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Reasons to choose a pre-paid funeral plan?
Protect your loved ones against rising costs of funeral directors services
The average cost of a basic funeral has risen to £4,078, more than twice as much as it was 13 years ago. One reason for this increase is the rising costs of cremation and burial fees, the second largest expense linked to funerals. By purchasing a pre-paid funeral plan, you can help protect yourself against much of this inflation by securing your funeral director’s costs at today’s prices. Funeral plans prices will be increasing by £200 on April 1, 2018 but if you purchase yours before then you can beat this price rise. Plus as a Telegraph customer you can take advantage of a further £100 discount when you call up.*
Choosing a funeral plan to suit your needs
A pre-paid funeral plan provides both you, and your family with real peace of mind. As a pre-paid funeral plan allows you to fix the cost of your funeral director’s services included in your plan at today’s prices, once your plan is paid for*, you have the reassurance of knowing there’ll be nothing more to pay for these services – and that’s guaranteed.
With four funeral plans to choose from, you can select the best plan to suit your needs at a price you can afford. All our plans include a professionally written Will allowing you to share your wishes with loved ones as well as bereavement advice (dependent on plan type) to provide help and support to your loved ones at a difficult time.
*Or after 2 years’ consecutive payments, when paying by Fixed Monthly Payments
How it works
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Select a plan
Choose a funeral plan which best suits your needs
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Payment type
Select from a range of payment options to suit your needs
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Funeral director
Choose from a network of 3,000 independent funeral directors in the UK
What is included in a Telegraph pre-paid funeral plan?
We understand everyone has different needs and we have four funeral plans designed to best meet your requirements at a price you can afford. Whether you are looking for one limousine or two, a simple coffin or a superior, browse our plans below.
| Funeral director’s services to provide expert advice and guidance | Yes |
|---|---|
| Transportation to a suitable resting place within a 15 mile radius | Yes |
| Care of the deceased prior to burial or cremation | Yes |
| The coffin | Yes |
| Use of chapel of rest or service rooms | Yes |
| Provision of a Hearse | Yes |
| Confidential assistance with bereavement counselling | Yes |
| Advice on the certification and registration of the death | Yes |
| Professionally written Will for yourself or a loved one | Yes |
- Superior coffin
- Funeral director’s services
- Transportation of the deceased to suitable resting place within a 15 mile radius
- Family viewing during office hours
- The use of a chapel of rest
- Provision of a hearse
- Confidential assistance with bereavement
- Professionally drafted Will
- Allowance of £940 towards third party costs such as crematorium and officiants’ fee.
- Two limousines
- List provided to family of mourners who sent flowers
Single payment:
£3,899Monthly payments:
from £18.38**Dependent upon age and payment type
Call on 0800 090 2335
Get started online:
Request a pre-paid funeral plan brochure
Act now and save £300*
- High quality coffin
- Funeral director’s services
- Care of the deceased
- Transportation of the deceased to suitable resting place within a 15 mile radius
- The use of a chapel of rest
- Provision of a hearse
- Confidential assistance with bereavement
- Professionally drafted Will
- Allowance of £940 towards third party costs such as crematorium and officiants’ fee.
- One limousine
Single payment:
£3,650Monthly payments:
from £17.19**Dependent upon age and payment type
Call on 0800 090 2335
Get started online:
Request a pre-paid funeral plan brochure
Act now and save £300*
- Simple coffin
- Funeral director’s services
- Care of the deceased
- Transportation of the deceased to suitable resting place within a 15 mile radius
- The use of a chapel of rest
- Provision of a hearse
- Bereavement advice book
- Professionally drafted Will
- Allowance of £940 towards third party costs such as crematorium and officiants’ fee.
- Excludes a limousine
Single payment:
£3,295Monthly payments:
from £15.50**Dependent upon age and payment type
Call on 0800 090 2335
Get started online:
Request a pre-paid funeral plan brochure
Act now and save £300*
- Simple coffin
- Funeral director’s services, including service at place of burial or cremation
- Transportation of the deceased to suitable resting place within a 15 mile radius
- The use of a chapel of rest
- Provision of a hearse
- Allowance of £700 towards third party costs such as crematorium and officiants’ fee.
- Excludes funeral procession
- Professionally drafted Will
- Funeral director will choose time and date of funeral
Single payment:
£2,895Monthly payments:
from £13.59**Dependent upon age and payment type.
Call on 0800 090 2335
Get started online:
Request a pre-paid funeral plan brochure
Act now and save £300*
Frequently asked questions
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Can I take out a plan for someone else?
Yes. You will be required to complete the ‘plan holder’s representative’ section of the application process. All futurecorrespondence regarding the plan will be sent to you however if paying by fixed monthly payment, the plan holder will be contacted directly by life insurance company who are the providers of this payment option.
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What if I move to a different area?
