For most people having auto and health insurance is a no-brainer.

But many of those same people have made no arrangements for their finial expenses.

John Hudson and Betty Oliver-Crowe of Green Hills Funeral Home were the program guests of Rotarian Steve Thrash at the Wednesday meeting of the Brundidge Rotary Club.

Oliver-Crowe, who co-manages the Green Hills bereavement support team and counsels families and individuals with their pre-need arrangements, said when a loved one dies, unless prior arrangements have been made, the family is faced with making funeral arrangements that may include difficult personal and financial decisions.

“The family will have to make decisions they may not be prepared to make,” Oliver-Crowe. “But those decisions have to be made even at a time of heartbreak.”

Oliver-Crowe said, if those decisions are made through pre-need planning, the family can avoided those decision-making hardships and, instead, focus on the things their loved one has accomplished and celebrate their life in a memorable way.

She said there is also a financial consideration to final needs pre-planning.

“Funeral costs have gone up 15 percent in the last three years and could continue to go up,” she said. “But, when you invest in a pre-need plan, you are immediately locked in and the cost will not go up.”

The Rotarians were interested in knowing today’s cost of a funeral.

Hudson, who has nearly three decades as a licensed funeral director, said the cost of an in-ground funeral could be as low as $8,500 or as high as $15,000 to $20,000 depending on the services provided.

Hudson also advised the Rotarians on the veterans’ section of Green Hills.

“We are proud of this section that is set aside for veterans,” Hudson said. “At the site, we fly the flags of all branches of military service and we have a cannon that was used in the movie, ‘The Last of the Mohicans.’”

Hudson said, through the Veterans Administration’s U.S. Veterans Burial Benefits program, a Federal Government headstone will be provided free of charge for veteran a who died on active duty or was discharged under conditions other than dishonorable.

“Green Hills will provide a headstone free of charge to the spouse of the veteran,” he said.

Oliver-Crowe and Hudson encouraged the Rotarians to learn more about final needs pre-planning and the benefits to their families.