Which is best – Dignity or Coop – or someone else? (as at September 2015).
Funeral Plan Quotes
There is no substitute to getting INDEPENDENT advice before choosing a funeral plan. It costs nothing, and could save a mistake. Few people realise quite how many different factors need to be taken into account when you are choosing a funeral plan. As Harry Will might say – FIGHT!!
This is Dignity PR: This is Dignitys first punch – we look forward to hearing from the Coop!
Or if you are just looking for a review of Dignity Funeral Plans. Please note that the prices change all the time, and whilst we update our data for recommendations in house, that data is NOT published on the site.
For your reference the cost of the COOP funeral plan range has increased in comparison to the Dignity Plan as follows:
Dignity Plan
Price
COOP Plan
Price
Price Difference.
The Dignity Chiltern
£2,890
Coop Bronze
£2,990
£100.
The Dignity Malvern
£3,145
Coop Silver
£3,275
£130.
The Dignity Highland
£3,480
Coop Gold*
£3,620
£140.
*only contains 1 limousine.
Don’t forget that like COOP we (Dignity) guarantee the cremation, doctors and officiants fee’s within the plan. Most competitor products don’t offer even though these fees are rising fast, possibly leaving the family with additional expense at the time of need.
In addition, the benefits of the Dignity Funeral plan include.
· Simple easy to understand options and application process.
· Comprehensive membership documents including an executor pack explaining what to do at the time of need.
· An independent and secure trust fund with over 85,000 members.
· Highest burial contribution in the UK at £1030.
· The only provider to offer your client 24/7 support once they take out a plan.
· Up to 10 year instalments for those who do not wish to pay by lump sum, at far better rates than most alternative providers.
Contact the experts at the PrePaid Funeral Review to find out which of these companies – if either – offer a product which is right for YOU.
Dignity Funeral Plan pricerise is from 1st December. Anyone whom we might have recommended the Dignity Funeral Plan to (as it happened to be the best for their particular circumstances) who hasn’t returned their application will need to contact us for a review of the recommendation. The Dignity Funeral Plan price rise may mean it is no longer the best buy for them. Their is a brief window where applications we receive before Christmas will be honoured at the old prices – a substantial saving.
The price rise from Dignity Funeral Plans is just a part of the regular ongoing increases in funeral plan prices which all providers have to do. We will therefore be revising our recommendations in the light of the changes for new enquiries. This happens all the time and is one of the reasons that we recommend that people don’t return our enquiry form until they are actually ready to buy. The process of making a recommendation is quite labour intensive, and we often only get a days or two’s advance warning of price increases, at which point all outstanding recommendations new reviewing!
With regard to the Dignity Funeral Plan price rise, the whole of their documentation has been altered, so unless you can get the application to us before Christmas (and the post is already slowing) you will need a complete new Funeral Plan application pack even if the Dignity Funeral Plan remains our recommendation for your situation.
If you get the application in the post to us quickly, by all means use our Funeral Plan FREEPOST address, but a good old fashioned first class stamp might save you a fair bit of money.
As ever, we remain willing to give guidance at no extra cost on pre-paid Funeral Plans, as long as you are willing to act reasonably promptly, and submit your applications through us. Where else will you get INDEPENDENT Funeral Plan advice?
Bereaved parents spared children’s burial and cremation costs
Children’s Funeral Fund for England established to ensure no parent will have to pay for their child’s burial or cremation, subject to age limits.
Families grieving the tragic loss of a child will no longer have to meet the costs of their burial or cremation, as a result of a new government scheme set up to provide financial help.
Every year in England an estimated 3,800 children die under the age of 18, and there are a further 2,700 stillbirths. Bereaved parents can find themselves facing bills of thousands of pounds for burial or cremation fees which can vary widely across the country.
The Children’s Funeral Fund (CFF) will bring an end to this uncertainty and provide bereaved parents with valuable practical support at a very difficult time. The scheme aims to reduce the financial burden for families by reimbursing burial authorities, cremation authorities and funeral directors directly.
The fund will be available regardless of the family’s income, and will also include a contribution towards the cost of a coffin.
