As the new football season kicks-off, more and more fans are choosing to take their love of the game to the grave and requesting to be buried in the shirt of their favourite team, according to data published today (11 August) by The Co-operative Funeralcare.
The Co-operative, one of the UK’s largest funeral plan providers, says that, when setting out their funeral wishes many supporters are turning away from the traditional plain gown and requesting to be buried in their favourite football top.
In addition, fans are requesting their ashes be scattered at their beloved football ground and asking that people wear their football team’s shirt to the funeral.
This is part of a trend which is seeing more and more people electing to arrange a personalised funeral, according to The Co-operative, which has seen a significant 56 per cent increase in sales of Tailor-made Plans over the last year.
With a Tailor-made Plan clients can choose every aspect of the arrangements in as much (or as little) detail as they like. They can specify the music to be played as well as special readings and the route of the cortege. There is also an increase in requests that “no black” is to be worn and personal items such as a photograph or lipstick are included in the coffin.
Ian Mackie, Managing Director of Funeral Planning for The Co-operative, said: “In recent years there has been a move away from the traditional set format of the funeral. People are asking for a more individual ceremony that reflects the life of the person who has died.
“Many people actually want their family and friends to celebrate their life on the day and have a few drinks and think positively about the good times they have shared.”
“That is why a funeral plan is such a good idea. You save money as you’re paying today’s price for a service in the future - so you avoid all the price increases over time. And all The Co-operative Plans enable people to record their special wishes too. So if they want to be buried in their favourite football top they can easily let their wishes be known. This gives great peace of mind both for them and their families.”
The funeral planning market is now estimated to be worth over £500m a year as more and more people realise that paying towards and planning their funeral in advance helps to relieve much of the financial and emotional burden.
The Co-operative owns and operates a total of 1,100 funeral homes across the UK. Personal wishes can be recorded as part of the Tailormade and Set Funeral Plans, and this information will be safely recorded and held until required by the funeral director.
Additional Information
Details of personal wishes have been taken from a sample of over 1,000 funeral plans purchased from The Co-operative Funeralcare and recording personal wishes
All details for the purposes of the analysis were extracted without customer information in order to respect and protect the identity of our customers. Where very specific requests have been made these have been generalised to respect individuals’ privacy.
The increase of 56 per cent relates to overall sales of Tailor-made Plans for the period January – June 2010 compared to the same period in 2009.
The market size estimate is based on all funeral planning product sales, including funeral plans and Whole of Life policies. All data obtained from the Funeral Planning Authority (FPA) and Swiss Re Term & Health Watch 2009.
All Funeral Plans provided by The Co-operative are fully guaranteed. This means no further payments are required when it comes to the actual arranging of the funeral regardless of how much prices have increased – all items detailed in the plan are fully covered.
The Co-operative provides a number of ways for customers to pay for their funeral plan so that they can spread the cost according to their budget. Details on prices and ways to pay are available at: www.co-operative.co.uk/plan-prices
The Co-operative is a member of the Funeral Planning Authority (FPA). Ian Mackie, Managing Director of The Co-operative Life Planning, is one of the directors of the FPA.
The Co-operative conducts 1 in 4 funerals in the UK, has over 70 years experience in the funeral market and operates to The Co-operative core values of openness, trust and honesty.
For further details on The Co-operative Funeral Plans visit: www.co-operative.coop/funeral-plans