Funeral planning up during recession

The Co-operative Funeralcare, the UK’s largest funeral director, has reported a 28% rise in like-for-like sales of funeral plans in the first half of 2009.

The Co-operative believes that the recession is the driving force behind the sharp increase, as Brits lose confidence in other types of savings and investments traditionally relied on to cover funeral costs.

In the past five years the average cost of a funeral in the UK has increased from £1,965 to £2,573. According to the Co-operative, these increases are mainly due to the rise in disbursement costs, such as cremation fees and costs of burial spaces, as well as higher fees for officials such as doctors and ministers.

Ian Mackie, Managing Director of Funeral Planning for The Co-operative Funeralcare, said:

“At a time when many people have lost faith in other kinds of investments that cannot guarantee a return that keeps up with increases in costs, we have seen a significant increase in people opting to buy a funeral plan.

“They represent a very good investment as they are guaranteed against any future increases in costs which would not be the case if people just relied on the interest earned on savings. More importantly they also offer that most important element – peace of mind.”