Comparing funeral insurance providers and costs

A funeral cover comparison is really a comparison of how six over-50s plans treat a funeral: what each provider says its payout is for, how far that payout reaches against a funeral bill, and which plans add a Co-op Funeralcare option. Every point below comes from the provider's own document, and none of the six is named best or cheapest.

What a plan would cost you each month depends on your age, smoking and the sum you pick, so no honest monthly figure can be printed here. For a figure of your own, use the form on this page, after which a broker with FCA authorisation can phone to discuss funeral cover, and funeral plans too if you wish. It costs nothing and commits you to nothing.

Funeral insurance or a funeral plan?

Funeral insurance, as these providers sell it, is an over-50s life policy: a monthly premium buys a fixed cash sum paid when you die, and nothing in the policy arranges a funeral. SunLife's terms (S-G050T12.25.V3) describe the plan as one for "those who want to use life cover to leave a cash sum on death. This could help pay towards funeral expenses or any outstanding debts or be left as a legacy."

A prepaid funeral plan works the other way round: you pay a provider now and it arranges the funeral later. Shepherds Friendly draws the line itself: "This life plan is not a funeral plan and therefore may not cover the full cost of a funeral." Plans are compared on best funeral plans, and the funeral plans and funeral costs guide has the wider picture.

How six providers' funeral cover compares

The second column gives each provider's own words on what the money is for. Nothing in the table is a price.

Entry ages, accident rules, what happens if payments stop and whether a partner can share a policy are set side by side on best life insurance over 50; this table keeps to what bears on a funeral. Each of the six also advertises a gift card or voucher for new customers, on its own conditions: Post Office's, for one, says a minimum premium and a 180-day qualifying period apply. A gift changes nothing the plan pays.

How far the payout goes against a funeral bill

SunLife's Cost of Dying Report 2026 found that in 2025 a simple attended funeral cost £3,828 on average, and a direct cremation £1,628. SunLife sells over-50s plans itself, and these are survey averages: not anyone's bill and not a sum to insure for. Average funeral costs in the UK has the breakdown.

Against a bill like that, the documents describe four limits on the payout.

• It does not rise with prices. Legal & General's summary says the cash sum is fixed, so inflation will reduce what it buys in future. A sum that matches funeral prices when you buy may not match them later. Post Office's key facts offer an Increasing Benefit Option that lifts the benefit "by a fixed amount of 3% of your initial benefit amount each year" and the premium "by a fixed amount of 4.5% of your initial premium amount each year"; opting out of three rises in a row removes it for good.
• It can come to less than you paid. Scottish Friendly's key facts: "Depending on your lifespan, the total amount paid in premiums may be more than the Cash Benefit payable on death." Premiums are due until the ages in the table, so a longer life means more of them; after that, SunLife's terms say, no more premiums are due and the cover continues until your death.
• It is not paid in full at once. If death from natural causes comes in the first year (SunLife, Legal & General), the first 12 months (Aviva, Post Office) or the first two years (Scottish Friendly, Shepherds Friendly), the plan returns premiums instead: 1.5 times them at Post Office, 150% at Shepherds Friendly. Accidental death is treated differently; Legal & General says full cover is paid if you die as a result of accidental death.
• It may not meet the whole bill. SunLife, Legal & General, Scottish Friendly and Shepherds Friendly each say so in their own words, as the table shows.

Some people take these plans knowing all this. Whether the trade is worth making is weighed up on is over-50s life insurance worth it?

Funeral benefit options and Co-op Funeralcare discounts

Shepherds Friendly is one of two plans here with a Co-op Funeralcare link. Its terms (O50.2026.03.TC, the code dating them to March 2026) say: "If you choose the Funeral Benefit Option available with your plan, you can nominate that your lump sum is paid to Co-op Funeralcare to be used towards the cost of your funeral." Co-op Funeralcare also helps with the arrangements and gives a discount, which the web page sets out: "the £250 funeral payment will only apply to ‘Tailored’ funerals. If your estate opts for an ‘Essential’ funeral, the benefit will be £100, and if they opt for direct cremation or burial, the benefit will be £50."

