3 Step Guide To Securing Suitable Funeral Plans.

The task of finding suitable funeral plans can sometimes seem like a confusing jungle of different costs and confusing terms, which can often lead to consumers “giving up” and choosing the wrong policy for them. This guide aims to take the stress and confusion out of finding plans by breaking the activity down into 3 key steps.

Discuss Your Requirements With Your Family Or Loved Ones

It’s usually a positive idea to keep your family, or whoever is likely to be organising your funeral, in the loop when you’re considering buying a plan. This will not only help them to get a clear picture of what you are looking for in your funeral plans, but it will also provide you with a second opinion and alternative ideas which could enrich the planning exercise.

Research Some Options

It is vitally important that you manage to secure as many different quotes as possible. This will help you establish what options are available at which costs and will hopefully flag up a number of different quotes which are the most suitable for your needs. As I’ve mentioned in other articles, one way to gain a large quantity of quotes in a relatively short space of time is to use either internet search engines or comparison websites. As long as you stick to trusted funeral plans companies, there is no reason that they should be any less reliable than a more traditional service.

Naturally, even if you have been given some competitive quotes online, it would still be a sound idea to research some local companies and discover what they have to offer. You could still use internet search engines and business directories to find contact details for such companies, but there are also a number of other local business directories such as the Yellow Pages who issue physical books you can search through.

Set Up A Meeting With Your Shortlisted Companies

Once you have shortlisted some companies and received some initial quotes for suitable funeral plans, the next step is to have in-person meetings with representatives of the companies. This will help you finalise parts of the plan and ask any questions you may still have about the plan or what it contains. It would also be beneficial for you to take a trusted friend or family member along to these meetings too as they can provide support or a second opinion.

Once you have taken all the different factors into account and had a few days to think about your decision, all that’s left to do, is choose your company and start your plan!

What to Take Into Account When Considering Funeral Plans

Funeral Plans are becoming increasingly more popular as costs of funerals continue to rise, and families of loved ones whom have passed away find it ever more difficult to afford the fees. Such plans help to spread the cost over a long period of time, and reduce the stress and strain of trying to come up with a large, one-off sum. This rise in demand has lead to a wide range of different plans coming onto the market from a variety of companies. Even though this will ultimately provide the user with a larger amount of choice, initially it can seem confusing and unclear what each policy provides.

In this guide we will discuss the factors that you need to take into account when considering what funeral plans will be suitable for you.

The Payment Plan

This may sound like a slightly obvious point, but different payment plans can vary a substantial amount so it is imperative you find out all the facts about the payment plan and any potential hidden costs that could occur. This goes further than finding out the basic weekly or monthly payments, as some plans will require additional payments and costs if circumstances change, so knowing these ahead of time will help you to make a more balanced decision. It is also worth finding out what happens if, for any reason, the funeral plan was to end sooner than expected, as you don’t want to end up with any unexpected cancelation or early payment fees.

What Is Included

Arguably the most important point to consider is what the plan will cover when it is required. There is nothing worse than your loved one’s believing everything is covered, just to discover that they will have to shell out unexpected cash to pay for additional expenses that were not included in the policy. Plan providers will be more than happy to discuss your particular requirements with you, and they are legally obliged to give you a detailed list of what is and what is not included.

This is not to say that you should go with the most comprehensive of funeral plans just to ensure nothing it left un-catered for, as many plans will cover unnecessary costs that you may not require, so choosing a more suitable and streamlined option could save you more money and leave you with more disposable income for your retirement.

How Can You Find the Best Funeral Plans?

The huge quantity of funeral plans on the market can make the process of finding a suitable plan incredibly difficult and time consuming, though with just a few simple tips it can be made much easier and should be relatively stress free. In this guide we will discuss a few such shortcuts you can take to find your perfect policy at a cost that suits you.

Want to use the internet to your advantage?

Many searchers will be put off by the idea of finding a company on the internet, as they believe there may be security or privacy issues involved with such a delicate matter, however the reality is that if you stick to reputable and safe companies you are unlikely to stumble across any major problems.

Arguably the most helpful resource to discover funeral plans with is online search engines. These allow you to enter in specific key phrases and shows you websites that match what you are looking for. This makes it easier to narrow down the companies you are looking at, for instance by including a geographical location if you are looking for a more local company.

Comparison websites are also a great way of finding out information about a large variety of plans and easily finding one that suits you. These may sometimes prove a slightly more expensive route compared to going direct to companies however, as they will often take a small fee off of the company for the privilege of listing their service there.

Perhaps a slightly more traditional route?

If you’d prefer to take a more tried and tested route, there is also likely to be a large amount of providers of funeral plans within local business directories such as the Yellow Pages. These will provide you with a brief description and contact details for each company.

Once you’ve found a company who seem to be able cater to everything you require, regardless of whether you’ve found them online or by other means, it will be very useful for you to get in contact and speak to a member of the company in person, or at least on the phone. This will not only give you the ability to obtain a quote and give you an opportunity to ask them specific questions about the funeral plans they can offer, but it will also help you to form a decision on whether they sound like the type of company you wish to deal with.

What Are Funeral Plans, and How Could You Benefit From One?

If you’ve watched television, listened to the radio or read a newspaper recently, it’s highly likely that you’ve seen or heard funeral plans being advertised by a variety of companies. Even though such adverts are frequently included on main stream media networks, a surprising number of people do not know what they include, and do not realise how they can benefit from them. This blog will give an easy to understand explanation of how they work and discuss who they will be suitable for.

What are they?

They are payment plans that are designed to eliminate the problem of expensive lump costs that are usually incurred when a loved one passes away and a funeral is required. Funeral plans help this by allowing the individual to stagger smaller payments over a long period of time, so it becomes far more affordable and easy to manage. Once the plan is complete and the funeral is required, the provider then pays out to cover the associated costs and, depending on the company you choose, helps provide services and organise some of the event.

Who are they suitable for?

Traditionally, such services are mainly considered to be for older people and particularly those that have just entered retirement. However, there are many benefits to slightly younger clients who are thinking ahead and do not want to be burdened with higher payments as they get older. Entering into funeral plans at a younger age can allow customers to pay smaller payments for a longer period of time, and therefor make the process even more affordable. This will also mean that they will not have to think about it at all as they approach their golden years and can afford to relax and enjoy themselves more.

Are there any more benefits?

As mentioned previously, the main benefits are the simplicity of staged payments and the affordability of the process, however there are a couple more reasons that funeral plans could improve an ageing individual’s life. One key reason is that it gives the plan holder a peace of mind, as it ensures their loved ones will not be laboured with expensive funeral fees. This lack of worry will mean their retirement is not impeded by such stresses and they can be free to enjoy their lives in peace. The additional financial freedom that a plan can offer will also mean that the holder is likely to feel less guilty about spending their retirement money on things they enjoy, rather than attempting to stash it all away in fear of their relatives being left out of pocket.