25 guides
Funeral plans & funeral costs
If you are arranging a funeral now, there is help with the costs: start with the Funeral Expenses Payment on gov.uk. These guides also explain prepaid funeral plans and funeral cover.
- Are prepaid funeral plans safe and regulated? Yes, pre-paid funeral plans are regulated by the FCA. Since 29 July 2022 a provider has needed FCA authorisation, and for most firms selling or carrying ou…
- Average cost of a funeral in the UK SunLife's Cost of Dying Report 2026 puts average funeral costs in the UK at £3,828 for a simple attended funeral and £1,628 for a direct cremation. Those a…
- Best funeral plans compared No funeral plan is best for everyone, so this page names no winner. It compares what Golden Charter, Co-op, Dignity and Pure Cremation each publish: what t…
- Buying a funeral plan for someone else Yes, you can buy a funeral plan for someone else, such as a parent or other family member, at the four providers read for this page: Dignity (including its…
- Cancelling a funeral plan or getting a refund Can you cancel a prepaid funeral plan? Usually yes. Since 29 July 2022 the FCA's rules have given a plan buyer a cooling-off period of at least 30 days to…
- Co-op funeral plans: what they include, cost and reviews Co-op funeral costs depend on whether you buy a pre-paid plan or arrange a funeral now: as captured on 7 October 2026, Co-op Funeralcare listed its five pl…
- 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…
- Dignity funeral plans: what they include, cost and reviews A Dignity funeral plan is a pre-paid plan from Dignity Funerals Limited. Its plans page (read 20 October 2026) lists four packages, from Unattended at £1,8…
- Direct cremation cost A direct cremation costs £1,628 on average, according to SunLife's Cost of Dying Report 2026, which covers funerals in 2025. Providers' own prices vary by…
- Does life insurance pay for a funeral? Does life insurance cover funeral costs? It can: a life policy pays a cash sum on a valid claim, and whoever receives it can spend it on a funeral, though…
- Funeral cover and funeral plan waiting periods A funeral cover waiting period is an opening stretch, one or two years on the plans quoted here, in which a death from natural causes brings back the premi…
- Funeral cover for couples and families Funeral cover for couples usually means two over-50s policies, one each, rather than one shared policy: SunLife, Aviva and Legal & General each say their p…
- Funeral insurance for children Funeral insurance for children usually comes down to a parent's own cover: several life and critical illness policies can add a fixed payment if a child di…
- Funeral insurance payout limits Funeral cover limits are set plan by plan, and of the seven over-50s plans compared here the highest sum printed is £20,000, with Legal & General stopping…
- Funeral plan age limits The funeral plan age limit depends on how you pay and on the provider. Golden Charter says there are no maximum or minimum ages for a single payment, but i…
- Funeral plans in Scotland and Northern Ireland Funeral plans in Scotland and Northern Ireland come under the same FCA authorisation rules as plans in England, but which provider will sell you one, and w…
- Getting a funeral insurance quote online You can get funeral insurance quotes online or on a freephone number direct from the insurers that sell over-50s life cover, and some plans are also sold t…
- Golden Charter funeral plans: what they include, cost and r… Golden Charter funeral plans come in three versions, and the provider's plans page (read 21 October 2026) prices them at £1,950 for the Direct Cremation Pl…
- How much does a funeral plan cost? How much a funeral plan costs depends on the plan and the provider, so the honest figures are each provider's own list prices, set out below with the date…
- How to buy a funeral plan To get a funeral plan, you choose an FCA-authorised provider, pick a plan and a way to pay, and sign up online, by phone, in person or through a funeral di…
- SunLife over-50s plan: cover, cost and reviews The SunLife over 50 plan is SunLife's Guaranteed Over 50 Plan: a whole of life policy for UK residents aged 49-85 that pays a fixed cash sum when you die…
- Ways to pay for a funeral How to pay for funeral expenses depends on what the person left and who is arranging the funeral: the bill can come from a plan or policy they had, from fa…
- What if a funeral plan provider goes bust? If a funeral plan company goes bust or into administration, what happens to your plan depends on when the provider failed and whether the FCA regulated it…
- What is direct cremation? A direct cremation is a cremation with no funeral service: the person is taken straight to the crematorium, nobody attends, and the family decides separate…
- What is funeral insurance and how does it work? Funeral insurance is the name given to over-50s whole of life cover sold with funeral costs in mind: you pay a monthly premium, and after an opening waitin…