Everything you need to know about funeral plans in 2025
Funeral plan providers are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority
You might have concerns about recent news stories regarding failed plan provider, Safe Hands, and the implications on the investments of many planholders. It’s exactly situations like this which have led many to lose faith in funeral plan providers, but action was taken in July 2022 to protect planholders in the future.
When regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority came into effect in 2022, only 26 funeral plan providers were authorised to sell and hold funeral plan funds in the future. This accounted for roughly 87% of the funeral plans that had been taken out in the UK, and the remaining 13% had their plans transferred to one of the newly authorised providers.
As part of this industry regulation, plan holders now have protection up to the value of £85,000 under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. If you’re looking to take out a funeral plan in 2025, you’ll be covered by this scheme and can be confident that you won’t be left out of pocket in the event that something happens to your plan provider.
When you’re talking to different plan providers, don’t be afraid to ask for their FCA registration number, which you can check is valid using the FCA website.
Direct cremations are growing in popularity
A direct cremation plan is a simple cremation that is not attended by friends or family. Although the concept has been around for many years, it’s only in the last decade or so that direct cremations have become popular, with more than 1 in 5 cremations in the UK last year being unattended. The benefits of direct cremations are obvious – costs are significantly lower than traditional cremations with a crematorium service, and many people don’t want a fuss or an extravagent send-off when they pass away.
Instead, families who opt for a direct cremation are putting the money they save from a cremation service into a ‘celebration of life’. These can take place anywhere, thought often are arranged in venues that hold special meaning to the family or the deceased, and help loved ones have a proper send off in an environment of their choice.
SunLife’s recently released Cost of Dying Report 2025 found that the cost of a simple funeral has now risen to £4,285. Compare this with a Funerals With Grace Direct Cremation plan, at a cost of £1,440, and it’s easy to see why many people opt to spend the money on celebrating a life in a unique and special way.
You can save hundreds by comparing providers
Every funeral plan provider wants you to take a plan out with them, and there are various incentives and promotions running at any one time, including discounts when you take out two plans, gift vouchers for referring a friend or family member, and member discounts.
It’s important to take the time to understand whether the discount will actually make your funeral plan cheaper than a competitor. At Funerals With Grace, we independently verify our prices against all the other funeral plan providers, each week. We do this to make sure we’re offering the lowest priced direct cremation products of any provider.
Whether you want the lowest priced option or not, it’s still important to weigh up the different incentives and promotions and speak to as many providers as you need to, so that you’re happy with your choice. We know it’s not always about price, but it really does pay to shop around.
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