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Every day, hundreds of people in Britain take out a funeral plan. It brings peace of mind, and can be a very good way of ensuring you get the funeral you want.
A funeral plan also means you’re paying for your funeral at today’s prices. And that can be a big saving, since funeral prices just go up and up.
But finding the right funeral plan isn’t always easy. So if you want to know more about funeral plans or compare different plans' offers, Funeral Plan Compare is the place for you.
What is a funeral plan?
A funeral plan is sometimes known as a ‘pre-paid’ plan. That simply means you buy a plan now which guarantees to provide your funeral in the future.
So, when you die, your funeral arrangements will be taken care of and you’ll get the funeral you’ve chosen.
No-one needs to call a funeral director and hope they’ll be able to help or that they aren’t too expensive or too busy.
Family or friends can just call the phone number on your plan, and the funeral plan provider will take care of the rest.
You can take out a prepaid plan for a traditional burial funeral, a traditional cremation funeral (in both cases where mourners attend) or a direct cremation funeral (where there are no mourners).
.png?width=2000&height=660&name=Group%201025%20(1).png "Funeral plans date back to Ancient Rome, where burial clubs called collegia were set up to help cover funeral expenses for their members.")
What are the advantages of a funeral plan?
There are five key benefits:
1. You know no-one else will have to pay for your funeral
If you die, you might have enough money in your estate to pay for your funeral, but that can take time to release, and your funeral might need to be paid for sooner than that.
2. Your wishes are known and can be respected
Most people don’t tell even their closest family what they want for their own funeral, causing extra stress and upset at a difficult time. If you have a plan in place, at least that part is settled, and family and friends know what your wishes are. You may be able to choose what kind of coffin, whether or not you want a service, do you want traditional or direct and so on.
3. You can beat funeral inflation
Funeral costs have risen sharply over the years, often faster than inflation in other areas. When you take out a funeral plan, you’re securing a funeral at today’s prices. 10 years from now, the cost of a funeral is likely to be much more than the cost of buying a funeral plan today. It’s one of the reasons funeral plans become more and more popular every year.
4. You can get a refund
An alternative to a funeral plan is over 50s life insurance, such as that offered by companies like SunLife and British Seniors. But those plans don’t give refunds – you have to pay the premiums for many years, and if you stop paying, you get nothing back.
5. The funeral is guaranteed
Funeral plans are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. The rules laid out by the FCA means the funeral your plan covers must be provided. An over 50s plan doesn’t provide a funeral at all, just a payout which might not be enough to cover the funeral.
What are the disadvantages of a funeral plan?
1. They’re not all the same
There are lots of companies offering funeral plans, and many of them shout about their low prices. However, when you look at the small print, you might discover that some include things that others charge for. And some have their own facilities (like their own crematorium) while others don’t. That’s where our free FuneralPlanCompare tool can help.
2. They might not be affordable
While buying a funeral plan now can be cheaper than buying a funeral in the future, that doesn’t mean everyone can afford one, and not everyone is keen to put money into a plan now if they feel they need the money for other things.
3. There may still be other costs
Depending on what you want for your own funeral, there still may be other things to pay for. A funeral plan probably won’t include the cost of a headstone for instance, or a burial plot. And if you want to have a send-off (also known as a wake) then the costs of that are unlikely to be included either.
Are funeral plans safe?
Yes. Funeral plans come with Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) Protection. That means that in the unlikely event something were to go wrong, you could get compensation.
Hundreds of thousands of plans are sold in the UK every year and many plans are used every year too. On review sites such as Trustpilot, Feefo and Reviews.io, the experience of loved ones who have benefit from the deceased having a funeral plan is overwhelmingly positive.
What are the alternatives to a funeral plan?
There are typically five other ways to pay for a funeral:
1. Your family could pay for your funeral, if they are able to
2. Your estate could pay. What this means is, when you die, any money you have, the sale of your home (if you own it and don’t have a partner who will continue to live there), or any other assets you have, could be used to pay for your funeral, after any tax or fees are paid. This can obviously take time to arrange, so may mean your family has to pay for your funeral and then later be reimbursed with money from your estate.
3. You could have life insurance, like an over 50s plan to help pay for it. Just remember that the value an over 50s plan is likely to go down over time as they usually aren’t protected from inflation, and they cannot guarantee to be enough to pay for your funeral.
4. You could have a public service funeral, sometimes known as a ‘pauper’s funeral’ arranged by your local council. Neither you nor your family will have any say in the funeral, and they can be difficult to secure.
5. You might qualify for government aid, depending on what benefits you are entitled to. This might make you eligible for something called a ‘funeral expenses payment’ which could cover some of the costs.
