Funeral Plans
Plan Ahead, Preserve Peace
A funeral plan is an easy way to arrange the funeral you want in advance. A plan allows you to specify your wishes and pay for the funeral director’s services included in your plan. As customers often tell us, that can bring peace of mind to you and your family. Many funeral plans also include an allowance towards third party costs. These are essential, non-funeral director services such as the cremation or burial fees, plus the minister or officiant’s fee to perform the service.
A plan to suit your needs
As an independently owned funeral director, we’ll take the time to understand your wishes and tailor a plan to suit you. We can discuss these at our premises or in your home, at a time that is convenient for you. If you’d prefer to discuss this over the phone or via email, we can assist with this too.
You can tell us about any preferences you have in mind – the type of funeral you would like to have, hymns, music or any other personal touches – and we’ll make sure your plan takes these into account.
What’s included in a pre-paid funeral plan?
Our funeral director’s services will be covered in your funeral plan, which means our fees will be fixed at today’s prices. These services typically include:
Professional services and making arrangements for the funeral
Transportation of the deceased from the place of death to our premises, chapel of rest or other suitable location
Care of the deceased and preparations for family viewing if requested
Advice on the certification and registration of death and related documentation
Provision of funeral vehicles
Advice on bereavement counselling
Coffin or casket requested
Although a pre-paid funeral plan can cover all of the services above, there are some additional third-party costs to consider. These are the costs for essential, non-funeral director services required to carry out a cremation or burial which need to be paid at the time of the funeral. These costs are outside our control. They may include:
- Crematorium fee
- Minister or officiant’s fee
- Cemetery fee: the opening of a new or existing grave for burial or interment of cremated remains
Other third party costs that may be associated with a funeral include:
- Purchase of grave or lair
- Hire of church or other venue
- Fees for organist or soloist
- Memorial, such as a headstone, entry in a book of remembrance, or the planting of a tree
- Catering, floral tributes and newspaper announcements
There will only be more to pay at the time of the funeral if the third party costs exceed the allowance when you buy your plan, or if the costs increase by more than the growth of your plan. Even if prices rise in the future, once your plan is paid for, you’ll have the reassurance of knowing there’ll be nothing more to pay for our services included in the plan – guaranteed.
Payment options to suit you
Most funeral plan companies will offer you several ways to pay for your plan by either spreading the cost or making a one-off payment – simply choose the one that’s right for you. This is something you can discuss with your chosen funeral plan provider, who will supply you with the information you need to make an informed decision.
The retail price of your funeral plan is representative of the equivalent cost of a funeral today, but there is also an arrangement fee to consider, which is retained by the funeral company to help cover the costs of setting up your plan.
Once you have the comfort of a plan in place, you’ll have the peace of mind that comes with being able to help save your family from worry and expense in the future.
Looking after you as a customer
As your funeral director, we’ll hold full details of your funeral plan. When the time comes, one phone call is all it takes to activate your plan and get the arrangements underway.