Please let us know if you move and we can update our internal records. We will provide you with the option to move your plan to a different funeral director in your new area, if required.
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What happens if I change my mind?
If the cancellation is made within 30 days of taking the plan with us, we will refund the payments made. For more information on our cancellation terms after the 30 day period, please read our terms and conditions.
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What happens if I die on holiday?
If you die away from home (but within mainland UK), we will arrange for transportation of the body to a suitable resting place. Overseas transportation is not included as part of your plan. Should you require further details, please see our terms and conditions.
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What happens if my funeral director goes out of business?
If this happens, we will inform you and appoint a new funeral director local to you in accordance with your wishes.
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What if I have special requests?
Please inform us of any special requests at the time of application. If these requests incur additional costs not included in your plan, these will have to be paid at the time of the funeral.
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What happens when I die?
When you purchase a funeral plan from us, you will be issued with a plan holder membership pack containing everything you need to know. This includes important information such as contact details for your chosen funeral director and when the time comes, your family simply has to contact the funeral director and quote your plan number. The chosen funeral director will then take care of all arrangements and provide expert advice to your family where required.
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Can I choose my own funeral director?
If you have a preferred funeral director, please let us know at application stage. If you don’t have any preference, we will choose a funeral director for you from our network of local, independent funeral directors. We make every effort to allocate your funeral plan to your chosen funeral director however, if this is not possible, we will be in touch with you to discuss an alternative.
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What happens with my money?
Depending on how you have chosen to pay for your plan, your money will be paid into the Golden Charter Trust or paid towards a life insurance policy. Your money will remain there until such time that it is needed to pay for your funeral arrangements.
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What happens once I’ve applied?
When your plan purchase goes through, as mentioned above, you will receive a plan holder membership pack containing a membership card and a plan summary. When your plan has been paid in full, you will receive a certificate containing your plan number and a copy to give to your next of kin. If you have chosen to pay by fixed monthly payments, your certificates will be sent to you after 2 years of continuous payments.
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What happens if I die before I made all my payments?
If you choose to pay by twelve monthly instalments and you pass away before all payments have been made, we will request the remaining balance from your estate. Alternatively, your plan can be cancelled and the payments will be refunded minus a £249 cancellation fee.
If you have chosen to pay through our low cost monthly instalments and you pass away within twelve months of taking the plan, all the money paid will be returned to your estate. However, if you die after twelve months but before all instalments have been paid, the balance will be requested from your estate to enable your funeral to be carried out.
If you have chosen to pay by fixed monthly payments and you pass away within the first 2 years, your chosen funeral director will receive the total amount of money you have paid in, plus an additional 20 per cent, providing your payments are up to date. Your family or estate will have to cover the balance to enable your funeral to go ahead. If you pass away after 2 years of continuous payments, your funeral plan will be fully covered.
Four Golden Rules
| Reassurance | |
|---|---|
| Golden Charter is one of the UK’s largest funeral plan providers^ | |
| Wider network of funeral director branches than Co-op.+ | |
| Range of payment options to meet your needs | |
| Trust | |
| Trusted by more than half a million people to take care of funeral arrangements | |
| The only funeral plan provider recommended by the Society of Allied & Independent Funeral Directors (SAIF) | |
| Expertise | |
| We work with more than 3,000 independent funeral directors throughout the UK | |
| Expertise of funeral directors who have served their local communities for generations | |
| We provide the option to select a local funeral director in your local area. If this is not possible, we will contact you to discuss an alternative choice of funeral director. | |
| Security | |
| Reassurance that your money is protected in the Golden Charter Trust | |
| Payments are protected and guaranteed to cover your funeral director’s services | |
| Payments are paid into the Golden Charter Trust or a UK leading life insurance company (depending on payment type). Find out more about the Golden Charter Trust in the FAQs. | |
^Based on recent market share of funeral plans sold. For details please see Funeral Planning Authority statistics 2017 and Golden Charter Annual Report 2016/17.
+Based on number of independent funeral director branches accepting Golden Charter plans and promoting Golden Charter plans exclusively as of 31 March 2017 (2147), compared to total number of Co-op Funeralcare funeral homes (1026). Sources: Golden Charter Annual Report 2016/2017 (page 9); Co-op Annual Report 2016 (page 5). The Golden Charter Annual Report 2016/2017 can be found here.
Our Partner
The Telegraph has been working in partnership with Golden Charter since 2017 providing funeral plans for our customers. Golden Charter has supported more than half a million customers in their funeral planning arrangements. With the largest network of funeral directors across the UK and a range of funeral plans to suit your needs, you can be sure your loved ones will receive the professional care and support they need during a difficult time.
Important Information
*Excludes the Value Funeral Plan and Basic/Basic Plus Plans.
Lines are open 9am – 7pm Monday to Thursday and 9am – 6pm Friday. Calls are recorded and monitored for quality assurance and training purposes.