Funeral plan
One of twenty-three terms in the resource centre
A funeral plan is a funeral paid for in advance, at today's price, so that the family has less to arrange and less to pay when the time comes. The money is held in a trust or an insurance policy until it is needed, and since 2022 funeral plan providers in the UK have been regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
A plan sets out what is included: usually the funeral director's services, the coffin and the cremation or burial fee, sometimes the cars and the minister. Anything not listed is paid for at the time. It is worth reading exactly what a plan covers, because the crematorium or cemetery fee is often only guaranteed up to a stated amount.
A plan can cover a direct cremation as well as a traditional funeral. A plan does not usually cover repatriation, so someone who wants to be taken home to another country after their death should say so and check whether the provider can include it.
Read next
Whether a plan is worth taking out is part of putting your affairs in order. What a funeral costs without one is in how much a funeral costs in the UK, and the help available afterwards in how to claim the Funeral Expenses Payment.
Related terms: Funeral costs and Funeral director. Every term, explained.
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