Travel Plan by Inman
The bill
nobody
plans for
When someone dies away from home, the family is suddenly on the phone with a funeral home they have never heard of, in a place they may not know, sometimes in another language, while they are grieving. Just getting their person home runs $1,500 to $22,000, before a dollar of the funeral here. $499, paid once, ends that for life. One call to Inman and it is handled and paid for.
Section 1
Why This Exists
The bill nobody plans for
Almost every arrangement I help with assumes the death happens here. Most of them do. The ones that don't are the ones that go badly.
Think about who in your family is regularly a long way from home. The winter in Arizona. The cruise. The trip back to the Philippines, or Vietnam, or Mexico, to see everybody. A daughter working overseas. A husband who still drives to Montana every fall.
When someone dies in one of those places, the family is on the phone within hours with a funeral home they have never heard of, in a town they may not know, sometimes in another language and another currency. They have to decide fast, they have no idea what anything should cost, and they are doing it in the worst week of their lives.
And the bill for just getting their person home runs $1,500 to $22,000. That is before a single dollar of the funeral back here.
One payment, once, and that whole category of worry is gone
$499, paid one time, covers it for the rest of your life. When it happens, the family makes one call to Inman and it is handled and paid for. That is the whole thing. Everything else on this page is detail.
What the plan is
- 75 miles or more from homeOr anywhere in another country. That is when it applies
- One fee, paid onceNo renewal, no annual bill, nothing that lapses
- Any age, no health questionsNobody is turned down for age or for health
- Unlimited travel, worldwideAs many trips as you like, for as long as you live
Section 2
What the Plan Is
Travel Plan by Inman, in one paragraph
Travel Plan by Inman covers getting a person home if they die 75 miles or more from their legal residence, or anywhere outside the country. You pay once. The coverage lasts the rest of your life.
It is backed by Inman Shipping Worldwide, the largest provider of repatriation services for the deceased in the country. They have been doing this since 1978 and they are owned by funeral directors. Repatriation is just the industry word for bringing a person home.
One fee, paid once
There is no renewal, no annual bill, and nothing that quietly lapses on you.
Any age, no health questions
Nobody is turned down for being too old or for being sick. There is no medical form to fill out.
Unlimited travel
Anywhere in the world, as many trips as you like, for as long as you live.
I can enroll you
I'm a licensed agent through Inman, so we can do this at the same table as everything else.
Section 3
Call Inman First
The one rule that decides whether any of this is covered
Before you arrange anything, call Inman
888-889-8508This is the part I need you to remember, so it is near the front. If someone dies away from home, the family calls Inman before they make any arrangements. Somebody answers that number 24 hours a day, every day of the year, holidays included.
This is not a plan that pays you back later. If the family hires a funeral home where the death happened and calls Inman afterward, those costs aren't covered. Inman has to be the one making the arrangements. One call, first, and they take it from there.
Two numbers, for two different days
Call me at 206-277-5417 with questions about enrolling, or about anything on this page. Call Inman at 888-889-8508 on the day someone dies away from home. Put the Inman number in your phone now, and tell whoever would be making the calls that it is there.Call me at 206-277-5417 about enrolling. Call Inman at 888-889-8508 the day someone dies away from home. Put the Inman number in your phone now, and tell whoever would be making the calls.
What that one call takes care of
- Finding a funeral homeA licensed funeral home or professional embalming service center near the place of death
- Bringing them into careTransport from the place of death to that facility
- Preparing them to travelThe preparation required before a person can be flown
- The shipping containerThe air tray or container needed for the trip
- All the paperworkEvery shipping document, including one death certificate
- The trip home, paid forInman arranges the transportation back to your funeral home here, and pays for it
Section 4
What That One Call Takes Care Of
Six things, and the family does none of them
Once Inman has the call, this is what they handle. You don't coordinate any of it and you don't pay for any of it.
- Finding a funeral home near the deathInman contacts a licensed funeral home or a professional embalming service center close to wherever it happened.
- Bringing your person into careTransportation from the place of death to that facility.
- Preparing them for the tripThe preparation the airlines and the law require before a person can be flown.
- The shipping containerThe air tray or container the trip requires. It's included, not billed separately.
- All of the paperworkEvery shipping document, including one death certificate. This is the part that stops families cold in another country.
- The trip home, arranged and paid forInman books the transportation back to your funeral home here and covers the cost of it.
