UK funeral bills rocket to £1.9 billion every year
- £1.9 billion is now spent on funerals every year in the UK[i]
- Over the past five years the average cost of a cremation has risen by 33% and the cost of a burial has increased by 26%
- The highest costs for a burial or cremation are the costs associated with funeral director fees which will include completion of compulsory forms, transport and care of the body, plus travel to the ceremony
- Huge variation on bills depending on where you live in the UK with central London burials the most expensive at £8,625 and cremations in Gwynedd the cheapest at £2,475
The OneFamily funeral costs tracker today reveals that in the UK between 2012 and 2017 the average price of a cremation increased by a huge 33% from £2,896 to £3,894, while the price of a burial has risen by 26% to £5,446. Comparatively inflation has risen just 11.91% over the same period[ii].
The most significant costs are for the funeral director fees which include administration of compulsory forms, professional fees, care of the body and travel to the ceremony which averages in total £2,217 for a burial. Clergy, church and burial fees total £1,626, headstones now cost £1,010 and coffins add up to £454.
Comparatively costs for a cremation are £2,211 for funeral director fees, cremation fees £745, and coffins £446.
The tracker shows that there is a £5,465 difference between the average costs of burials in London compared to Northern Ireland. The lowest cost was found in Londonderry at £3,610 and the highest in central London at £8,625. In comparison cremation is most expensive in Northamptonshire at £5,131 and cheapest in Gwynedd at £2,475, a difference of £2,656.
Georgina Smith, Managing Director of OneFamily comments, “Unfortunately the cost of funerals has rocketed in the UK and when you consider that the average weekly income in the UK after tax is just £194[iii], death poverty is very real for many bereaved families who simply can’t afford to pay these bills. Many families left behind end up in debt through having to pay ever increasing bills to say goodbye. Families are increasingly reliant on each other financially whether its buying a house, funding education, or end of life costs.
“Losing a loved one is traumatic itself without having to worry about costs so we are urging families to plan ahead to ensure they have insurance or savings in place to cover the costs of their funeral. Over 50s life cover enables you to leave a lump sum for your family to cover funeral costs, debt or a small inheritance and our policy also includes serious and terminal illness benefits not available from other insurers.”
OneFamily has created a funeral calculator to help UK residents calculate the cost of a funeral where they live, so they can plan ahead and take appropriate steps to cover any costs when they pass away.
[i] ONS there were 529,655 deaths in the UK in 2015 (most recent figures available).
Cremation Society of Great Britain: 75% were cremated and 25% were buried
Therefore, there were 327,241 cremations at an average cost of £3,849 and 132,414 burials at an average cost of £5,446. Total £1.871,536,575
[ii] http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/bills/article-1633409/Historic-inflation-calculator-value-money-changed-1900.html
[iii] https://www.funeralzone.co.uk/funeral-planning-in-the-uk
