Funeral costs drop

 

Funeral costs drop for the first time in 18 years

The average cost of a basic funeral has dropped for the first time in 18 years but is predicted to rise again in the future, a report has found.

Funeral costs fell 3.1% to an average of £4,056 last year, the Cost of Dying report by insurer Sun Life found.

Costs are varied across the UK, and the cheapest type of ceremony - a cremation without a service - rose in price.

Last year, funeral firms were ordered to display clearer price-lists for bereaved customers.

At a time when prices, in general, have been rising at their fastest rate for years, some families have found the cost of funerals difficult to cover.

"Funerals are still relatively expensive, and half of the people arranging a funeral in the last year looked for ways to keep funeral costs down - including choosing a cheaper coffin, spending less on flowers, and having the wake at home," said Mark Screeton, chief executive of Sun Life.

Some were also limited in the kind of commemorations they were able to organize owing to the Covid pandemic. There was a notable increase in digital streaming of funeral services to loved ones unable to attend many business listings.

·         Funeral firms ordered to make prices clearer

·         'More and more people don't want a traditional burial'

The insurer's review into funeral costs has been running for nearly two decades and this was the first year-on-year fall in the average cost of a funeral that it has recorded.

However, it has predicted a return to year-on-year increases in prices in the next five years.

The cost of professional fees was another driver of falling prices last year. Since September, funeral directors and crematoria operators have been required to display a standardized price list on their premises and their websites.

Under orders from UK competition authorities, the list must include the headline price of a funeral, the cost of individual items that go to make up the funeral, and prices of extra products and services.

The average cost of a funeral varies significantly across the country, ranging from more than £5,000 in London - where prices rose by 2.3% last year - to just over £3,000 in Northern Ireland, which was 5.2% cheaper than the previous year.

The report also recorded a steep increase in the number of direct cremations, when the body is cremated without service and the ashes are returned to the family.

Some of this was driven by Covid restrictions, but it is also the cheapest type of send-off, at an average cost of £1,647. This rose in cost by 6% last year compared with the previous year.

Funeral directors also reported that celebration of life services was rising in popularity, although Abide with Me remained the most common song or hymn to be played.

Funeral directors and crematorium operators must make prices clear for customers, the UK's competition watchdog has ordered.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) warned the industry it risked legal action if it did not comply.

The order follows a CMA investigation which identified "serious concerns" about the clarity of funeral costs.

From 16 September, funeral directors must display a standardized price list on their premises and their website.

The list must include the headline price of a funeral, the cost of individual items which go to make up the funeral, and prices of extra products and services.

The CMA has also said from 17 June 2021, funeral directors must not pay to incentivize institutions including hospitals, hospices, and care homes to refer customers to them. They will also be banned from soliciting for business through coroner and police contacts.

Crematorium operators will also have to display their prices at their premises and on their websites.

'A close eye'

Martin Coleman, chairman of the inquiry at the CMA, said: "Organising a funeral is one of the hardest things that anyone must do, and it is vital that people are treated fairly. Customers need clear information so that they know what they will be charged and are able, if they wish to compare the prices of different provider’s business listings.

"We urge funeral directors and crematorium operators to start making these changes now. We are keeping a close eye on the sector and stand ready to take action if firms don't follow the rules."

When the CMA published its investigation findings last December it highlighted various concerns, including that prices for similar services "differed considerably" between funeral directors.

It also said the way information was presented made it hard for people to make comparisons and "choose the right combination of services for their loved ones".

The new rules have entered into law and the CMA said it expected all funeral directors and crematorium operators to "take action to ensure the changes are implemented by the legal deadlines".

The watchdog has also made recommendations to the government on further measures to regulate funeral directors.

However, it said the "exceptional circumstances" of the coronavirus pandemic meant that "some of the remedies the CMA might otherwise have pursued, including measures to control prices, could not be developed".

The chief executive of the National Association of Funeral director Jon Levitt said the organization "warmly welcomes" the publication of the Funerals Market Order.

"Although many funeral firms do publish pricing information online, some don't and there is a wide range of formats used which can be confusing for bereaved consumers at a difficult time.

"The CMA's requirements, although extremely complex in places for small businesses to navigate, support the delivery of high standards to funeral consumers and bring consistency to the process of choosing a funeral director."

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Eternal Reefs' reefs, which contain human ashes, are located off the east coast of the US

Florida firm Eternal Reefs says that interest in its rather unusual service has shot up as a result of the pandemic.

Since 1998 it has been helping the newly deceased turn their remains into artificial reef formations on the ocean's floor. It does this by adding its ashes to an environmentally-friendly concrete mix free business listings.

"The pandemic has accelerated interest, absolutely," says George Frankel, Eternal Reef's chief executive. "I believe the pandemic has opened a lot of people up to the concept of something other than a traditional burial.

"We get people who have got some vested interest in the ocean, but we also get a number of people who like the idea of giving back."

As of last year, more than 2,000 of the company's reefs have been placed in 25 locations off the US east coast.

Relatives of the deceased can watch the reefs being put into place

The Covid-19 pandemic has caused heartache for millions of people around the world who have lost loved ones. It has also undoubtedly reminded us all that life is finite.

This has in turn led to more people thinking creatively about what they want to do with their body or ashes after they have died.

For people who want their remains to stay on land, Seattle-based business Recompose has developed a "human composting" technology that turns dead bodies into the soil.

The body is laid to rest in a sealed steel cylinder, together with wood chips, straw, and cuttings from a legume plant called alfalfa. Recompose then controls the levels of carbon dioxide, nitrogen, oxygen, heat, and moisture in the tube, to enable microbes and bacteria to thrive.

After 30 days the composting process is complete, and three cubic ft. (85 liters) of the earth is removed from the cylinder to then be cured and aerated for a few weeks. Recompose suggests that the finished soil is then spread at a conservation forest in Washington State that it helps to look after, but it can alternatively be collected by loved ones or a combination of the two.

Katrina Spade, who set up the business in 2017, says she has seen a big rise in applications for its monthly prepayment program since the start of the pandemic.

"It's more of a way of having a conversation with yourself and with your friends and family," she says, "but also making a concerted effort to put a stake in the ground and say that when you die you want an option that is gentle to the planet.

"We've heard from a lot of people that this provides them with a sense of hope and comfort."

A mock-up of how Recompose's system works (there is nobody in this photograph)