Funeral Plans are they worth it?

I took out a funeral plan around two years ago with Golden Charter. I paid off the funeral plan in full, when discussing the plan I thought that the only additional cost could be the Crematorium fee, because the council is responsible for increasing this fee annually.

A few days ago I received a letter from Golden Charter which stated that some of the items on the funeral plan are subject to extra contributions. These are Crematorium fee (expected), Doctors fee, Officiant fee, Floral tributes, Order of service, Community Council (burial plot) and Cremation stone.

I thought the whole idea of taking out a funeral plan was to pay off the funeral so the family and yourself don't have to worry about being presented with a large bill in the event of a death.

Do all funeral plans operate in the same way and can increase costs in the event of a death? If so what is the point of a funeral plan?


Comments

  • user1977
    user1977 Posts: 17,249 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Seventh Anniversary Photogenic Name Dropper
    I expect the point is that the main cost of the funeral is the undertakers' fees, as opposed to the third party costs which might go via them. The other costs shouldn't be all that much, and some aren't essential.

    In general though I've never been all that convinced about funeral plans being worthwhile. If you can afford a funeral plan now, you'll almost certainly be able to afford a funeral when the time comes. And there'll be instances of the funeral plan never being used (unprotected providers going bust / families/executors not knowing there was a funeral plan taken out decades ago / death ends up being abroad or the desired funeral not being covered for some other reason, etc).
  • MikeJXE
    MikeJXE Posts: 3,839 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Second Anniversary Name Dropper

    I bought 2 funeral plans, myself and my wife in October 2008 from the Co-op and paid cash 

    They include 

    Coffin 

    Hearse

    2 cars

    Removal 

    Professional services

    Church fee

    Organist fee

    Minister for church and grave

    Grave fee

    Embalming

    Each cost £2183

    The double plot cost £120 extra


    I buried my wife in 2012 and was charged no extras


    I only needed to buy flowers


    No Idea what a funeral cost now but I guess a lot more than I paid

  • tooldle
    tooldle Posts: 1,598 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    My folks did the same with the co-op, although just a cremation, coffin, hearse, with no extras. Dad’s was used in 2013 with the only extra charge being some flowers which mum wanted. The bonds were purchased in 1996 and cost just under £1k each. 
  • MikeJXE
    MikeJXE Posts: 3,839 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Second Anniversary Name Dropper
    tooldle said:
    My folks did the same with the co-op, although just a cremation, coffin, hearse, with no extras. Dad’s was used in 2013 with the only extra charge being some flowers which mum wanted. The bonds were purchased in 1996 and cost just under £1k each. 
    So now the OP should be able to work out if they are worth it, obviously the hardest part is to decide how soon you buy it  before you die
  • MikeJXE
    MikeJXE Posts: 3,839 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Second Anniversary Name Dropper
    Google found this 

    The average cost for a funeral in the UK in 2022 was £4,216. This figure is an average of both cremation and burial costs, but more specifically, the average cost of cremation in 2022 was £3,940, and for burials it was £5,241.

    So to me it was very much worth it 
  • jazzy
    jazzy Posts: 1,090 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Name Dropper
    Thanks for the replies. Looks like Golden Charter are going over the top compared to other funeral plans. Perhaps it's because of the current rate of inflation when the funeral arrangements will double in price?
  • jj_43
    jj_43 Posts: 336 Forumite
    100 Posts First Anniversary Name Dropper
    Should the plan take the risk of inflation into account, isn’t that the point of them? 
  • lisyloo
    lisyloo Posts: 30,072 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    jj_43 said:
    Should the plan take the risk of inflation into account, isn’t that the point of them? 
    Yes it is the point.

    I've been involved in 4 funerals now where funeral plans were used and I'd say they have been incredibly helpful both financially and in terms of the wishes expressed in advance.

    It might depend on the package you buy. There may be choices to make and if you pay for the minimum package then there will be extras to pay later on, whereas if you pay for everything up front there should be little if anything to pay later on.
    I don't recall having much to pay in the ones I've been involved in (there's usually the wake to pay for).

    2 were golden charter and I don't recall extras (although we didn't get refunds either for services not provided during covid).
Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 349.7K Banking & Borrowing
  • 252.6K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 452.9K Spending & Discounts
  • 242.6K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 619.4K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 176.3K Life & Family
  • 255.5K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
  • 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.