Compare the Best Prepaid Funeral Plans UK
Our Free Guide To The best value funeral plans providers
It can be challenging to compare prepaid funeral plans in the UK.
First of all, there are a lot of choices available.
Secondly, companies don’t always like to use the same terms or concepts to compare their plans.
In the below pre-paid funeral plan reviews, you’re going to learn about ten of the best funeral plan providers in the UK. It will compare the different companies and discuss the top features of each.
You’ll get a better idea of which pre-paid funeral plan will work the best for you and your family.
Insurance Vs. Pre-Paid Funeral Plans
If you get life insurance, your family will get a lump sum of money upon your death. The amount is agreed upon when you purchase the plan. Your family can use this money on anything they want.
If there is anything left over after the funeral, your family can keep that money, but there is no guarantee that they will cover the funeral costs.
Funeral costs have risen 128% since 2004, according to a SunLife study. A life insurance plan you purchased in the past may not worth as much when you pass away as you initially thought.
Pre-Paid funeral plans pay for the agreed-upon funeral that you choose. They can cover some or all of the third-party fees as well. They pay for all the services you agreed on regardless of the increase in price from the time you get the plan until your death.
Your family doesn’t get to keep any money from these plans, but the plan will cover the funeral itself. Even if the price increases by another 128%, you don’t have to worry about the price increase.
Another significant benefit for some people is you can plan your funeral’s details, ensuring that your family follows your final wishes. This extra peace of mind can be comforting.
Cost And “Cheapest” Plan Analysis
Sometimes the cheapest plans aren’t always the plans with the best value. There are a lot of things to consider when you are looking at the prices of the plans. Cheap plans can sometimes cost your family a lot more in the long run.
Will, your family, be able to make changes, or will they have to follow the exact plan you set up? Can you choose your funeral director, or does your plan give you one? How far will they travel to get the body? These are all specific questions you have to consider when you choose the plan.
Sometimes the cheapest plans don’t cover everything, or they cover things in a way that you won’t want, with little or no customisation. Comparing the plans is essential to get what you need precisely.
Types Of Funeral Plans
There are two major categories when it comes to funeral plans. You have guaranteed plans and contribution plans. Each type of plan has its upsides and its downsides. You’ll need to see what both plans offer and why you might choose each.
Guaranteed plans lock the price of everything offered in the plan when you decided to purchase it. Everything in the plan is covered for the price you pay, no matter when you need to use them. This type of plan ensures that your family won’t be caught with any surprise fees.
With the contribution plans, your family gets a lump sum to pay off third-party fees. However, they could end up having a higher cost than your plan provides. With these plans, only the specific features, like casket and burial, are paid for in full.
Whichever one you choose can help your family with the funeral. The guaranteed plan can cost more upfront, and it can lock some of your choices, but it also locks in the price. The contribution plan is often more flexible for your family, but they may have to pay out of pocket.
What Features Are Available For Pre-Paid Funeral Plans?
Different plans will offer various features. Some of the critical things you will want to consider will include:
- Date and Location Options
- Distance to Collect the Body
- Procession Distance
- Coffin Type
- Vehicle Choices
- Wake Styles
- Body Preparation
Depending on the plan and the company, you can get many different choices in these features. You will want to pick options that work best for you and fit your budget and style.
Customisation
With both plans, you can choose to make every decision yourself, or you can leave some choices up to the funeral director. If you want, you can choose to allow your family to make some changes, or you can plan the whole thing yourself.
If you leave some options up to your family, it can cost them more money for some changes. Upgrades to urns and caskets, limousines for mourns, and many other features can add cost, but the choices would be up to your family.
Payment Plans
You can choose to pay for your plan upfront, or you can spread the payment out and pay for it monthly. Often you will save a little extra by paying for it all at once. If you decided to cancel either plan, there might be a cancellation fee.
Plan Comparison Chart
| PLAN | TYPES OF PLAN | STARTING PLAN COST | FUNERAL PROCESSION | BODY COLLECTION DISTANCE | CHOICE OF FUNERAL DIRECTOR | CANCELLATION FEE |
| Co-op | Both Depending on the Level | £3,095 | 15 miles | 50 miles | Must be a Co-op Funeral Home | £250 |
| Age UK | Contribution | £1,495 | To a service location and then a burial location | 50 miles | Must be an Age UK network fuenral home | £249 |
| Dignity PLC | Contribution | £3,095 | To a service location and then a burial location | 50 Miles | Must be a Dignity PLC network funeral home | £249 |
| Golden Charter | Both Depending on the Level | £1,749 | A funeral procession to the funeral location | 25 Miles | Must be a Golden Charter network funeral home | £249 |
| Safe hands | Guaranteed | £1,895 | To a service location and then a burial location | 25 Miles | Safe Hands Must Approve the Funeral Home | £295 |
| SunLife | Contribution | £13.51 a Month (no lump sum fee option) | Transportation to a separate ceremony | 15 Miles | All services provided by Dignity PLC | Though you can cancel at any time, you don’t receive your money back. |
| Avalon | Guaranteed | £1,895 | Directly to crematorium or cemetery | Mainland UK & NI | Avalon Approved | £395 |
| Pride | Both Depending on the Level | £2,595 | Directly to crematorium or cemetery | 25 Miles | Must be a Pride Network Funeral Home | £595 |
| Simplicity | Guaranteed | £1,495 | None | Mainland UK | Must be in the Simplicity Funeral Home Network | £95 |
| Asda | Over 50 Insurance With an Option for £300 toward the funeral cost. | Life insurance From £5 a Month but These Are Not Funeral Plans | NA | NA | Diginity PLC netowrk | NA |
Our Top 10 Pre Paid Funeral Plans
You will learn more about the top 10 funeral plans that you can choose from for your end-of-life planning in the list. You’ll be able to see what each one of the providers offers and how you can customise the plans. After comparing the best pre-paid funeral plans in the UK, you’ll know which one will be the best for your specific needs.
