What are prepaid funeral plans?

Death is one of the very few certainties in this world. When you die, you may expect a funeral, whether basic or more elaborate, or even the most simple burial or cremation without any kind of ceremony. Prepaid funeral plans allow you to choose just how those final rites are to be carried out and – just as the name suggests – give you the chance to pay for those arrangements in advance. Prepaid funeral plans are important, therefore, because: • you have the opportunity to plan whether your funeral is conducted according to a particular religious ceremony, whether the arrangements are simple or more elaborate, or whether your burial or cremation is done with no fanfare at all – so saving your family the heartache of trying to interpret your last wishes; and • by paying for your funeral plans in advance, you not only avoid imposing the financial burden on your family, but you also save money on the almost certain increase in funeral costs in the future. It is worth looking at these benefits in more detail: The funeral • Citizens Advice reminds us that no one wants to be left having to arrange a funeral at what is already likely to be a painful and difficult time – so if you make those arrangements yourself well in advance, so do not impose the burden on anyone else; • although you do not have to use their services, a funeral director is able to carry out all of the essential arrangements that need to be made – such as collecting and preparing the body, supplying a coffin, and transporting the body to the crematorium or burial ground; • in your funeral plan, you may specify the firm of funeral directors you want to make these arrangements – together with any extra features, such as memorial stones, flowers, extra limousines for the cortege, or a wake or reception; • with a prepaid funeral plan, the costs associated with the services provided by your chosen funeral directors are guaranteed to be met – and if that particular firm has gone out of business, the funeral plan provider makes every effort to find an alternative firm in your area; The costs • saving on the cost of your eventual funeral is one of the most compelling reasons for buying a prepaid funeral plan; • according to a report in the Telegraph newspaper on the 9th of July 2018, funeral costs over the past 14 years have risen by 112% (even for the most basic of arrangements); • whilst the typical funeral at today’s prices might cost around £4,000, in a further ten years’ time the same service might cost more than £7,000; • by paying at today’s prices, therefore, you stand to save more than £3,000 on those eventual costs; •the services that are provided by your funeral director are guaranteed thanks to an entirely separate contract between your prepaid funeral plan provider and the funeral directors concerned. Prepaid funeral plans offer you a way of saving your family members the agonising decisions about the kind of send off you may have wanted and also the very real prospect of beating the current spiralling costs of a funeral whenever that time comes.