How much does a funeral cost?
The actual cost of a funeral is dependent upon a number of factors, including your location, what type of funeral you have, the type of coffin you would like etc. The average basic funeral cost, in 2017, is £4,078.
How have the prices changed?
Funerals are one of the very few things that have only ever increased in price. Even house prices and fuel prices fluctuate from time to time.
In 2004, SunLife began tracking the cost of funerals. At that time the average funeral cost £1,920. If funeral costs continue to rise at the same rate they have over the past decade, we could see average costs reach over £5,000 by 2022! They have risen 4.7% in the last year alone!
How do funeral costs compare to other costs?
The SunLife Cost of Dying report 2017 compares the increase in funeral costs over the past decade with other day to day living costs. The results are as follows:
- Funeral cost – 70.6%
- Weekly wages – 20.0%
- House prices – 19.8%
- Petrol prices – 19.6%
- Annual electricity bill – 42.2%
- Bread – 15.7%
The cost of funerals have increased at more than triple the rate of the other costs!
How is the cost of a funeral calculated?
The cost of a funeral is calculated by combining the funeral director’s fee and disbursements, the doctor’s fee and the officiates fee together.
The funeral director’s fee usually includes collection and care of the deceased, hearse, coffin and their professional guidance. This has increased 3.3% in the last 12 months. The disbursements (burial or cremation costs) have also risen, cremations by a whopping 7.9% to £791, and burial by 5.6% to £2,059. Doctors fees have remained the same at £164, but these are free in Scotland.
The minister or officiates fee has increased 2% to £155.
What other funeral costs are there to consider?
The average basic funeral costs mentioned above do not include all the added extra’s you might want to have when giving your loved one the send of they deserve. Other costs (average) to consider include:
- Memorial – £782
- Catering – £348
- Limo Hire – £235
- Flowers – £150
- Venue Hire (for wake) – £214
- Death Notice – £63
- Funeral Notice – £62
- Order of Service – £73
Totalling: £1,928
The total cost of funerals
Often, people assume the average cost of a funeral is for the whole event, but as shown above the “extra’s” are often forgotten about. If you combine the average funeral cost with the average extra’s cost the total cost is a staggering £6,006.
Covering the cost of a funeral
There are several options for covering your own funeral costs ahead of time, these include savings and investments, life insurance plans and pre-paid funeral plans.
The report shows that only 46% of people made enough provision to cover the entire cost, so on average families had to make up a shortfall of £2,356. Of those families, one third said they thought it cost more than expected and 36% said it cost a lot more!
Reducing the cost of a funeral
It is not surprising that due to the high price of a funeral, two in five people try to reduce the costs, often choosing cheaper coffins, fewer flowers etc.
1 in 9 families stated that trying to find the money to pay for a funeral caused them financial difficulties. 27% had to borrow money from friends and relatives, 23% used a credit card, 13% got a loan, 12% paid in instalments to the funeral director and 12% had to sell some of their belongings.
How can you beat the rising cost of funerals?
You can secure your funeral at today’s prices with a pre-paid funeral plan.
A pre-paid funeral plan is a means by which you can fix the cost of the funeral director’s fees and services, meaning that no matter how long you live there will never be anything further for your family to pay towards them.
Benefits include:
- Funeral director’s fees and services are guaranteed (nothing further to pay towards them)
- Monies held securely, in line with all current legislation in a ring-fenced specialist trust fund
- Plans can be tailored to suit all tastes and preferences
- Wide range of payment options (no Instalment Handling Charge applied to plans paid for over 1 year, or over 2 years)
- No restrictions on current health, age, or medical history
For more information, call us on 01933-213450 or enter your details below.