Today’s (30 June 2019) news comes after Prime Minister Theresa May last year pledged to abolish children’s burial and cremation fees, and follows a cross-party campaign led by Swansea East MP Carolyn Harris after the tragic death of her 8 year old son, Martin.
Prime Minister Theresa May said:
At a time of such unimaginable loss, no grieving parent should be faced with the stress and worry of finding the money to cover the costs of their child’s funeral.
I hope the Children’s Funeral Fund will bring an end to this and give families some comfort and support when they need it most.
I would again like to pay tribute to Carolyn Harris and all those who have campaigned with such devotion and dignity on this issue.
Justice Minister Edward Argar said:
The loss of a child is a tragedy which no parent can prepare for.
While nothing can ever remove the pain that bereaved families experience, this Government is determined to do everything in its power to ease the burden on them, which is why, in line with the Prime Minister’s pledge, I have developed the scheme we are announcing today.
The Children’s Funeral Fund will provide bereaved parents with much-needed support and I am proud to have worked alongside such dedicated campaigners to make this important scheme a reality.
DWP Minister Will Quince said:
As a bereaved parent, I know the impact the Children’s Funeral Fund will have. No one should ever have to endure the loss of a child and thanks to this scheme grieving families will now be spared the burden of meeting funeral costs.
I have been campaigning for more support for grieving families since entering Parliament in 2015 and I am proud that along with MoJ my Department and I have been able to make this fund a reality.
We want to ensure everyone is able to say goodbye to their child with love and dignity without the added fear of how they are going to pay for it.
Kate Lee, Chief Executive of CLIC Sargent, said:
This announcement is a momentous day for everyone who has supported the campaign for a Children’s Funeral Fund over the last 2 years.
But most importantly this is for every parent who has been plunged into debt to pay for their child’s funeral. As one mum said, no one should ever face the pain that they can’t afford ‘the last gift you’ll ever give your child’. This Fund is in memory of every one of their children.
Regulations are to be laid in parliament tomorrow (1 July 2019) by Justice Minister, Edward Argar, ahead of the Fund coming into effect on 23 July 2019.
The fund marks a key milestone in the delivery of the government’s manifesto commitment to provide bereaved parents with the support they need.
Notes.
Under the fund arrangements, no bereaved family will have to pay the fees charged for a child’s cremation or burial or for a number of prescribed associated expenses.
The fund provides for burial authorities and cremation authorities to apply to the government for the reimbursement of the fees which would otherwise be charged for the provision of the burial or cremation of an eligible child.
It also provides for funeral directors to apply for reimbursement of certain associated expenses, including a £300 contribution towards the price of a coffin.
If the person responsible for organising the burial or cremation chooses not to use a funeral director but makes the funeral arrangements themselves, they will be able to claim directly for those expenses from the fund.
The only conditions for the scheme are that the child is under 18 at the time of death or is stillborn after the 24th week of pregnancy, and that the burial or cremation takes place in England.
The scheme is not means-tested, and the residency or nationality of the deceased child, or of the person organising the burial or cremation, will not be relevant in determining eligibility.
Both the Welsh Government and the Scottish Government have established schemes, under devolved powers, to make financial support available to providers of burial and cremation for children.
Findings of UK’s biggest ever survey into death and bereavement reveal almost 18 million people are uncomfortable talking about death.
4 million people have experienced financial hardship as a result of someone’s death.
The average Brit first suffers a bereavement of someone close to them aged 20.
Co-op supported by leading national charities is seeking to drive social change to tackle this last taboo.
Over 30,000 people have come a step closer to tackling the taboo of death, as Co-op reveals the findings of the UK’s biggest ever survey into death, dying and bereavement*.
The survey commissioned by Co-op, conducted by YouGov and supported by a coalition of national charities, was opened to the nation in May (2018). It is the first time national attitudes towards death have been looked at on such a scale.
The findings, released in a broader report “Making Peace With Death”, highlight that further action is needed to tackle the nation’s last taboo. The research uncovered attitudes towards mortality, bereavement and the way in which the nation plans ahead for death.
Highlighting the extent of the last taboo, the report reveals that almost 18 million people are uncomfortable talking about death**. Almost 5 million people say they are too uncomfortable to talk about their own death at all, with almost 13 million UK adults saying they are uncomfortable, but would be willing to talk.
