Your Provider Wants to Hear from You

Making a funeral plan is one of the most personal transactions that any of us can make. A funeral plan is an inherently good financial product that enables people to plan and pay for their funeral in advance.

Customers like them because they make clear their end-of-life wishes and help get their affairs in order. So, it can be heartbreaking for your family if your wishes are not followed after you have passed away because they are unaware that you had purchased a funeral plan.

Funeral Plan providers recommend that plan holders share the information with their relatives or close friends, even providing copies of the plan, but there still are tragic cases where a plan is forgotten about, or only comes to light after a funeral has taken place.

It’s unfortunate when that happens but it can be understandable, particularly if the death was unexpected.  Funeral plan providers are keen to avoid this situation and send regular communications to plan holders to remind them of the contract, and to give plan holders the chance to ensure their plans reflect their current wishes.

The reality is that the older we get the more likely we are to move, and because a funeral plan is often bought and put in drawer until it’s needed, it’s easy to forget to tell the provider you have moved home.   Many older people move into shared accommodation; or choose to live with family, so it can be harder for providers to trace customers who have changed address and not told the company.

Helen Smith, Chair of the National Association of Funeral Plan Providers explained ‘Every holder of a pre-paid funeral plan should have received a statement in the last 18 months. If you have a plan and didn’t receive a letter or statement then your provider wants to hear from you, particularly if you have changed your address since you bought the plan.’

Ms Smith went on to add ‘If you haven’t heard from your provider recently there are a few ways to contact them. Almost all funeral plan providers are members of the National Association of Funeral Plan Providers and their website NAFPP.org has a list of members with their address, phone numbers and email addresses. ‘

If you purchased your plan some years ago and the provider has either changed its name, ceased trading or stopped offering funeral plans when the industry became regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) you’ll find a helpful list of former providers with links to the companies who now look after those plans on the FCA website.

If, in the worst-case scenario and you know you bought a plan but have mislaid the paperwork in a house move, then don’t worry, either speak to the funeral director who will conduct your funeral or visit the ‘Trace my Plan’ section on NAFPP.org. All you have to do is fill in one simple form with your details and every funeral plan provider will check whether they have a plan in your name.

Funeral plans remain a simple way to organise for the ‘send-off’ you want while removing uncertainty and the burden of paying for it from your loved ones. Now regulated by the FCA and underpinned by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, they have never been more secure.

If you haven’t heard from your provider recently, contact them, particularly if your circumstances have changed and they perhaps don’t know where to write to you.