1. Co-Op Funeral Plan
Co-op Funeral Care understands that every funeral is unique and that you and your family will need individualised care to ensure everything is handled correctly. Their knowledgeable and friendly staff will be able to help you 24/7 to answer any questions you may have.
Co-op Funeral Plan offers you four different tiers to choose from, The Simple, Bronze, Silver, and Gold. With each step up, you add more features and gain more options. The plans start with a basic coffin and progress to a wood veneer option.
With the Simple package, you get fewer options for date, time, and location. You also get fewer options included for the wake and the procession. As you move up in plans, you gain more control over all aspects of the service.
The Simple Plan gives you a very basic funeral. Co-Op makes most of the decisions at the time of your death. With the Bronze, you and your family get more input on the scheduling of the funeral.
From the Silver package, the plans become guaranteed for third-party expenses. This option is also the first package that adds a limousine to the procession for the mourners. The Gold plan offers the user the most flexibility, but it does come with the highest price tag.
2. Age UK Funeral Plan
Age UK is one of the largest charitable organisations in the UK. Their goal is to make everyone’s later years better. Making your retirement years better includes helping people put their minds at ease with funeral agreements and services.
With Age UK Funeral Plans, you can pick from nine different options. They break down into three groups, low-cost funeral plans, natural funeral plans, and traditional funeral plans.
The low price tier is for cremation services, the natural level offers carbon neutral funeral arrangements, and the traditional one shows the more standard funeral options.
With the low price group, you can pick between the Buttercup, Daffodil, and Sunflower. As you move up in your options, you add in more people to attend your cremation and whether or not you have a service.
In the natural group, you can have either the Fern or Forest plan. As you move up in tiers, your casket changes, and you get more options for the procession and services.
You can decide between four plans, The Basic, Ivy, Holly, and Rowan, in the traditional tier. With each step up, you gain the ability to customise the service more. You can pick different location options and casket styles, procession options, and thank you cards.
3. Dignity PLC Funeral Plan
Dignity actually provides the services for many of the other funeral plan options available. The company has a history that dates back to 1812, with the establishment of its first funeral director. They have a long history of helping people during some of their most difficult moments.
Dignity PLC Funeral Plan offers four different plans to help you find the options to fit your needs best. They are The Limited, Amber, Pearl, and Dimond. As you go up with each level, you get to have more control over the options of each aspect of your funeral.
You gain access to the more than 800 funeral directors that are part of Dignity, so it will be easy to find a provider that you feel comfortable with using.
By going to Dignity directly, you can cut out some of the middlemen. So many of the other plans on this list use Dignity as their primary provider of services. They are a very well-established member of the funeral community and are known for providing fantastic service.
They provide guidance for you and your family throughout the whole process so that you will understand what is happening and what will come next.
We have written a comprehensive page that pits Dignity Funeral Plans Vs Co Op to see which is best for your situation.
4. Golden Charter Funeral Plan
Golden Charter has more than 30 years in the funeral care service. They are independently owned and operated by a group of caring funeral directors. The company has helped over 700,000 people in the UK plan ahead for their funeral arrangements.
You can take your pick from the Basic, Value, Standard, Select, and Premium plans. With each of these plans, you can pay an extra fee to upgrade them from a contribution plan to a guaranteed plan for third-party fees.
The basic plan is designed to cover a simple cremation and doesn’t come with a service. It is the least expensive option, but it covers the bare minimum as well. The rest of the plans allow for your choice of cremation or burial. As you move up in plans, you get more options and more features.
Golden Charter works with over 3,000 different funeral directors, so you will likely be able to find one that will work well for you and your family. They have one of the largest networks for you to choose your director.
5. Safe Hands Funeral Plan
Safe Hands wants to make it easy for everyone to make their end-of-life plans. They believe it should be simple and straightforward. Their trained team is sensitive yet direct enough so that you understand all aspects of your plan.
To reach this goal, they offer five different plans. Choose from Direct Cremation, The Topaz, The Pearl, The Sapphire, and The Ruby. Direct Cremation is for individuals who want the process handled inexpensively and with little fuss.