Whilst we aren’t at ease talking or opening up to others about death, according to the findings, as a nation, people do think about their own mortality:
91% of Brits have thought about their own mortality, with women (93%) more likely to consider their own death than men (90%.)
26 is the average age people first think about their own mortality.
A third (35%) think about their own mortality once a week or more.
Findings highlight that life events and external news reports are amongst the top 10 reasons people consider their mortality:
Perhaps as a result of this, when it comes to experiencing a bereavement, the national taboo is having a detrimental impact. Findings reveal that:
For half (47%), the death of a close relative or friend is their first recollection of death.
A seventh (14%) of those who have been recently bereaved (i.e. in the last 5 years) said that after the death, nobody knew what to say or do.
A sixth (16%) of those recently bereaved kept it to themselves, possibly to avoid having that “chat.”
A quarter (24%) kept as busy as possible, whilst. 12% got back to work as soon as they could.
Whether the death*** was expected (50%) or sudden (39%) altered the way in which the bereaved were able to cope.
Further findings highlight that grief remains hard to deal with long after a death. For many of those who were recently bereaved, the period immediately after finding out about the death (52%) or during the funeral (46%) were amongst the most difficult. However birthdays (26%), the anniversary of their death (25%), Christmas or religious festivals (21%) and the return to work (12%) were also referenced as times when it was hard to deal with grief.
In response to this, to help increase awareness about how to better support the bereaved, using the findings, the Co-op has produced the below guide, highlighting the most and least helpful things people have done for the bereaved following a loss.
A further area uncovered through the research, is how the taboo is leading to a failure to plan ahead.
Across the UK, 81% of people have not yet saved anything towards a funeral.
Nationally people have a good awareness of a what a funeral costs, with people thinking it is £3750 on average.****
Over a quarter (27%) have written a will, just one in 20 (6%) have nominated a lasting power of attorney and only 5% have put a funeral plan in place,
Highlighting the impact of this, over 4 million UK adults may have experienced financial hardship as a result of someone’s death*****.
Co-op is working with key national UK charities, including British Red Cross, Child Bereavement UK, Cruse Bereavement Care, Dying Matters, Remember a Charity and Sue Ryder to drive social change. This work will look at the following gaps identified by the research:
A greater support network and guidance for employers to assist managers with supporting colleagues following a bereavement.
A shift in the national language used to talk about death moving to more direct conversations and a national campaign for a more open culture that breaks the taboo.
Opening up new networks for bereaved families and individuals ensuring there are more natural opportunities for them to seek support and contact with others following a death.
Greater focus on the interactions with death and mortality in the early stages of life to understand better the role of education in preparing us for one of lives hardest events.
Robert MacLachlan, Managing Director of Co-op Funeralcare and Life Planning, said:
“We see increasingly that a failure to properly deal with death has a knock on impact for the bereaved, affecting mental health and also triggering financial hardship. We’re committed to doing right by our clients and more needs to be done nationally to tackle this.
“It’s overwhelming that the survey led to 30,000 people sharing their views. Now that we have such a wealth of insight on what stops the nation engaging with death and bereavement, we can start to address these areas and work with others to drive genuine social change.”
Julia Samuel, author of the bestselling book Grief Works, comments:
’’This Co-op survey being on such a large scale is both convincing and fascinating. It gives us concrete evidence of the extent that death is unvoiced in our society and shows that we need to find a way to bring those thoughts and fears out into the open.
’’The fear of talking about death, both their own, and of those they love, means that people are not receiving the support they most need at the time, and following their bereavement. This support is the predictor of their outcome, for good or ill. When someone dies it is the love and support of others that enables us to heal and find a way of living again.
’’I welcome this survey as part of the wider Co-op campaign to improve the support and care of bereaved families.’’
Carol McGiffin, Television Broadcaster, commented:
’’Death, dying and bereavement are unavoidable experiences that impact all of us, so it’s incredibly eye-opening to see how many of us are still uncomfortable talking about it. Having experienced a life threatening illness myself, I now have a completely different perspective on mortality and have realised how important it is to come to terms with it.
