More and more people are taking steps to ensure they get the send off they want by planning their own ‘bespoke’ funeral.
Overall sales figures issued on 10 October by one of the UK’s largest providers of funeral plans, The Co-operative, show an overall increase of 10 per cent in the sales of their funeral plans.
The upward trend reflects the value for money that funeral plans represent as funeral costs continue to spiral and the sustained period of low interest rates associated with other types of savings and investments traditionally relied on to cover funeral costs.
The Co-operative has also seen a 22 per cent increase in sales of its personal tailor-made funeral plans in the first half of 2011.
The increase reflects a major shift in people wishing to take more time to plan ahead not only to ensure a much more personalised funeral or celebration of their life but one that is more cost effective as they pay for it at today’s prices no matter when the funeral takes place.
A tailor-made funeral plan gives people complete flexibility - they can choose personal touches like music and dress codes that will make the arrangements really tailored to commemorate their life.
With one in three funerals these days including a pop song or personal theme, such as their football team, and more people preferring a send off that celebrates their life, a tailor-made plan fits what many people today are looking for.
Ian Mackie, managing director of funeral planning for The Co-operative, said: “So far in 2011 we have achieved a very successful 10 per cent increase in sales from this time last year. In an increasingly challenging economic climate that’s extremely positive. We are finding that during these tough financial times, people are choosing to invest in more trustworthy brands, such as The Co-operative.
“We are clearly seeing a significant rise in the number of people discussing and formalising their personal wishes not only with their loved ones but by actually buying a tailor-made funeral plan and this makes enormous sense. Funeral plans are a very good method of financial forward planning, as you pay today’s funeral prices for a future service that is fully guaranteed against any price increases.”
Over 100,000 funeral plans were sold across the UK in 2010 showing that more and more people are realising that paying towards and planning their funeral in advance makes financial sense and helps to relieve much of the emotional and costly burden to those left behind.
The Co-operative offers a broad range of pre-planning options. Of these, the most popular set funeral plans are the Silver plans, representing a third of all sales. These cost around £3,110, and the benefit of set plans is that they are very simple and straightforward to organise. The Co-operative also provides a number of ways to cover the cost – including 12 months interest free and fixed monthly payments from just £22.26 a month.
Additional Information:
The Co-operative movement 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.
The Co-operative movement owns and operates a total of 1,100 funeral homes across the UK with coverage of 93 per cent of postcode districts. And for set funeral plan holders, no matter where they move to in the UK, their funeral plan can be used at any of its funeral homes without any further costs.
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.
Fully Guaranteed
All funeral plans provided by The Co-operative Funeralcare 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.
Funeral plans from The Co-operative Funeralcare also cover the full costs of all disbursements (such as the crematoria fee, doctor’s fees etc). There is not a part “contribution” to the disbursements, everything is covered and no further payment is required at the time of need.
Price and ways to pay
The funeral plan price quoted represents the average cost for the most popular funeral plans, which are the tailor-made plans and the silver set funeral plans.
The Co-operative Funeralcare provides a number of ways for customers to pay for their funeral plan so that they can spread the cost according to their budget.
Payment can be in full at the time of purchase and also by instalments – over 12 months at no charge, and over 24, 36 (and 60 months for a tailor-made plan) where an instalment charge applies.
For many the fixed monthly payment option enables the customer to make smaller payments each month, and is available to anyone aged 50-80 with no health checks necessary. Monthly payments are calculated according to age and gender. For a woman aged 50 taking out a Bronze funeral plan the cost is currently just £22.26 a month, or for a Silver funeral plan £24.17/month. To ensure ongoing cover, payments are made for life or until the plan anniversary before the holder’s 80th birthday.
For further details on The Co-operative Group’s Funeral Plans visit: www.co-operative.coop/funeralcare/Funeral-Plans/
For details on Funeral Plan prices and ways to pay visit: www.co-operative.coop/funeralcare/Funeral-Plans/content/ways-to-pay/