Co-op extends price war by guaranteeing to beat competitors on funeral plans and probate
01 October 2018
- UK’s leading national later life provider guarantees to beat competitor quotes on funeral plans and on probate
- Latest in a wave of measures to support thousands of families financially following bereavement
- £8,400, the average cost of dealing with a late loved one’s affairs including arranging a funeral and dealing with probate
- 81% of people haven’t saved any money towards a funeral
After upping the ante on the funeral price war earlier this month, the UK’s leading funeral and probate provider Co-op Funerals and Life planning has now announced another wave of measures to further support thousands of bereaved families financially.*
Co-op is leading the way in tackling funeral costs, including through its guarantee to beat like for like funeral quotes, reducing the cost of its most affordable funeral, the Simple funeral by £100 and increasing discount for Co-op’s 4.7 million members to £200 (or 5% if greater) on all core funeral options.**
Now Co-op is going further by extending its guarantee to beat competitor prices on a like for like basis across its funeral plans and on probate fees.
With over 207,000 funeral plans and more than 250,000 grants of probate every year across the market, the move will have a significant impact.***
According to Co-op’s data, the average cost of a funeral now stands at £3,900. Coupled with the average cost of administering a grant of probate at £4,500, the cost of dealing with a loved one’s affairs for the bereaved now totals £8,400.****
The new measures are in response to recent findings from Co-op’s biggest ever survey on death and bereavement, which received an overwhelming response from over 30,000 UK adults. The survey revealed that as many 81% of people haven’t saved anything towards a funeral.*****
Robert Maclachlan, Managing Director of Co-op Funerals and Life Planning said:
“Every year, thousands of families are having to find significant sums to arrange the funerals of their loved ones and are seeing any inheritance left, reduced by probate fees.
“Last year, 70,000 funeral plans were taken out with the Co-op, giving more people peace of mind that their families won’t be left to cover the costs of their funerals.
“By introducing these new measures, we hope that more people will plan ahead with confidence and families who are left to deal with probate can trust that they’re getting the best price.”
Media Contacts:
Emily Penkett
Email: Emily.Penkett@coop.co.uk
Mobile: 07738 621201
Catherine Turner
Email: catherine.turner@coop.co.uk
Mobile: 07834 090783
Russ Brady
Email: russ.brady@coop.co.uk
Mobile: 07880 784442
Notes to editors:
FOR MEDIA PURPOSES ONLY
*T’s and C’s https://www.co-operativefuneralcare.co.uk/about-us/our-price-guarantee/
** The affordability measures introduced by Co-op on 10th September 2018 can be found here: https://www.co-operative.coop/media/news-releases/co-op-ups-the-ante-on-funeral-price-war-and-guarantees-to-beat
For full terms and conditions visit coop.co.uk/pricepromise
*** 207,000 funeral plans sold in 2017 according to FPA and Over 250,000 grants of representation were issued in 2017 according to the MOJ
**** Average cost of a funeral according to Co-op’s data is £3,900. Average cost of probate is £4,500
***** Co-op’s biggest ever survey into death dying and bereavement was conducted by YouGov from 7th May to 25th June 2018 among over 30,000 UK adults. Further detail on the study can be found in Co-op’s media report
About Co-op Funeralcare:
As market leader, across funerals and probate, Co-op conducts almost 100,000 funerals annually across over 1,000 funeral homes. Combined with its leading legal services business, the Co-op is also a national provider of later life products and services ranging from funeral plans, through to wills and probate.
Co-op Funeralcare has been recognised as the Best Funeral Plan Provider in the 2018 Moneynet Personal Finance awards, its funeral plans have also been awarded 5 Star ratings by Fairer Finance and its Gold plan was recognised with a 5 Star rating by Defaqto.