What is a funeral plan?

A funeral plan allows you to plan and pay for your own funeral before you pass away, helping to ease some of the stress and worry for your family when the time comes. When you buy a plan, your money is kept secure in an insurance policy or trust fund until it’s released to pay for your funeral.

Funeral plans are a popular alternative to over 50 life insurance. One of the main differences is that you can choose how you pay for a funeral plan, either in one single payment or by monthly payments. Also, most funeral plans lock-in today’s going rate for funeral director services. This means you can protect your family from increasing costs and higher fees in the future.

According to the Office of National Statistics (ONS) the average lifespan of a women in the UK is 83 years, compared to 79 years for men. Because women statistically live longer than men a prepaid funeral plan is a popular way of ensuring that rising funeral costs do not burden loved ones after we are gone. But as a women aged between 60 – 85 are they a good idea?

Continue reading this article by award-winning life insurance broker, Reassured, to find out more about the best funeral plan providers in the UK. 

What is a funeral plan provider?

A funeral plan provider is any company that sells funeral plans which allow you to prepay for your funeral.

There are currently 26 FCA registered providers, which include a mix of local independent funeral directors, and larger companies with a network of funeral directors across the UK.

When purchasing a funeral plan, either the funeral plan provider or one of their appointed funeral directors will carry out your plan when the time comes.

Most mothers and grandmothers like to ensure that everything is in place and prepared for, especially when it involves family. Taking out a funeral plan through a regulated provider ensures you not only cover the significant expense involved (£4,056 for a basic funeral) but also that you arrange the ceremony you want (not what others think you want). You can determine the music played, the flowers displayed, the location of the ceremony, the wake, even who attends the service.

Which are the best funeral plan providers?

According to the latest Fairer Finance expert ratings, the best funeral plan providers in the UK are below. Unlike life insurance, there are no funeral plan providers specifically tailored for women.

  1. Co-op Funeralcare
  2. Dignity Funeral Services
  3. Choice
  4. Avalon Funeral Plans
  5. Golden Charter

While some funeral plan providers will be better than others, the best funeral plan provider for you will depend on various factors, such as:

  • The services you want included in your plan
  • The additional features and benefits offered with the plan
  • How much you want to spend.

There’s a range of funeral plans available on the market which offer different levels of service at different price points.

When searching for the right provider, there are some key points to look out for:

  • Will their plans cover essential third-party fees, such as cremation fees?
  • Can their plans be personalised?
  • If you move home, can their plans be transferred to your new local funeral director, free of charge?
  • Does the provider guarantee to cover the cost of your funeral after a set period (if you pay by monthly payments)?

Compare funeral plan providers

When looking for the right funeral plan for you and your family, it’s important to compare funeral plan providers and the products they offer before making a decision.

We’ve helped save you time but comparing some of the main features of the best funeral plan providers:

Co-op Dignity Choice Golden Charter Avalon
What is their Fairer Finance star rating? 5 stars
(Gold and Silver plans)		 4 stars 4 stars 3 stars
(Premier and Select plans)		  

 

3 stars
Prices From £3,225 No set pricing No set pricing From £2,895  

£2,795
What are the payment options? Pay in full, or in monthly instalments Pay in full, or in monthly instalments Pay in full, or in monthly instalments Pay in full, or in monthly instalments Pay in full, or in monthly instalments
FCA regulated? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Will the plans guarantee to cover the cost of your chosen funeral services after a set period? Yes – If you pay by instalments and pass away after the first 12 months of the plan Yes – If you pay by instalments and pass away after the first 12 months of the plan Yes – If you pay by instalments and pass away after the first 12 months of the plan No – Your family or estate would have to cover the remaining balance Yes – If you pay by instalments and pass away after the first 12 months of the plan
Do you have a choice of funeral director? Yes – Use any local Co-op funeral director Yes – Use any local Dignity funeral director Yes – From a list provided by Choice Yes – But it’s not guaranteed that you’ll be allocated the funeral director of your choice No – Appointed by Avalon
Who can take out a plan? UK residents aged 18 and over UK residents aged 18 and over UK residents aged 18 and over UK residents no age limits UK residents aged 18 and over

Which funeral plan providers are safe?

