If you’ve been researching funeral pre-planning options, you may have come across TruStage — a brand that appears on funeral home websites, through insurance agents, and in credit union channels. TruStage offers two funeral-related insurance products: Funeral Preplanning Insurance and Final Expense Insurance. On the surface, these sound similar to what Legacy of Love offers. Underneath, they are structured very differently — and for one of the two products, the difference has significant consequences for your family.
This article explains how TruStage’s products actually work, where the fundamental structural differences lie, and what those differences mean for you as someone evaluating your options.
TruStage is the consumer-facing brand of CUNA Mutual Group, a large financial services company that built its business serving credit unions and their members. TruStage offers a broad range of insurance products — auto, home, life, annuities — alongside its funeral insurance offerings.
TruStage’s funeral insurance business came through a significant corporate acquisition: in 2021, CUNA Mutual acquired Assurant’s prearranged funeral insurance and final expense business for approximately $1.3 billion. That acquisition brought over 2 million funeral insurance policyholders into the TruStage portfolio. The funeral insurance business operates from Rapid City, South Dakota, and policies are underwritten by CMFG Life Insurance Company.
This background matters because it shapes the distribution model. TruStage reaches funeral insurance consumers primarily through funeral homes and independent marketing organizations — not directly through their own planning service or counselors. The funeral home is not just the place where the plan is executed; in many cases, the funeral home is the entity through which the insurance policy is sold.
TruStage offers two distinct products, and it’s important to understand them separately because they are structurally very different.
Product 1: Funeral Preplanning Insurance
This is TruStage’s core funeral product. Here is how it works: the customer meets with a participating funeral home and selects specific services — the type of service, casket or urn, flowers, music, and other arrangements. TruStage then issues a life insurance policy sized to fund that specific plan at that specific funeral home. The plan locks in prices at today’s costs, which is a genuine financial benefit.
At the time of death, the insurance proceeds go directly to the funeral home to execute the pre-arranged plan.
“If you have a funeral insurance policy, the death benefit will be paid directly to your designated funeral home.” And further: “If a funeral home is listed as your only beneficiary, it’s under no obligation to give any remaining payments to your family or estate.”
The plan is tied to the specific funeral home where it was created. If that funeral home closes, changes ownership, or if you relocate after purchasing the policy, your plan is potentially compromised.
Product 2: Final Expense Insurance
This is TruStage’s more flexible product. The customer gives TruStage a general sense of what they have in mind and TruStage sizes a policy accordingly. At death, the benefit is paid to the named beneficiary — not to a funeral home — to use as they see fit. This product is structurally more similar to Legacy of Love’s burial insurance offering and does not carry the same beneficiary concerns as the Funeral Preplanning Insurance.
The question of who receives the insurance proceeds is not a technical detail. It is the central consumer protection issue in funeral planning — and it is precisely why financial experts consistently warn families to think carefully before prepaying funeral homes directly.
When the funeral home is the beneficiary:
This is not a new concern. It is the same issue that Dave Ramsey, Clark Howard, and AARP have been warning about for years when advising consumers against prepaying funeral homes directly.
Dave Ramsey has said prepaying a funeral home is “a gift to the funeral home.” Clark Howard warns that funds paid to a funeral home carry “no guarantee” if the provider closes or changes. AARP recommends burial insurance and other portable funding vehicles as safer alternatives specifically because of this beneficiary concern.
With Legacy of Love, the beneficiary of every insurance policy is always a family member you designate — never a funeral home. This is a fundamental structural commitment, not a product feature. It means your family retains full control of the funds, any surplus stays in your family, and your plan travels with you regardless of which funeral home your family ultimately chooses.
| Factor | TruStage Funeral Preplanning Insurance | Legacy of Love |
|---|---|---|
| Insurance beneficiary | Funeral home (primary beneficiary) | Family member — always. Never a funeral home. |
| Surplus funds after funeral costs | Funeral home has no obligation to return them | Remain with your named family beneficiary |
| Plan portability | Tied to a specific funeral home | Any licensed funeral home in the United States |
| If funeral home closes or relocates | Plan potentially at risk | No impact — proceeds go to family beneficiary |
| Funeral planning is free | No — must purchase a policy | Yes — completely free with no obligation |
| Pre-planning depth | Detailed plan created with funeral home at time of purchase | Full documented plan: My Final Wishes Binder + secure Online Legacy Vault |
| Online planning option | No — requires funeral home or agent involvement | Yes — fully online or hybrid with local counselor |
| Local planning counselor | No dedicated counselor — funeral home staff only | Dedicated local Legacy of Love counselor included |
| Medicaid-compatible IFT | Not offered | Yes — irrevocable funeral trust available |
| Travel/repatriation protection | Not offered | Yes — Inman Travel Plan (deaths 75+ miles from home) |
| Funeral concierge at time of need | Not offered | Yes — optional Sequoia Concierge logistics management |
| Price lock at today’s costs | Yes — at the participating funeral home | Funding grows with built-in inflation protection |
| Sales model | Through funeral homes and independent agents | Direct — online or with Legacy of Love counselor |
| BBB Accreditation | CUNA Mutual Group — rated A+ by BBB | A+ Accredited — highest BBB rating |
| Insurance carriers | CMFG Life Insurance Company only — single underwriter | Panel of established, financially stable carriers — counselors shop competitively |
| Parent company | CUNA Mutual Group (large financial services) | Independent — no corporate funeral provider affiliation |
Note: The comparison above refers specifically to TruStage’s Funeral Preplanning Insurance product. TruStage’s Final Expense Insurance product — which pays proceeds to a named family beneficiary — is structurally more similar to Legacy of Love’s burial insurance and does not carry the same concerns outlined above.
