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Life Insurance

Life insurance to pay for my funeral

According to a survey in 2000 the average cost of a basic funeral in the UK was £1,215, if you want to be buried it was £2,048. For some reason the cost of funerals rises at a far higher rate than inflation, the price for a burial was 25% higher in 2000 than in 1998. (Source Oddfellows Cost of Funerals Survey 2000).

When someone has died it is hardly surprising that people do not tend to shop around for funeral services, so undertakers do not really have to compete.

There are a variety of ways to ensure that your family have the funds available to pay for your funeral.

• You may have savings that can be used, however if the savings are in your name then your family may not be able to immediately release the funds.
• You could purchase a funeral plan through an undertaker, if you do this ensure that the funds are secure and that there will be a sufficient amount to pay for at least a basic funeral, be aware that your family will then be limited to this undertaker.
• You could take out 'term' life insurance; this is life insurance that will pay a benefit on death within a certain amount of years. These policies are great to cover a mortgage as you know exactly how long the mortgage is for, however unless you know when you are going to die they are not a lot of good for funeral planning.
• You can take out life insurance that will pay a lump sum whenever you die; this type of plan is called a Whole of Life plan. This is the type of plan that we would recommend as it offers you and your family more choice over the funeral arrangements and can leave extra funds for a wake (or a celebration of your life) or even to pay an Inheritance Tax bill.

If you want to ensure that you get the funeral that you want then you must have an up to date Will. Be very careful of home made Wills as they tend to cause more problems than they solve, as many end up with mistakes in them and are very costly to resolve. To be legally binding a Will does not need to be written by a Solicitor, however, it would be done correctly and give you peace of mind.