Funeral plan providers that are registered with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) are safe to buy from. This is because the FCA can step in to protect you and your money in the circumstance your provider is unable to carry out your funeral as agreed in your plan.

Any funeral plan provider that’s not registered with the FCA is unauthorised to sell funeral plans and will not be able to give you that peace of mind.

There are 26 funeral plan providers which are currently authorised and regulated by the FCA:

  1. Alternative Planning Company Limited (this includes Choice and Choice funeral plans from Funeral Partners)
  2. Avalon (Europe) Limited
  3. Avalon Trustee Company Limited
  4. Celebration Of Life Planning Ltd
  5. Central England Co-Operative Limited (this includes CEC FPL and CEC Funeral Plans)
  6. Co-Op Funeral Plans Limited (this includes Co-op Funeral Plans and Co-op Funeralcare)
  7. Crystal Cremations Ltd
  8. Dignity Funerals Limited
  9. Distinct Funeral Plans Limited
  10. Ecclesiastical Planning Services Limited (this includes Perfect Choice Funeral Plans)
  11. F A Albin & Sons Limited
  12. Family Funerals Trust Limited
  13. Freeman Brothers (this includes Peter Christopher Freeman and Brigid Mary Freeman)
  14. Golden Charter Limited (this includes Golden Charter and localfuneral.co.uk)
  15. Golden Leaves Limited
  16. Haven Personal Funeral Plans Ltd (this includes Haven Personal Funeral Plans and Haven)
  17. Independent Funeral Planning Services Ltd (this includes IFPS and The IFPS)
  18. Low Cost Funeral Limited (this includes Affordable Funerals and Memoriafunerals.co.uk)
  19. M&F Funeral Services Ltd (this includes M&F Funeral Services)
  20. Open Prepaid Funerals Limited (this includes Open Prepaid Funeral Plans and Open Funeral Plans)
  21. Peace Burials Limited (this includes Peace Funerals)
  22. Plan With Grace Limited
  23. Pure Cremation Funeral Planning Ltd
  24. Southern Co-Operative Funerals Limited (this includes Southern Co-op and The Co-operative Funeralcare)
  25. The Independent Family Funeral Directors Ltd (this includes Fosters Family Funeral Directors)
  26. William Alty & Sons Limited

Before buying a funeral plan, you can check if the provider is on the FCA registered list first.

Funeral plan or life insurance?

Funeral plans are a popular way to cover funeral costs in advance, but there’s also the option of an over 50s life insurance policy to cover funeral costs.

An over 50s plan provides a guaranteed cash pay out to your loved ones after you pass away. Beneficiaries can use the proceeds to help pay your funeral bill or they may choose to spend it elsewhere.

The cost of this type of life insurance is based on your age and the level of cover you want to take out. Sometimes you’re restricted by how much you can secure because of your age.

This means you may not be able to secure enough to cover for your whole funeral. However, the monthly cost of an over 50s plan tends to be cheaper than a funeral plan.

As a result of the Equality Act 2010 it is no longer possible for insurers to calculate premiums based on gender alone, therefore women will pay the same as men (all things being equal). That said, by living a healthy lifestyle we can help keep our monthly premiums to a minimum.

If your budget allows, you could have both forms of protection in place simultaneously; a funeral plan to ensure your funeral is organised and paid for in advance, and a life insurance policy which provides a cash sum pay out.

If you are preparing for the future, it is very worthwhile discussing any existing life insurance policies with your spouse. For example, if you have a joint life insurance policy cover will elapse upon the first death potentially leaving the surviving partner financially vulnerable.

Conclusion

As mentioned above, statistically women outlive men and therefore ensuring this cover protection is secured is even more poignant for women in later life.

The important thing is to ensure that you find the right product at the right price by shopping around and comparing quotes.

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