Barry Floyd

Head of Operations & Marketing

Golden Leaves Limited

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By Barry Floyd - Thu 18th Mar 2010

 

Tumbit Approved Partner

It was recently reported that the cost of dying has risen by more than 40% over the last few years alone – with the average cost of a funeral coming in at around £7000.

The average costs of probate, funeral and other associated expenses, such as newspaper notices, flowers and a memorial has reached now reached £7,098, according to research into the industry.

The cost of a funeral alone has increased by as much as 7.2% over the last year to £2,768, and if prices continue to rise at their current rate, then the same funeral is estimated to cost as much as £3,589 by 2014 – a growth of almost 32% !

Last year almost half of those who died had made some kind of provision to cover the costs of their funeral, some 58% relied personal savings, 26% had a life insurance plan that would cover these costs and 19% had taken out a pre-paid funeral plan.

Those who had not made specific provision for funeral costs usually had the costs taken form their estate, but in some cases the friend or family member arranging the funeral met the costs themselves.

Currently approximately 75% of people are cremated, which carries an average cost of £2,455, with the remainder being buried instead, at a cost of around £3,030. However, this cost varies considerably throughout the Country as each Town or Parish determines the costs themselves – The average cost for burial in the Greater London area currently stands at an average of £4’715.

The majority of funerals still include a religious service, however, 17% of people are now opting for a humanist one instead.

Strong believers and supporters of the environment are opting for a green funeral instead. This figure currently stands at around 8%, but the number is expected to grow over coming years. The costs associated with this are slightly more due to the cost of the cardboard or wicker coffins used in these circumstances.

A pre-paid funeral plan will allow your loved ones to be able to finance the whole procedure and to be able to know that they are complying with your final wishes at what can be a very stressful time. Why not contact Golden Leaves today via the link to our page (above) to see how we can help to find a plan that meets with your wishes.