What that leaves you doing is the thing you would be doing anyway, which is planning the service once your person is home.
Section 5
What It Costs Without a Plan
Average cost of bringing a person home, by part of the world
These are what Inman sees these trips actually cost. None of them include the funeral, the cremation, or the burial. This is only the cost of getting a person home.None of these include the funeral or the burial. This is only the cost of getting a person home.
Average costs from Inman Shipping, January 2025. Figures are averages, so an individual trip can land either side of them.
Now put $499 next to that
A domestic trip home is four to six times what the plan costs. One trip home from the Philippines is $11,500, which is twenty-three times the plan. From China it is $22,000, which is forty-four times. You pay the plan once, at a table, on a day when nothing is wrong. You pay the other number in the worst week of your life.A domestic trip home is four to six times what the plan costs. Home from the Philippines is $11,500, twenty-three times the plan. From China, $22,000, forty-four times. You pay the plan once, on a day when nothing is wrong. You pay the other number in the worst week of your life.
Section 6
What the Plan Costs
Paid once, and then you are done with it
Individual plan
$499One person, covered for life.
Couple plan
$974Two people, covered for life, and cheaper than two individual plans.
You can pay it all at once, or spread it out: three payments of $166.33, or twelve payments of $41.58.
If you are still paying and something happens
If a person on a payment plan dies while their payments are current, the rest of the payments are forgiven and Inman fulfills the plan anyway. The family doesn't have to finish paying it off first.
One timing note. The plan isn't effective until it is paid in full or the first payment has been received, and Inman has issued an enrollment number. That happens quickly, but if you have a trip coming up, get it started rather than waiting.The plan isn't effective until it is paid in full or the first payment has come in and Inman has issued an enrollment number. If you have a trip coming up, start it now rather than waiting.
Is this worth it for us?
Honest math, because I would rather you decided this than have me sell it to you. If nobody in your family goes more than an hour from home, this probably isn't for you, and I will say that in person too. If somebody spends part of the year in another state, it pays for itself the first time it is needed. If you have family overseas and people go back, it is not close.
And you only have to be wrong about it once. That is really the whole argument.
Section 7
Is This Worth It for Us?
The honest math, so you can decide it yourself
I would rather you worked this out than have me sell it to you, so here it is plainly.
If nobody in your family goes more than an hour from home, this probably isn't for you. I will tell you that in person too. Some families genuinely don't need it and I am not going to pretend otherwise.
If somebody spends part of the year in another state, it pays for itself the first time it is used. A domestic trip home runs four to six times the price of the plan, and snowbirds are away for months at a stretch.
If you have family overseas and people go back to see them, it is not close. One trip home from the Philippines is $11,500. That is twenty-three times what the plan costs, and you would be paying it while you were trying to arrange a funeral.
And you only have to be wrong about it once. Nobody schedules this. That is really the whole argument.
It is not travel insurance
- No age limitTravel policies get costly or unavailable as you get older. This one doesn't
- No health questionsNo medical form, and nobody is turned down for their health
- It does not expirePaid once. Nothing to renew, nothing to re-buy before a trip
- No signing up per tripYou don't call anyone before you go. It is simply on
- Ordinary travel counts tooNot only overseas. Anywhere past 75 miles from home, including driving trips
Section 8
It Is Not Travel Insurance
People assume it works the same way, and it doesn't
Families often tell me they already have something like this through a credit card or a travel policy. Usually they don't, and the differences are the ones that matter most to the people most likely to need it.
- No age limitTravel policies get expensive, and then unavailable, as you get older. This one doesn't. Any age is accepted.
- No health questionsThere is no medical form and nobody is turned down for their health. A policy will often do both.
- It doesn't expireYou pay once. There is nothing to renew each year and nothing to re-buy before each trip.
- No signing up per tripYou don't have to call anybody before you go anywhere. It is simply on, all the time.
- Ordinary travel counts tooThis isn't only for going abroad. Anywhere past 75 miles from home qualifies, which takes in a lot of driving trips.
Who you can enroll
Anyone, at any age, and you can buy it for somebody else. A mother enrolls the daughter who flies for work every month. Two adult children enroll their dad, who spends every winter in Arizona. The person covered doesn't have to be the person paying, and they don't have to live with you. If you are the one who would be getting the phone call, this is worth doing for them.
Section 9
Who You Can Enroll
Including people who are not you
Anyone, at any age. There are no health questions and nobody is turned down.
