Compare Britain’s Favourite Funeral Plan

A Pure Cremation funeral plan is chosen by far more people than any other in Britain – many more people buy our plan than one from Co-op Funeralcare, Dignity, Golden Charter, Distinct Cremations, Simplicity or anyone else.

And that’s because, when someone buys a funeral plan, there are some features that are usually really important to them.

Firstly, they are taking out a plan so that family don’t have to pay – so they want a plan that includes everything they need in the price, (like the Pure Price Promise), not a plan that might leave family with extra costs.

Dignity will charge extra if someone has a pacemaker that needs to be removed for instance, and Co-op won't deliver the ashes back to family, they will have to go and collect them.

Secondly, it’s usually important that the company they buy the plan from will also perform the cremation, since that’s the company they have chosen. But if you buy a plan from Golden Charter or Aura Life, for instance, you won’t know which company will actually do the cremation, as neither of them own any crematoria.

Finally, most people will want their ashes to be returned to loved ones in an urn, but some companies like Simplicity Cremations use a ‘cardboard box’ to return ashes.

So, here are five of the most popular funeral plan providers and what they do (and don’t) offer:

	Pure Cremation	Co-op Funeralcare	Dignity Funerals	Golden Charter	Distinct Cremations
Never any extra costs
Use their own crematoria
Return ashes in an urn

1. We return ashes personally, by hand, in a decorated urn.

The urn can be kept permanently, but it’s also biodegradable, so it can be buried if wished.

We’re also the only funeral director we know that includes a ceramic disc with the urn, which guarantees the identity of the ashes.

2. We care about our environment.

Being an environmentally friendly company helps us reduce our impact on the environment (Carbon Footprint Report 2020). Many funeral directors use veneered MDF or chipboard coffins that release pollutants into the atmosphere, but we provide a solid wood coffin to each customer, made from wood sourced from FSC Certified forests, where the trees are sustainably managed.

3. We only offer pure cremations.

And that means you never have to worry that we’ll try and sell you something more expensive, or other options. Some funeral directors have a bewildering range of packages and may be keen to sell you a more expensive plan that makes them more money.

4. We reinsure the Trust with the world’s biggest reinsurer.

We’re the only funeral director we know who does this. It means your funeral plan money is completely safe and available when it’s needed to provide your funeral.

5. There’s no ceremony at the crematorium.

The crematorium ceremony that’s included with a traditional funeral will have strict limits on how long it can last (usually just 45 minutes), as well as how many people can attend and what can happen.

But a with a pure cremation, family can organise a separate send-off, service, memorial, celebration of life – whatever they wish, whenever and wherever they want. It could mean something that’s much more personal, and in keeping with your wishes.

We only offer cremations, so we won’t be right for you if you’d like a burial. Also, if you want a hearse to transport the coffin to the crematorium, then you may want to use a funeral director instead. (With us there’s no need for a hearse, because someone rests in our care the whole time.)

In addition, a pure cremation might not be suitable if you want to use a funeral director that you know well and your family has used many times in the past. We do let funeral directors use our state-of-the-art facilities, so you could always ask your funeral director if they can place the cremation with us, if that’s what you’d like.

However, if you want a crematorium ceremony, a pure cremation may still be right for you as we can offer that as an ‘extra’. You’ll have a choice of which of our crematoria to have the service at, and which of our rooms you’d like, from small and intimate to large and impressive.

How does Pure Cremation compare?

Comparing a pure cremation with a direct cremation and a traditional funeral

A warning on over 50s life insurance

Compare a Pure Cremation plan with other funeral plans

Five key things to compare Pure Cremation on

3. We only offer pure cremations.

4. We reinsure the Trust with the world’s biggest reinsurer.

5. There’s no ceremony at the crematorium.

Who a pure cremation is not suitable for