Funeral Plan Companies

Are you thinking of taking out a funeral plan?  If so then it’s imperative that you get the very best advice – and from someone you can trust.  After all, you’re making a very important financial investment, so you need to get it absolutely right.

How to find the best funeral plan company

With so many funeral plan companies on the market it can certainly be a very tricky decision deciding which one to choose!

In this article we take a closer look at how to source the best funeral plan company and what sort of things you should look out for whilst finding the right provider.

How do I know who to choose?

When shopping around for the best funeral plan company there are various considerations you should take into account and these will typically include some of the following pointers:

• Your insurer should be fully regulated so that you get absolute peace of mind when it comes to protecting your investment. There are many questions you might want to ask around this aspect alone – for example, who are they regulated with?  What will happen to your money once you start to invest it?  And what would happen should they cease trading during your lifetime?  These are all perfectly acceptable questions to ask each firm you approach and don’t be afraid to ask even more if you need to.  Any reputable firm should welcome any questions or concerns you might have and should be completely transparent about the way in which they operate.

In the meantime – and whilst most funeral plan companies will have a contingency plan in place should they go out of business (for whatever reason that might be) – do make sure that you’re absolutely clear on what that contingency plan is and where you should go to for help and assistance if ever a negative situation were to arise.

What sort of qualities should I look for in a funeral plan company?

There will naturally be many things you’ll be looking for if you’re thinking of taking out any type of funeral plan – not to mention a whole array of questions which might include some of the following:

• What’s their reputation like? Are they a long-established company?  Are they recommended by others and do they have any online reviews which you can look at?  (These tend to be much more impartial than the ones which might be contained within their own corporate brochure so don’t be afraid to take your time and do your homework on them).

• How do they compare to other funeral plan providers in terms of cost? Let’s not forget that the cheapest isn’t always the best option (in fact, sometimes, far from it); but you also need assurance that you’re going to get good value for money with your funeral plan.  After all, it’s a massively important investment for you.

• What types of funeral plans do they offer? Is it the right funeral plan for YOU and what will the repayments look like?  Are they affordable?  Remember, if you enter into a funeral plan and fail to maintain your monthly repayments then there’s a serious risk that your plan will be cancelled and you won’t be refunded for any value already paid into it.  It therefore needs to be something you can fully commit to and maintain without having to worry about the monthly cost.

• How do they rate in terms of customer service? It probably goes without saying that throughout the duration of your plan you’ll want to know that you’ll be well looked after on your customer journey.  You might, for example, wish to discuss changes to your plan at some point in the future and it’d certainly be nice to know that you can simply pick up the phone (or even pop into their offices) for a friendly and impartial chat about keeping your plan perfectly up-to-date with your wishes.

• In terms of contact, how can you get in touch with your provider i.e. are they online; or would you need to call into their offices should you wish to discuss something? With increasingly more businesses going ‘virtual’ in order to save on overheads, this could certainly be an important factor to consider.

What to avoid when choosing the best funeral plan company

By following the above steps then you shouldn’t go too far wrong when it comes to choosing the best funeral plan provider to meet your specific needs.  Most people tend to get a general ‘feel’ for the person they initially make contact with but if you’re not sure about anything (for whatever reason) then it’s always best to err on the side of caution.

Remember, there are plenty of funeral plan companies on the market so don’t simply opt for the first one you come across – they might not be the right provider for you.  Take your time, review them all and make an informed decision based on the information that they give to you.

Take your time and don’t be afraid to ask questions

Above all else, never feel rushed into make any decisions about your funeral plan provider.  It’s always best to make some initial enquiries, ask as many questions as you need to and then step back to consider what you’ve been told.  Sometimes this process can often be eased with the assistance of others – perhaps a close family member or friend.  This will also give you the opportunity to share or discuss any specific wishes you might have about your funeral arrangements and how you’d like them to be executed.

You might also want to take some advice from a local solicitor or reputable law firm since they’ll be able to explain the legal side of funeral planning, including any inheritance taxes which you might need to take into account.  Your solicitor may also recommend you making a Will and this would certainly enable you to mention your funeral plan more formally so that your executors are made fully aware of it and ultimately, can put your final wishes into place at the very soonest opportunity.  After all, that’s what funeral planning is all about.