It’s not easy to talk about funerals but, no pun intended, burying one’s head in the sand won’t stop the delicate issue from surfacing sooner or later….just like will writing, planning for funerals in advance is one of the smart life decisions that will help you at some point in the future.
If you live in London, a modest funeral with set you back by almost £3,500. There’s not much respite even if you live far from the metropolis. Undertaking costs have gone through the roof and the average funeral costs more than £2,500, a totally unanticipated burden on bereaved families.
It gets worse... costs are rising and are expected to go up by nearly 40% in the next 3 years, according to the research firm Mintel.
People are now seriously struggling to come up with the money for undertaking costs, and are being forced to simultaneously deal with debt collectors while coping with the loss of their near and dear ones. Some people, unable to gather sufficient funds, are even delaying burials till they can save up enough.
Government benefits on the funeral bills are also lagging behind the real costs, and its low income families that are hardest hit with costs that are spiralling out of control.
On top of that, some funeral directors are actually working with debt enforcement agencies for chasing unpaid fees. Such enforcement agencies often resort to rough tactics to ensure payment. This is a traumatic experience for grieving families who are already in mourning.
It is a tough proposition; but thankfully, there are some solutions to this predicament. According to the Mintel research, most people just take a quote from one company and go along with it. Ideally, however, they should get 2 or 3 quotes from independent or local funeral directors and compare before committing. Although this may not be a very palatable approach at a grief-stricken time, this method can save quite a bit in the budget.
In addition, one should get proper insurance so that there is a financial cushion when disaster strikes. Insurance deals also merit comparison, but I’ve done that for you already, and collected some of the best available deals in one place. Just click here to choose a plan that works best for you and say goodbye to sudden and unexpected bereavement costs.
