Your funeral will be carried out by The Co-operative Funeralcare, the UK’s leading Funeral Director. All participating Co-operative Funeral Homes and affiliated Funeral Directors will accept our Plans. You’ll find a full list of Funeral Homes that accept our plans here. So when you take out a Plan with us you can record which of our many Funeral Homes you would like to entrust with your funeral arrangements. And if you happen to move house, it’s easy to transfer your Plan to a different Home – simply call or write to us to let us know.

All Co-operative Funeralcare Funeral Plans are fully guaranteed, which means that all of the services included in our Plans are covered and there will be no more to pay for them, no matter how much prices rise. Everyone arranging a Funeral Plan with us will receive a Plan Summary once the application has been completed, which confirms the details of the services which are included. If you choose one of our Set Plans, all the items detailed in the Plan are covered.

If you choose a Tailor-made Plan, the Funeral Director will help you to select the services that you want the Plan to cover, and record the details and prices of these services for you on your Application Form.

Our Plans are available to anyone over the age of 18. The only exception to this rule is that Plan Holders with a Set Funeral Plan who choose to pay by Fixed Monthly Payment must be between 50 and 80 years old when the Plan is taken out. For more information about Set Funeral Plans and Fixed Monthly Payments please see Costs and Payments.

No, there are no medical questions and a medical is not required. It doesn't matter whether you have any existing medical conditions or not.

Yes, all of our Plans and payment options allow you to buy a Plan for someone else. If you choose to do so, as the Plan Purchaser you will receive all of the correspondence about the Plan. You will have all of the rights to the Plan and will also be responsible for paying for it.

Yes, if you take out one of our Tailor-made Plans, you can choose to make this a Joint Plan. Two Plan Holders are named on the Application Form, and the Plan can be used for the funeral of either of the Plan Holders. The only stipulation is that the Plan Purchaser (the person who is paying for the Plan) has to be one of the two Plan Holders. Please see Tailor-made Funeral Plans for more information.

Yes, you can take out a Tailor-made Memorial Masonry Plan. This Plan is specifically designed to allow you to arrange and pay for both new headstones and additional inscriptions in advance. The Memorial Masonry Plan has the added benefit that it can also be arranged as a Joint Plan, allowing the headstone to be provided on the first death. You don’t need to hold a Funeral Plan with us to purchase a Memorial Masonry Plan, but you may benefit from purchasing a grave in advance as the type of headstone you will be allowed will depend upon the regulations operated by the cemetery you have chosen. Your local Co-operative Funeralcare Funeral Director will give you all the help and advice you need to arrange your Memorial Masonry Plan.

When you take out a Plan with us, you will receive a Documents Folder containing everything you need to know about your Plan. The folder contains useful information explaining exactly what to do with the documents, as well as what the person arranging the funeral will need to do when the time comes. If you have any questions about your Plan, simply call The Co-operative Funeralcare Funeral Planning Team on 0800 088 4872 or contact your local Co-operative Funeralcare Funeral Director. Our Funeral Directors can be contacted at any time, and will be happy to provide all the help and support required if you or the person who will be arranging your funeral has questions or concerns.

With a Set Cremation or Set Burial Plan, you have the opportunity to record Funeral Requests. You can do this either when you arrange your Plan or at any time in the future. You can record:

- Requests to personalise the services already included in your Set Plan such as choices of hymns, music and readings.
- Requests for services which are not included in your Set Plan, such as additional limousines, a newspaper notice, or a memorial. These services will need to be paid for by the person arranging your funeral at the time.

We can’t guarantee your Funeral Requests but we will work closely with the person arranging the funeral to make sure it is exactly as you would have wanted. At the time of the funeral, the Funeral Director and the person arranging the funeral will be provided with details of all of your requests.

If you have a Tailor-made Funeral Plan, you can include detailed Funeral Plan Arrangement Requests, such as your choice of flowers, newspaper notices, what you would like to happen to jewellery or other personal items. The Funeral Director will discuss and record all of your wishes with you, and any costs will be included in the Plan price. You can add to or amend your Funeral Plan Arrangement Wishes at any time and as often as you like by contacting your local Co-operative Funeralcare Funeral Director

The person arranging the funeral may wish to add services which are not covered by your Plan, such as flowers, additional limousines, newspaper notices, or the burial or scattering of ashes. The Funeral Director will help to arrange these services, which will need to be paid for in full at the time of the funeral by the person who requests them.

All Co-operative Funeralcare Funeral Plans are fully guaranteed, and there will be nothing more to pay for the services included in your Plan. Sometimes we will be charged for services at the time of the funeral which will need to be paid for, such as if the person arranging the funeral wants it to take place during a weekend or on a Bank Holiday. If you have a Set Funeral Plan and we need to transport the deceased further than the 50-mile radius allowed for in the Plan, or by a route which involves a ferry crossing or tolls, then these costs will need to be paid for by the person arranging the funeral. Full details of occasional charges are provided in our Terms and Conditions.

