What is a funeral plan?
A pre-paid funeral plan is an easy way to arrange and pay for your funeral in advance, knowing your loved ones are protected from unexpected costs and your funeral will be how you would’ve wanted it.
What is a funeral plan?
A pre-paid funeral plan is an easy way to arrange and pay for your funeral in advance, knowing your loved ones are protected from unexpected costs and your funeral will be how you would’ve wanted it.
What are the benefits of having a funeral plan?
By planning ahead, you’ll:
- secure your funeral at today’s price, meaning no matter how much costs increase, your loved ones will have nothing else to pay for the services included in your plan
- plan it your way to make sure your final wishes are met
- have the peace of mind that your family can focus on the more important things when the time comes, as you’ll have planned and paid for your funeral in advance
What’s included in a funeral plan?
Each provider’s funeral plans may differ slightly, but most plans include the essentials needed to carry out the funeral service. This can include caring for the person who has died, a coffin, a hearse and funeral director services needed for the funeral.
Some plans may include extras such as limousines for your family, flexibility in choosing the date and time of the funeral.
Why should I plan for my funeral?
Most people buy a funeral plan for financial reasons, and for peace of mind that their loved ones won’t have to worry about making decisions about the funeral when the time comes.
The cost of a basic funeral in the UK in 2024 now stands at £4,141 - up 4.7% on last year (according to the Sunlife Cost of Dying Report*). When you buy a funeral plan, you protect your loved ones from unexpected funeral costs as you pay for your funeral at today’s prices.
With so few people knowing their loved ones’ funeral wishes, it’s often difficult to know if we’re giving them what they really wanted. We can help this by telling our loved ones what we’d like at our funeral, or you can include this information in a funeral plan. A funeral plan allows you to plan everything from the flowers you’d like, to the music you’d like on the day.
How does a funeral plan work?
When you buy a Co-op funeral plan, the money you pay is transferred into a whole of life insurance policy in your name. When you die, we use this money to carry out all the services outlined in your plan.
We'll send you a plan summary pack in the post after you buy your plan, which includes 2 copies of your plan details, as well as some care cards with your plan information on to give to members of your family. It's a good idea to occasionally remind family members of these documents to make sure they can be easily found when needed.
When you die, whoever is arranging your funeral just needs to get in touch with us with your funeral plan information to hand and we’ll let them know what to do next. Our experienced team in your chosen funeral home will support and guide your family throughout the entire process, before, during and after the funeral.
How do we keep your money safe?
To ensure your money is safe and protected at all times, after deducting the administration fee, we invest the remaining amount required to pay for your funeral into an individual whole of life insurance policy with The Royal London Mutual Insurance Society Limited (“Royal London”).
In the unlikely event that our business fails, we would seek to make arrangements with another funeral plan provider to transfer your plan to ensure that your funeral can still be provided when you die on the same terms as the plan you have bought from us. However, if this is not possible, you (or your next of kin if you have died) will have a legal right to claim your monies back from Royal London direct. As such, by purchasing this funeral plan, you consent to your funeral plan being transferred to another funeral plan provider on the same terms in the event that our business fails.
If a transfer of your plan to another provider or return of your monies is not possible, you may be entitled to compensation under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (“FSCS”). Further information about the FSCS compensation scheme arrangement is available at www.fscs.org.uk, by emailing enquiries@fscs.org.uk or by phoning the FSCS on 0800 678 1100 or 0207 741 4100.
What age should you plan your funeral?
There isn’t a certain age you should be to plan your funeral in advance. Anyone can buy a funeral plan if they’re aged 18 or older.
If you choose to pay for your funeral plan monthly over 2-25 years, you must have completed all payments by your 80th birthday.
What’s the difference between a funeral plan and over 50s life cover?
Although the two might seem quite similar, only a funeral plan will guarantee to cover the cost of your funeral. This is because when you buy a funeral plan, you’re paying for all the services included in your plan at today’s prices.
Over 50s life insurance, however, means you pay a monthly amount, and your loved ones will receive a cash sum when you die. This cash sum can be used however your loved ones want, whether that be used towards your funeral costs or used to help with other expenses.
*Source: SunLife Cost of Dying Report 2024 for more information visit https://www.sunlife.co.uk/funeral-costs/
