Funeral Plan Payment Methods

Funeral Plan companies provide a number of different ways for plan holders to pay for their funeral plan, so customers can choose the payment method that works best for them.

This guide provides an overview about how each payment method works.

Pay in Full

With the expectation of Royal London who only provide a monthly option till 90 or when the funeral is required (which ever comes sooner) all funeral plan providers compared provide the option to pay for the funeral plan in full.

Payment can be made by bank transfer, credit or debit card. Some funeral plan companies may accept a cheque. In the majority of cases a customer will pay using a credit or debit card and usually there are no additional charges for paying by card.

Should you cancel outside the cooling off period you are entitled to your money back less a cancellation or administration fee.

12-month payment plans

The funeral plan companies compared on this site that provide a pay if full option also provide a 12 monthly instalment option that does not incur any charges, this means that the total amount payable is the same as the total plan price.

When you pay for a funeral plan over 12 months a minimum deposit (first payment amount) may be required, this varies by funeral plan and provider between £0 and £895. The balance payable after the deposit amount is divided into 12 equal monthly payments.

The deposit amount is normally paid by credit or debit card and the monthly payments by direct debit or standing order, however some funeral plan companies will allow the monthly payments to be made by card should you wish.

Normally there are no additional charges for paying by card.

Some funeral plan companies also provide 2 or 3 year payments terms for no additional charge including Safe Hands Funeral Plans and Silver Clouds.

Should you stop paying or cancel outside the cooling off period you are entitled to your money back less a cancellation or administration fee.

Monthly payments over a fixed term

The funeral plan companies compared on this site that provide a pay if full option also provide a monthly instalment options over a given term.

The maximum term available varies by provider and is between 5 and 30 years. A minimum deposit (first payment amount) may be required, this varies by funeral plan and provider between £0 and £895.

The deposit amount is normally paid by credit or debit card and the monthly payments by direct debit or standing order, however some funeral plan companies will allow the monthly payments to be made by card should you wish.

The funeral plan provider will apply an instalment charge when a funeral plan is paid for over a given term, the instalment charge varies by funeral plan provider and is typically between 4% and 6%. This means that the total amount payable which equals the deposit amount + the balance payable will be higher than the funeral plan price because of the additional instalment charges.

The balance payable after the deposit amount is divided into equal monthly payments, relevant to the term so for example if you chose to pay over 5 years the balance payable would be payable over 60 monthly payments of the same amount.

Because the instalment charge rate varies by funeral provider, for a given term, a cheaper priced funeral plan paid may not be the cheapest when comparing the total amount payable. This means that the cheapest funeral plan when paying in full may not be the cheapest funeral plan when paying in monthly instalments over a given period of time.

Important: If your funeral plan is required before you have finished paying for it your family/estate/next of kin will be required to pay the balance before the funeral plan to be provided. The exception here is for Co-op Funeral Care plans that provide the ‘Co-op Commitment’ which means if you die after the first 12 months of your plan, but before all your instalments have been paid, Co-op will still deliver all the services provided in your plan, with no more for your family to pay, please note that the monthly amounts payable for a Co-op funeral plan may be higher than an alternative plan that offers a monthly payment option and/or full cover after 1 year.

Should you stop paying or cancel outside the cooling off period you are entitled to your money back less a cancellation or administration fee.

Monthly payments for life

Golden Charter, Golden Leaves and Royal London provide a fixed monthly payment option whereby the monthly payments are made until 90 or when your funeral is required, which ever comes first. These funeral plan policies provide full cover after a given period time so that no further payment is required for the funeral plan to be carried out. Golden Leaves and Royal London provide full cover after 1 years whereas Golden Charter provides full cover after 2 years.

Golden Leaves require a deposit payment of £99. In addition, as part of the plan features Golden Leaves include a provision of a rebate to the plan holder’s estate if the cost of the funeral at the time of need is less that than the total amount paid into the plan.

The monthly payments are payable by direct debit, check the terms and conditions carefully because if you stop paying you may not get any money back.