You can also buy it for somebody else, which is how a lot of these get written. A mother enrolls the daughter who flies for work every month. Two adult children enroll their dad, who spends every winter in Arizona and every summer back here.
The person covered doesn't have to be the person paying, and they don't have to live with you. If you are the one who would be getting the phone call, this is worth doing for them.
Details worth knowing
- What counts as homeYour legal residence, meaning the full-time home you live in. 180 days or more at an address in the year before death makes it your legal residence, and that includes a nursing home
- Enrolling while you are awayIt takes effect once you are home again, for later travel. It won't cover the trip you are already on
- Medical tourismTraveling somewhere for a medical procedure isn't covered
- Going overseasUnlimited international travel. Inman asks for a quick call to their Service Center first, and it costs nothing
- What arrives in the mailA welcome letter, a wallet-size member ID card, and a change of address card
Section 10
Details Worth Knowing
The fine print, in plain words
None of this is hidden, but it is the kind of thing families find out at the wrong moment, so here it is up front.
- What counts as homeThe plan works off your legal residence, meaning the fixed, full-time home you actually live in. An address you have lived at for 180 days or more in the twelve months before death counts as your legal residence. That includes a nursing home: 180 days there and the nursing home is home.
- Enrolling while you are already awayIf you sign up while you are out of town, the plan takes effect after you get home, and it covers your travel from then on. It won't cover the trip you are already on.
- Medical tourism isn't coveredTraveling somewhere specifically for a medical procedure sits outside the plan.
- Going overseasCoverage is good for unlimited international travel. Inman asks that you give their Service Center a call before an international trip. It costs nothing and it makes their side faster if anything happens.
- What arrives in the mailA welcome letter, a wallet-size member ID card, and a change of address card. Keep the ID card in your wallet, because that is where somebody will look.
Section 11
How to Sign Up
Two ways, and I would rather you took the first one
Sit down with me
I'm a licensed agent through Inman. Call 206-277-5417 or email me and I'll answer your questions, tell you honestly whether this makes sense for your family, and fill the enrollment out with you. It costs nothing to ask and there's no obligation.
Enroll online
If you would rather just get it done, this goes to my enrollment page at Inman. Same plan, same price, about ten minutes.
Section 12Two things families ask
Common Questions
What people ask me about this one
How is the 75 miles measured?
From your legal residence, the full-time home you live in. Die 75 miles or more from it, or in another country, and the plan applies. Closer to home than that and we handle it the ordinary way.
Does this replace a funeral plan?
No. This gets a person home. What happens after that, the service, the casket or urn, the cemetery property, is separate. Plenty of families do both, and the two fit together.
We already own property at the cemetery. Does that change anything?
It makes this more useful, not less. Your space is here and your person may not be. Getting them back to it is exactly what this covers.
Doesn't my travel policy or credit card already do this?
Usually not, and the exclusions tend to land on the people most likely to need it. Check the age limit, the health questions, whether it expires, and whether you have to sign up before every trip. This one has none of those.
Is there a health questionnaire?
No. Any age is accepted and nobody is turned down for their health.
Can I buy it for my parents?
Yes. You can enroll anyone, and a lot of people buy this for a parent who travels or spends the winter somewhere else.
What if we move?
Tell Inman. They send a change of address card with the welcome packet for exactly this reason. Your legal residence is what the 75 miles is measured from, so keeping it current matters.
Does it cover a death here at home?
No, and it isn't meant to. Under 75 miles is a local death, and that's the arrangement I would be handling anyway.
Is there a cost to ask you about it?
No. A conversation is free and carries no obligation. If I don't think it is worth it for your family, I'll say so.
Tell me about your travel
If somebody in your family flies, cruises, or spends part of the year in another state, tell me and I'll walk you through whether this is worth it for you.
Schedule a conversation Browse all guidesOr reach Martice Morrison directly at 206-277-5417 or mmorrison@bonneywatson.com
Tell me about your travel
If somebody in your family flies, cruises, or spends part of the year in another state, call me and I'll walk you through whether this is worth it. It costs nothing to ask, and if I don't think you need it I will say so. If you would rather just get it done, the enrollment link is right here and it takes about ten minutes.
And the number for the day it happens: Inman, 888-889-8508, answered 24 hours a day.
Martice Morrison · Family Service & Advanced Planning Director · (206) 445-9794 · mmorrison@bonneywatson.com