’’It’s so important that these conversations become more of a norm and that it doesn’t take something drastic to trigger them. I’m sure that the work the Co-op is doing and the findings of its survey will help to drive positive change.’’
Notes:
*Co-op’s biggest ever survey into death dying and bereavement was conducted by YouGov from 7th May to 25th June 2018 among over 30,000 UK adults. Further detail on the study can be found in Co-op’s media report
** Population figures calculated by the Co-op, based on YouGov figures.
For those uncomfortable about death: When asked what statement best described how they felt talking to their loved ones about their own death = 33.25% chose “Not at all comfortable – I won’t discuss it” or “Not very comfortable – but I am willing to talk about it” Mid-2017 UK 16+ ONS population estimate = 53,534,872 33.25% of 53,534,872 = 17,800,344.94 For those who won’t talk about death: When asked what statement best described how they felt talking to their loved ones about their own death = 9.00% said they were “Not at all comfortable – I won’t discuss it” 9.00% of 53,534,872 = 4,818,138.48 For those who are reluctant to talk about death: When asked what statement best described how they felt talking to their loved ones about their own death = 9.00% said they were “Not very comfortable – but I am willing to talk about it” 24.25% of 53,534,872 = 12,982,206.46
*** Based on bereavements experienced in the last 5 years
**** According to Co-op data, the average UK funeral cost in 2017 was £3,944 including our costs and third party fees
*****Population figures calculated by the Co-op, based on YouGov figures. For those who have experienced financial hardship as a result of someone’s death: When asked if they experienced financial hardship as a result of someone close to them passing away, including having to meet your partner’s share of the mortgage, to pay more bills, taking time off work = 7.58% said they had 7.58% of 53,534,872 = 4,057,943.30
Direct cremation funerals to increase to 10% of UK funerals by 2030
Research[1] conducted by Dignity plc, one of the UK’s (self styled) premium funeral directors, shows that 53% of online consumers would consider a David Bowie style funeral for themselves, namely a Direct Cremation.
At the Prepaid Funeral Review, we have looked across the market at prepaid Direct Cremations with a little concern. What happens if family and friends don’t agree with your decision to cut them out of the traditional funeral? We always ask people to consider this and discuss it with family members and friend. A good proportion of them then come back and opt for a more conventional funeral. But let’s not spoil Dignitys’ Press Release:
A direct cremation is a low cost alternative to a traditional funeral, because cremations take place without a funeral service. The family arranges for the deceased to be collected, taken into care, and a cremation takes place without the family present. Ashes can then returned to the family who often arrange their own reception or event to remember the deceased, which can be done at a significantly lower cost.
Annual unattended direct cremation volumes in the UK are estimated to be between 3-5% of UK deaths (18,000-30,000 people a year2) and Dignity is predicting this figure to reach or exceed 10% by 2030.
Simon Cox, Head of Insight and External Affairs at Dignity said; “The growth in the UK’s interest in direct cremation is in response to a shift in consumer attitudes towards funerals. Consumers are moving away from a one size fits all traditional funeral service and among the very many different needs this includes those who may wish to choose an unattended or low cost funeral option.
In addition public figures, such as David Bowie, demonstrated earlier this year that there are other options for people who choose a send-off with no fuss. We witnessed a sharp spike in public interest for direct cremation immediately after Bowie’s death”.
John Troyer from The Centre for Death and Society at University of Bath said “Based on my research on the history of final disposal methods in the United States, direct cremation is something that many individuals choose when making end-of-life decisions about what should be done with their body. As in the US, I would expect to see interest in direct cremation continue to grow.”
Simon Cox continued; “To put it into context a basic funeral is £3,973[2] and is predicted to grow to £5,334 by 2021[3]. Not everyone wants to or can spend over £3,900 on a funeral with more and more people looking for alternatives such as direct cremation services, which can cost less than half the price. This is because a direct cremation requires so much less than the traditional funeral in terms of the various elements, people and planning.
[1] Research conducted for Dignity by Trajectory Partnership. Amongst an online nationally representative sample of over 2,000 UK individuals. 2 Calculation using ONS figures
[2] Matter Communications 2016
[3] Dignity based on data from Matter Communications 2011-2016
talking about death.