The rest of the options all allow for cremation or burial. Each level offers more choices and options so that you can make your funeral service more unique. Every plan gives you the help and expertise of Safe Hands funeral directors at all times.
6. SunLife Funeral Plan
SunLife specialises in insurance plans for people over 50. They have been in business since 1810 when they first started offering insurance.
They want to make sure that they can let everyone enjoy the best years of their life. To do this, they offer several services that help handle end-of-life situations. It will leave you with more time to have fun with retirement.
SunLife offers three options for your funeral needs, including Direct Cremation, Traditional, and Traditional Plus. Unlike other options on this list, there isn’t a full price you’ll have to pay. Instead, you pay the premium until you reach 90 or pass away, whichever comes first.
The Direct Cremation plan covers the cremation and the return of the remains. There is no service or other options. As you move to the Traditional and the Traditional Plus, you add more features and options to the plan.
SunLife is just the plan provider, and Dignity handles all of the actual funeral procedures. You can add the Funeral plan to other insurance plans with SunLife.
7. Avalon Funeral Plan
Avalon has over 25 years of experience helping people make their end-of-life and plans. They know how to help you understand the process. They have helped people in the UK and mainland Europe with funeral planning, and they can help you too.
Pick between five plans starting with Cremation Only. They also have Cremation with Service, Standard, Plus, and Premium plans. Each level adds more options and features for your funeral.
One of the significant advantages of using the Avalon plans is that they offer options that help ex-pats in Spain, Portugal, and Cyprus. These plans are slightly different from their UK plans. It can be essential if you or your family want to be laid to rest in the UK but are living out of the country.
8. Pride Funeral Plan
Pridetrust backs Pride Funeral Plans. The company has been helping plan funerals for years and has become one of the UK’s most trusted companies for end-of-life planning. They are dedicated to providing professional and affordable care.
You can choose from four different plans. The plans are Practical, Simplified, Essential, and Plus. From the Simplified plan upward, you get a guaranteed package that covers almost all the fees that can be associated with your funeral.
Pride offers some of the most wide-ranging plans that allow you to cover the most expenses for your family. It is an excellent option if you want to ensure that your family will not have any costs out of pocket.
As you move up in plans, you get more flexibility and more features. With each level, your coffin gets nicer, and you can choose more options. You can find a plan that will fit your needs with Pride.
9. Simplicity Funeral Plan
Simplicity prides itself on offering an alternative to the traditional funeral services. They believe in a more affordable option that focuses on celebrating the deceased’s life and less on the trappings of the funeral.
If that sounds like an option you would want to pursue, you can choose three different plans, the Lily, Magnolia, and Orchid. They start at a simple cremation and progress to services that add some more features and options.
These plans don’t offer processions, and they don’t have many of the options that some of the other providers give. However, if you are looking for a less than traditional funeral, Simplicity can help you plan that and save a little money as well.
10. Asda Funeral Plan
Asda is a supermarket chain that opened its doors in 1949. Asda doesn’t offer a full funeral plan. Instead, they offer a funeral plan add-on to their life insurance plans. You get your normal Asda over 50 life insurance that can provide up to £10,000.
With the add-on, you can get an additional £300 for your funeral if you pick a director in the Dignity Network.
The Asda option is a very popular life insurance option, and the extra money can help make it an even better value. The best part is it is included with the insurance. You just have to use the right funeral director to access the extra money.
Tips & Final Thoughts
Before you commit to buying a prepaid funeral plan, there are 3 things to ensure you do:
- Make sure the plan is with a company that has signed up to the Funeral Planning Authority
- Ensure you have, in wririitng everything you have paid for. This should come in a fuenral plan pack after purchasing
- Add all of the detiasl of your funeral plan into your Will and let your family know you have a pre paid fuenral plan
I hope this guide has helped you. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to add them into the comments below.
Frequently Asked Questions
A pre-paid funeral plan is a way of paying for a future funeral in advance.
You pay either a lump sum or installments to the plan provider, or to a funeral director. Your money is either invested into a trust fund with trustees or in an insurance policy, which is then used to pay for the funeral whenever that turns out to be. The aim of both methods is to safeguard your money until it’s needed, ensuring that it’s used to provide the funeral you have paid for. Plan providers who use these methods do not need to be regulated by the FSA.
Currently no. This will change in July 2022.
Because the plan providers are not authorised by the FCA, their complaints and compensation arrangements do not apply to funeral plans that use trust arrangements or insurance policies for your payments.
Plan providers can register with the Funeral Planning Authority (FPA), if they agree to meet its requirements. Registered providers will be subject to the FPA’s arrangements for resolving disputes between its registered providers and their customers.
Because the money you have paid goes into a fund, the fund will simply appoint another funeral director to undertake the funeral, this will typically be the same funeral director as originally stated in the plan.
The money you pay goes directly into a trust, so the funeral director has no part in the fund. If they go out of business, then the funeral plan company will simply appoint an alternative director.