It can be quite challenging mentally to plan for your funeral while you are still alive, however, simply talking about or planning expenses around death certainly won’t kill you (touch wood). Having a prepaid funeral plan can enable you to budget whilst ensuring the future financial stress is taken off your loved ones. No one wants to leave their family with a right kerfuffle simply because they have passed on.
In the UK, the average price of a funeral is about £8,864 according to UK financial services company SunLife’s Cost of Dying Report 2022. However, a funeral can easily cost thousands of pounds more depending on personalisations as well as any burial costs. Not every family has that much money to set aside for a loved one when they die, and that makes having a prepaid funeral plan a simple and secure way to plan for the future.
This article aims to explain what a prepaid funeral plan is, as well as answer a few questions you might have concerning a prepaid funeral plan.
What is a prepaid funeral plan?
A prepaid funeral plan can be described as a contract with a particular funeral provider which enables the holder to prepay and preplan their funeral service. Depending on the type of service required, the prepaid funeral plan can be paid either upfront or in instalments over a particular number of years. The actual contract will detail the cost as well as list the included items in your prepaid funeral service.
Bare prepaid funeral plans include collection of the deceased from the place of passing, care and preparation for cremation, a simple coffin, a dignified, private direct cremation service, and return of ashes. Depending on the plan selected, you can also expect extras such as a celebrant, flowers, chapel hire, advertising, memorial books, catering, and other personalisations.
Prepaid funeral plans are to be regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, starting on the 29th of July 2022, so you can be sure that your money and that of every customer are secure.
What are the benefits of prepaying your funeral?
Planning the future using a prepaid funeral has many benefits. Here’s why people choose to prepay:
- You get to plan one last party for yourself. Think of it this way, you get the flexibility and time to preplan a funeral that befits you, leaving instructions to loved ones to send you off just how you want.
- To cut down what is a stressful time for your loved ones. It’s hard to grieve for a loved one, now add trying to make difficult funeral decisions during what is a difficult time.
- To reduce the financial burden of having to pay the funeral home’s costs upfront.
- To take advantage of today’s price. This benefit might seem morbid but the price of funerals in the UK has been constantly rising. When you prepay using today’s prices, you can avoid inflation over the years.
- For flexible payment options that make funerals more affordable. Bare prepaid funeral plans can be paid either upfront or in instalments. Our affordable payment plans make the process of paying off a funeral more manageable, especially for pensioners or those on fixed income.
- To get back to enjoying life without worrying about how your funeral will be paid for.
- To guarantee that your money is invested safely. Funds paid for a prepaid funeral plan will be securely held in a trust.
Cost of prepaid funerals
The cost of a prepaid funeral plan is typically close to that of a funeral today plus an additional administrative fee for creating a funeral contract in your name. However, by purchasing a funeral plan today, you lock in today’s price and need to worry about potential funeral cost increased in the future.
The cost of a prepaid funeral plan varies between funeral homes. The price will also depend on your customisation choices and whether you are prepaying a cremation or burial. Burials are generally more expensive than cremations because of land costs and additional associated professional fees, with the average price of a burial being £4,927 while the average price of cremation at £3,765. It’s important to note that these prices don’t include any send-off costs associated with a ceremony, memorial, or wake (like a chapel, minister or celebrant, hearse, catering, flowers, etc), or the funeral director’s professional service fees.
To get a quote for a Bare prepaid funeral plan, visit barecremation.co.uk. To keep prices low, we don’t have fancy funeral parlours, and we don’t try to sell you expensive coffins or add-ons you don’t need. We operate online and over the phone, and offer dignified, private, direct cremations, to allow families the flexibility and budget to plan a more personalised send-off in a way that works for them.
What is not included?
A Bare funeral plan includes the transport, medical/legal documentation, a respectful direct cremation, and returning the ashes to loved ones by hand in a simple urn. Our arrangement does not include an attended ceremony, wake, or burial fees.
If you pass away in a different region from the address listed on the prepaid funeral contract, it is common that funeral directors may charge some extra transport fees when the service is needed. Bare charges one price across all of mainland UK (excluding some islands).
Before agreeing on a prepaid funeral plan with any funeral director, ensure you have read and understood the contract carefully. Read through what’s included in the prearranged service and the payment terms to ensure you understand what is and is not included. The plan should identify any circumstances where your estate or next of kin may be charged additional fees when the funeral is needed, so be sure you fully understand these terms.
If you have any questions about what’s not included in a prepaid funeral plan, speak with your funeral director before signing your contract.
Prepaid funeral plans vs funeral insurance
A prepaid funeral plan is not an insurance product. Instead, you’re paying for the actual funeral in advance.
With a funeral insurance policy, there are recurring fortnightly or monthly premiums to pay. But with a prepaid funeral plan, your payments stop once the arrangement has been paid off. The instalment amount is locked in at today's price, so it never increases throughout the instalment period. And the best part about prepaid funerals is that there is nothing more to pay ever – whether your funeral is needed in two months, two years, or 50 years.
Final thoughts
Prepaid funeral plans give people the opportunity to set out their own funeral wishes, on their own terms, and at today’s prices. Many people believe that this not only reduces the future emotional stress on your loved ones who will be making the arrangements when the time comes, but is also a sound financial decision.
At Bare, we don’t believe that expensive coffins or premium catering packages reflect how much you loved your person. That’s why we provide just what you need at an affordable price.
With your affordable funeral taken care of, you can get back to enjoying life without worrying about who will be left with the bill when you’re gone.
To learn more and get a quote for a Bare prepaid funeral, visit barecremation.co.uk.
