The death of a loved one is a traumatic and devastating experience for anyone, arranging a funeral is also stressful and upsetting and isn’t helped by rising funeral costs. According to new research by OneFamily, the average price of a cremation in 2017 is £3,951 in England; a 27% increase from 2012. The cost of a burial has also increased by 22% to £5,714.1 To give a comparison, the price of inflation within the same period was just 11.91%.2 Cremation costs have risen due to new legislation and rising energy prices and burial costs are being driven up by a shortage of burial plots.3
Whilst there’s an expected price jump between the Capital and surrounding areas, there is also a staggering difference between different regions of the UK. The cost of a burial in Scotland is £5,272 compared to £3,849 in Northern Ireland. And, the price for a crematorium was found to be the most expensive in Northamptonshire at £5,131 and the cheapest in Gwynedd, Wales at £2,475.1
Managing director of OneFamily, Georgina Smith, commented: “Unfortunately the cost of a funeral has rocketed in the UK and when you consider that the average weekly income in the UK after tax is just £1944, 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 it’s 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 which helps calculate the cost of a funeral in each county across the UK, so that your customers can plan ahead and take appropriate steps to cover any costs when they pass away. For further information please visit: https://www.onefamilyadviser.com/guaranteed-50-plus-life-cover/