We have a choice of payment options according to the type of Funeral Plan you arrange. You can read more in Costs and payments.

A Set Funeral Plan can be paid for in full with a single payment, by Direct Debit over a set period of 12, 24 or 36 months or by Fixed Monthly Payments

A Tailor-made Plan can be paid for in full with a single payment, or by Direct Debit over a set period of 12, 24, 36 or 60 months*, either with or without a deposit.

*60 month option not available on Tailor-made Memorial Masonry Plans.

If you are paying by Direct Debit over 12, 24, 36 or 60* months, and you die before your Plan has been paid for in full, the person arranging the funeral can either:

- Pay whatever is still owed as a single payment. This must be paid before the funeral can be arranged., or, cancel your Plan by writing to us. If this happens, a refund of all payments will be made to the Plan Purchaser or Plan Holder’s estate as appropriate, less a Cancellation Charge. For details see our Terms and Conditions.

- If you are paying by Fixed Monthly Payments and you die within two years of taking out the Plan, we cannot honour the Plan. In these circumstances, an amount equal to 120% of the payments made will be paid to your estate. If your death is beyond the first two years, you are entitled to the full Plan Benefits.

*60 month option not available on Tailor-made Memorial Masonry Plans.

If you are paying by Direct Debit over 12, 24, 36 or 60* months and you miss a payment, we will give you 30 days grace in which to make the payment and keep your Plan in place. If the overdue payment is not received within 30 days, we will cancel the Plan and return the money you have paid us, less the Cancellation Charge (For details see the Terms and Conditions).

If you are paying by Fixed Monthly Payments and you miss a payment, we will give you 30 days grace in which to make the payment and keep your Plan in place. If the overdue payment is not received within 30 days, your Plan will be cancelled and you will not get any money back.

*60 month option not available on Tailor-made Memorial Masonry Plans

If you choose a Burial Plan and you don’t already own a grave, we would recommend that, where possible*, you purchase a grave in advance. This allows you to choose a particular grave and ensures that you will be buried in the cemetery you choose. It is important to consider the benefits of purchasing a grave in advance where possible, as otherwise the person arranging your funeral will need to purchase one at the time of the funeral. Your local Co-operative Funeralcare Funeral Director will be able to give you any information you require on the cost and availability of graves in your local area to help you with this decision.
*Not all Local Authorities allow graves to be purchased in advance.

Our Funeral Plans are suitable for funerals in mainland Great Britain and Northern Ireland. If you were to die abroad, then your local Co-operative Funeralcare Funeral Director can assist with arranging repatriation (which you may be insured for). We can’t include this service in any of our Plans due to the uncertainty of its nature, so it will need to be paid for at the time. Once repatriated to Great Britain or Northern Ireland, your Plan can then be used to arrange the funeral as normal.

If you choose a Tailor-made Plan you can amend or add to your Plan at any time, by contacting your local Co-operative Funeralcare Funeral Home. There is no administration charge for making amendments. If you add any services to your Plan, these will need to be paid for in full at the time of making the amendments. A Set Plan cannot be amended or added to. If you choose a Set Cremation Plan and then decide that you want to change to a different Funeral Plan, you will have to cancel your original Plan.

Our Terms and Conditions provide more information on how to cancel your Plan.

If you change your mind and want to cancel within 30 days of purchasing your Plan, you will be entitled to a full refund of all payments made with no Cancellation Charge to pay, regardless of how you have paid for the Plan. If you wish to cancel after 30 days and you have paid for your Plan in full or are paying over 12, 24, 36 or 60 months by Direct Debit, you will receive a refund of all monies paid, less a Cancellation Charge. If you wish to cancel after 30 days, and you are paying for your Plan by Fixed Monthly Payments, your Plan has no cash value and you will not receive a refund of any payments made. A Cancellation Charge does not apply in this case. Our Terms and Conditions provide more information on how to cancel your Plan

The Co-operative Funeralcare is required by UK law to invest all Funeral Plan monies in a regulated Whole of Life policy or trust fund. If you are paying in full or by Direct Debit over 12, 24, 36 or 60 months, the money is invested in The Co-operative Insurance Whole of Life fund. If you are paying by Fixed Monthly Payments the money is invested in a Whole of Life policy with AXA Wealth Ltd.

Your money is managed under The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) Order 2001 and the fund is subject to yearly valuations and capital assessments. In addition The Co-operative Funeralcare is a member of the Funeral Planning Authority (FPA) which provides rules and guidelines around investments that its members must conform to. This offers you the protection that your money is invested in line with these guidelines. The FPA also have arrangements for resolving disputes between customers and FPA registered providers. You can call the FPA on 0845 601 9619 or visit www.funeralplanningauthority.com for more information.