The Benefits Of A Funeral Plan – A Family’s Perspective

What Are The Benefits Of A Funeral Plan?

Funeral plans are beneficial if you wish to plan and pay for your funeral today. Therefore, one of the most obvious benefits of a funeral plan is that you can pay for your funeral at today’s prices, regardless of when you pass away.

As a company we often discuss funeral wishes with our clients during their initial consultation. However, recently have we discovered all of the true benefits of a funeral plan.

In June 2016, my Nan passed away – the first of my immediate family to do so. Dealing with the loss of a loved one is difficult for us all, and a completely new experience. Thankfully, we knew that Nan had put a funeral plan into place a few years ago. Consequently, the first thing that we had to do was locate her paperwork.

My Grandparents have always been quite organised, and so my Grandad knew exactly where to find her documents. Our main concern was that Nan had always wanted to return to her home town (Stoke-on-Trent) as she had lived there for most of her life. However, we didn’t know if this would be possible, especially when it was a few hours drive away.

Making The Call…

The first thing to do was call the funeral company and ask which funeral directors in Stoke-On-Trent we would need to use. Then we would need to find out how we would get her there. Surprisingly, they told us the name of a local funeral directors that would fulfil her wishes -wow! All we had to do was call them. We did and the meeting was arranged for later that day. It was as simple as that! We did not have to spend hours researching local funeral homes and making calls. This is just one of the benefits of a funeral plan!

The First Meeting…

For my Mum, my Sister and I, this was our first experience of planning a funeral, and we had no idea what to do. Thankfully, the funeral directors were really good with us and talked us through what would happen next. They explained what things we needed to do step-by-step. This included things like collecting her death certificate and registering her death.

They told us what decisions Nan had already made, which included the type of service, coffin and hymns. Consequently, the funeral directors completed most of the arrangements with the crematorium in Stoke-On-Trent instead of us. All we had to choose was the date and time of the service. We were not left to wonder about what she would or wouldn’t have wanted. We didn’t have to make any big decisions. And we didn’t have to look through catalogues of coffins. These are just a few more benefits of a funeral plan.

What Happened Next…

Once all the arrangements were in place, all that was left for us to choose was which songs we wanted to be played and the clothes that she would wear. Fortunately, this came as quite a relief to us, as we were all going through such a difficult time.

We arranged for a local minister to visit us at home where we told him stories of my Nan that he could use during the service. Although it was lovely remembering the fun we used to have, it was also a very difficult conversation. It suddenly started to feel very real. The funeral directors collated all the information required and created the order of service for the day. It considerably reduced the amount of stress we were under. Another one of the many benefits of a funeral plan.

The Day Of The Funeral…

We had made arrangements with the funeral directors to meet them near to the crematorium in Stoke-On-Trent. The immediate family (My Grandad, Mum, Sister and I) transferred to the family car that was included in the plan. We followed the hearse passed my Nan’s old house where she lived for over 50 years. This was one of the few things that we had requested, so we could fulfil her wish to go ‘home.’

The minister that had visited us at home, travelled to Stoke-On-Trent too and delivered a beautiful service. He had somehow managed to capture the very essence of my Nan. It was as if he had known her all her life.

After The Service…

Once the service was over, the immediate family were transported to the venue where we were having the wake. The funeral directors and the minister returned home whilst we spent the rest of the day with my Nan’s family and friends. A few days after the service, we received all the final information from the funeral directors as well as their invoice.

We only had a small fee to pay, to cover the additional costs of taking my Nan home (instead of having a local funeral). Luckily, this meant that my Grandad didn’t suddenly have to find several thousand pounds to cover the costs, and my Nan had her wishes fulfilled. Another one of the benefits of a funeral plan – it had already been paid for years ago.

The True Benefits Of A Funeral Plan…

Until recently I would have said the main benefit of having a funeral plan was being able to pay for it upfront and at today’s prices – potentially saving you thousands of pounds. However, since experiencing losing a loved one (that had a funeral plan) I will now say one of the main benefits of having a funeral plan is having all the important decisions made, by the one person who knows what they want. It was difficult enough choosing the songs to be used for the service, which is only one small factor of the day.

Without a funeral plan in place, we would have had many more tough decisions to make. None of us would have really known what Nan wanted, as she always found talking about death and funerals too morbid to tell us her wishes. We would have guessed what her wishes would have been, and perhaps not all of us would have agreed with each other. We would also have had the added stress of trying to make all the arrangements, particularly as it was not a local funeral.

Planning My Funeral…

Those who follow my blog may have read about the plans that I have made for my own funeral so far – but I have never given enough consideration to having a prepaid funeral plan. I have now seen the benefits that this has for those who are left behind. I want to make sure that when it’s my turn – whenever that may be – I will have done everything that I can to make it easier for my family. Losing a loved one is a very emotional and traumatic time, that is often made worse with the stress of organising and paying for a funeral.

If you want to help to protect your family, from the stress of organising and paying for your funeral, talk to us today about your prepaid funeral plan.