Several conditions come with the option. It "is available to UK residents only, excluding Northern Ireland". A death from natural causes in the first two years brings the 150% repayment rather than the sum, and then "You will also not be eligible for the discount if you have selected the Funeral Benefit Option." If the funeral costs less than the sum, "your estate will receive the difference between the two amounts"; if it costs more, "your estate will be required to meet the extra costs incurred." Without the option, the sum can go "to a named individual, individuals, or a registered charity", by nomination form where the total is £5,000 or less. The terms also give the estate access to the National Bereavement Service, "a not for profit organisation that offers free counselling, guidance and support to the recently bereaved."

Post Office. Its web page offers "Up to £250 discount with Co-op Funeralcare": the family "can get an additional £250 off with Co-op Funeralcare at no extra cost. The discount levels are £250 for Tailored, £100 for Essential or £50 for Direct to cremation". Its conditions are worth asking the Post Office about before relying on it.

In both cases the discount comes off a Co-op Funeralcare bill rather than arriving as extra cash. Whether a plan carrying an option like this would accept you, and on what terms, is something an FCA-authorised broker can check; the form on this page reaches one.

What does funeral cover cost per month?

The monthly price of funeral cover depends on the person buying it, and the providers explain why. Aviva's page: "If you choose the level of cover, the price you'll pay will be based on your personal circumstances, like your age and whether you smoke." Scottish Friendly's: "Premiums are based on your current age, whether you smoke and the lump sum amount you choose". Starting older, smoking or choosing a larger sum usually means a higher monthly premium.

The cheapest plan for one person may not be the cheapest for another, which is why this page ranks none. Over-50s life insurance cost goes further into how premiums are worked out.

Funeral cover at 80 and over, or for a parent

Of the six plans compared here, SunLife's has the widest entry window: its terms take applicants who "Are aged 49-85". Legal & General, Aviva, Post Office and Shepherds Friendly take people from 50 to 80, and Scottish Friendly from 50 to 74. So among these six, someone over 80 can apply only to SunLife. The eligibility rules turn on age and UK residence (Shepherds Friendly also accepts the Isle of Man), not on whether you still work, so a pensioner is not shut out by them.

Taking out cover on a parent's life, rather than a parent buying their own plan, has its own rules, set out on life insurance for parents. If you would like someone to check which of these plans would accept you, or an older relative applying for their own, and what each would pay at that age, a broker can go through it by phone: leave your details in the form, which takes a few minutes, and nothing has to follow.

Frequently asked questions

Which funeral insurance is best or cheapest?

Which is best depends on the person, so this page names none. For a funeral, the differences that count are how much the plan will pay at your age, how long until it pays in full, and whether a Co-op Funeralcare option is attached; the price depends on your own age, smoking and the sum chosen.

Which bank has the best funeral cover?

The brand on a plan may not be the insurer. Post Office's cover, for example, is underwritten by Aviva Life & Pensions UK Limited, according to its web page, yet its key facts set a different early-death payment from Aviva's own plan, so compare the plan's own document rather than the name.

Can you get funeral insurance under 50?

Of the six plans here, only SunLife's starts below 50, at 49. The others take applicants from 50.

Can the payout go straight to the funeral director?

With Shepherds Friendly's Funeral Benefit Option you can nominate that the sum is paid to Co-op Funeralcare, with any surplus going to your estate. For the other plans, ask the provider who receives the money and how a claim is made.

Sources

• SunLife, Cost of Dying Report 2026 (January 2026), read 18 October 2026. sunlife.co.uk/funeral-costs
• SunLife, Guaranteed Over 50 Plan terms (print code S-G050T12.25.V3) and over-50 web page, read 18 October 2026. terms (PDF); web page
• Legal & General, QGI12836 11/2025 summary and web page (reviewed 8 June 2026) for Over 50s Fixed Life Insurance, read 18 October 2026. summary (PDF); web page
• Aviva, over-50s web page (WC05649 09/2026), read 18 October 2026. Aviva page
• Post Office, over-50s web page and Over 50s Life Cover Key Facts (PO 050 KF v2.9 LIVE AUG26), read 18 October 2026. Post Office page
• Scottish Friendly, key facts (no date printed) and web page for its My Mutual Guaranteed Over 50s Plan, read 18 October 2026. scottishfriendly.co.uk
• Shepherds Friendly, over-50s terms (O50.2026.03.TC) and web page, read 18 October 2026. terms (PDF); web page