Additions to Life Insurance – Startup Companies Disrupting End of Life Planning

Purchasing life insurance is only one of numerous steps you can take when thinking about your long-term future. While securing life insurance coverage is a great first step, it is by no means your only option in terms of pre-planning your eventual death. There are numerous responsibilities to be taken care of prior to your departure from this earth. From pre-arranging your final social media farewells to writing an online obituary, there are numerous options a forward thinking person can consider in addition to life insurance planning. As with numerous other industries, startup companies are disrupting traditional end of life planning. Following are a few innovative startups within the death industry.

Dead Social

Dead Social is a startup based out of London. Founded by James Norris (Social Media Strategist Ltd), Dead Social allows users to pre-plan the eventual demise of their Facebook and Twitter accounts. Users sign into Dead Social via their existing Facebook and Twitter accounts and pre-arrange their end of life messages. Dead Social users then set up an executor for their Dead Social account. Upon the death of a Dead Social user, their executor then carries out their final wishes by authorizing Dead Social to post their final goodbye messages. Whether it is something as simple as a final farewell tweet on Twitter or an elaborate goodbye post on Facebook, a Dead Social user knows that their final wishes will be carried out according to their specifications. This startup has definitely earned plenty of media attention. Dead Social has been covered by the likes of The Next Web, CNBC, and The Huffington Post.

Ever Plans

Ever Plans is another startup concentrating their efforts on the end of life industry. Founded by Adam Seifer and Abby Schneiderman, this New York City startup wraps up end of life planning in one complete package. Ever Plans allows users to do everything from create a last will and testament to name a power of attorney representative to pre-plan a funeral. By adding Ever Plans to life insurance planning, a user can ensure that all of their final wishes will be attended to properly. No longer will they have to worry if their final memorial will accurately depict their time on this earth. No longer will they have to worry if their final health care wishes will be carried out adequately. Users can even establish trusts in their name via Ever Plans. From long-term health care planning to end of life documents, Ever Plans allows users to take care of all of the important details.

Passing Word

Passing Word is a Boston based startup founded by Andrew Barker. This startup allows both individuals and funeral homes to participate in the creation of e-bituaries. An e-bituary is an online version of an obituary. Users can sign up for Passing Word and create their own e-bituary so that it can be published upon their death. Funeral homes can sign up for Passing Word and offer it as a service to their clients. In terms of offering end of life services to grieving family members, Passing Word allows funeral homes to add one more option to their full-service care packages. Funeral homes can even include their company name and logo as a means of creating brand awareness with anyone that reads an e-bituary. This two-sided approach to end of life planning makes Passing Word a savvy startup worth watching.

These are just a few of the startup companies that are exploring their business futures within the end of life industry. Which of these companies will you be adding to your life insurance planning activities?

Laura Ginn is very interested in life assurance.  She visits uSwitch.com, a leading price comparison website in the UK, to keep her knowledge up to date.