A fair comparison acknowledges what TruStage does well.
Price lock at a specific funeral home. TruStage Funeral Preplanning Insurance locks in the specific costs of specific services at today’s prices. If you are highly confident you will use a particular funeral home and that funeral home participates in TruStage’s network, this can provide meaningful protection against future price increases at that specific provider. Legacy of Love’s pre-need insurance uses a growing benefit designed to offset inflation broadly, but does not lock in a specific funeral home’s current price list.
Institutional scale and financial strength. CUNA Mutual Group is a large, well-capitalized company with decades of insurance underwriting experience and over 30 million consumers protected across its product lines. The financial stability of the underwriter is not in question.
Final Expense Insurance is a legitimate product. TruStage’s Final Expense Insurance — separate from the Funeral Preplanning product — pays proceeds to a named beneficiary and is a reasonable option for families primarily seeking a flexible death benefit. It does not carry the beneficiary and portability concerns of the Funeral Preplanning product.
The decision comes down to what you are actually trying to accomplish.
TruStage Funeral Preplanning Insurance may suit you if you have a strong, long-standing relationship with a specific local funeral home that participates in TruStage’s network, you have high confidence that funeral home will remain in operation and under the same ownership for the foreseeable future, you are not concerned about portability, and price-locking at that specific provider’s current rates is your primary goal.
Legacy of Love is the stronger choice if you want your family to remain in full control of the insurance proceeds at all times, if portability matters — because you travel frequently, may relocate, or simply want your family to have the freedom to choose any funeral home in the country — if you want a documented, comprehensive pre-plan created while you are alive and clear-headed rather than locked to a single provider’s contract, if you have Medicaid planning needs that require an irrevocable funeral trust, if you want travel protection for deaths away from home, or if you want your planning process to be free with no purchase required.
Legacy of Love’s planning is completely free with no obligation. Your plan is stored securely in your Online Legacy Vault and in your personalized My Final Wishes Binder. If you choose to fund your plan, insurance proceeds go directly to your named family beneficiary — not to any funeral home. Your plan and funding are fully portable and usable at any licensed funeral home in the United States.
There is also a structural advantage worth noting on the insurance side. TruStage’s funeral products are underwritten exclusively by CMFG Life Insurance Company — one carrier, one product set. Legacy of Love’s counselors work with a panel of established, financially stable insurance carriers and can shop that panel competitively to find coverage suited to your age, health profile, and budget. You are not limited to a single carrier’s pricing or underwriting guidelines.
If you currently hold a TruStage Funeral Preplanning Insurance policy and are concerned about the beneficiary structure or portability, review your policy contract carefully. Check whether a contingent beneficiary — a family member — is named in addition to the funeral home as primary beneficiary. Understand what happens to surplus funds if the funeral costs less than the policy benefit, and what your options are if you relocate or if your chosen funeral home changes ownership.
TruStage’s Final Expense Insurance product, which names a family beneficiary directly, does not carry these same concerns. If you are evaluating a switch or an additional policy, Legacy of Love counselors can review your current coverage and help you understand your options at no cost.
Legacy of Love’s funeral planning is completely FREE. Your insurance beneficiary is always a family member you choose. Your plan is portable to any funeral home in the United States.
Start My Free Funeral Plan →TruStage is a legitimate, financially stable company offering real insurance products. Their Final Expense Insurance is a reasonable product that poses no special concerns. But their flagship Funeral Preplanning Insurance — the product most consumers encounter when researching funeral pre-planning — routes the death benefit to the funeral home as the primary beneficiary. TruStage’s own documentation confirms that the funeral home has no obligation to return surplus funds to your family.
That structural reality places TruStage Funeral Preplanning Insurance in the category that financial experts warn families about — not because the company is dishonest, but because the incentive structure is misaligned with the consumer’s interest. Legacy of Love exists to solve exactly that problem: an independent planning service whose insurance proceeds always go to your family, never to a funeral provider.
If you are comparing options, we invite you to start a free Legacy of Love funeral plan here » or call us at 833-888-0355. There is no cost and no obligation.
SOURCES
* Legacy of Love is not affiliated with TruStage, CUNA Mutual Group, or Assurant. Product descriptions are based on publicly available TruStage documentation as of May 2026. Policy terms and features may vary by state. Consumers are encouraged to review their specific policy contract.
