,000.

These are often unavoidable outlays, so many people choose to purchase a type of inexpensive life insurance policy so that their loved ones won't have to foot final expenses bills later.

Retirees are spending an average of $4,000 a year on out-of-pocket health care costs, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute.

These costs increase significantly at the end of a person's life and particularly if someone has a significant health emergency like a heart attack or is diagnosed with a chronic disease. With this in mind, it's crucial for seniors to have their finances and Medicare insurance, and to supplement that with long-term care and/or critical illness insurance.

Your ability to make a living is your most valuable asset. Without being able to earn a paycheck, most people will quickly run out of funds and be destitute, particularly considering their financial obligations like a mortgage and expenses for their kids.

Whatever your career, having a source of income if you suffer a debilitating work event — or an illness or injury that is non-work related but keeps you from earning — can be the difference between staying in your home or losing it altogether. This is where disability insurance comes in.

As employers continue looking for ways to support a multigenerational workforce with diverse needs, lifestyle spending accounts are emerging as a popular addition to employee benefits programs. 

Originally viewed as an extension of wellness programs, LSAs are broader and more flexible. Here's how they work and why they are so popular among employees.

Nearly half of Americans do not own any stocks or stock-related investments, according to a study.

While people have different reasons for not investing, most understand the importance of building a retirement nest egg and saving for the future. Whatever the reason for staying on the sidelines, those future needs don't disappear. And the longer someone waits to start saving, the harder it is to build wealth for retirement.

Why invest?

Every year, millions of Americans safely enjoy outdoor barbecues, but accidents do happen. 

The majority of grill fires are caused by malfunctioning gas grills. In addition, thousands of people visit emergency rooms every year because they have burned themselves while barbecuing. If a grill fire occurs at your home, will your homeowner's insurance cover it?

As we make these various trips with our kids in the car, you and they may leave things in the car that don't always do well in the heat. And when the sun's beating down, your car turns into an oven, which can also take a toll on your personal belongings.

Below are 10 things you'll want to keep out of your scorching hot vehicle unless you want a hot mess on your hands and challenging cleanup, according to The Weather Channel:

Americans who were cooped up at home during stay-at home orders since the pandemic started have been busy renovating their homes in record numbers.

If you are one of the thousands of people who spent money on home renovations recently and you haven't informed your insurer about it, you should, particularly if those renovations have bolstered the value of your home. What kind of renovations warrant a call to your insurer?

As million-dollar health insurance claims continue to surge, stop-loss insurers that provide excess coverage for self-insured employers are increasingly using a controversial underwriting tactic to limit coverage for high-cost claimants.

The tactic, called "lasering," entails applying a higher deductible or exclusion to a specific individual or condition, like heart failure or cancer. Instead of the normal attachment point applying uniformly across the group, the insurer carves out higher-risk individuals and shifts more financial responsibility back to the employer.

The IRS has raised the maximum amounts employees can funnel into their health savings accounts in 2027, as well as the minimum deductible and maximum out-of-pocket expenses for high-deductible health plans.

Understanding these amounts now can help you get an early start on human resources planning for next year. Here's how to prepare now.

Severe convective storms — commonly known as thunderstorms — are becoming one of the biggest weather threats facing homeowners across much of the U.S.

These storms can develop quickly and bring destructive winds, hail, lightning, flash flooding and tornadoes. Strong winds and lashing rain can damage siding, windows and roofs, while falling branches can cause significant property damage.

How can you protect your home and family?

Some insurers have begun introducing exclusions for artificial intelligence-related claims from standard business insurance policies, creating potential coverage gaps for businesses that rely on AI tools for marketing, customer service, product development or daily operations.

The changes come after the Insurance Services Office, the industry's clearinghouse for policy language, introduced three new artificial intelligence exclusions for commercial general liability policies that insurers are beginning to add to coverage forms. If your organization relies on AI, even lightly, you'll want to review your policy.