Compare Britain’s Favourite Funeral Plan| Pure Cremation™

When someone buys a direct cremation 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, for instance, you won’t know which company will actually do the cremation, as Golden Charter don’t own any crematoria.

Finally, most people will want their ashes to be returned to loved ones in an urn, but some companies like Distinct Cremations cut costs by using, in their own words, a ‘temporary ashes container’.

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 crematorium
Return ashes in an urn

Steps 1 - 6	Pure Cremation	Traditional funeral
1.Collection	When someone dies, they are collected in a Pure Cremation private ambulance and brought into our care.	When someone dies, the funeral director collects them in one of their vehicles (not a hearse, contrary to common belief).
2.Rest	The deceased rests, in their own coffin, at one of our state-of-the-art chilled mortuaries until their cremation. Because the mortuary is chilled and there is no crematorium ceremony, there is no need for embalming – the deceased can rest peacefully and undisturbed.	The deceased rests, in their own coffin, usually at the funeral directors’ premises (there is no legal requirement for the room to be chilled). The body might be embalmed if it is going to be a long time before the cremation or if the ceremony is going to have an open coffin.
3.Transportation	The deceased is transported to Pure Cremation’s own crematorium in a private ambulance, so they stay in Pure Cremation’s care the whole time.	The funeral director books a local crematorium, transports the deceased there in a hearse and leaves them with the crematorium staff.
4.Cremation	The cremation takes place, attended by a dedicated professional who bows to the coffin before the cremation. Loved ones are given the day of the cremation. If the family would like a reading or specific music played at the cremation, that can be done. The deceased has a unique ceramic disc with them which survives the cremation and guarantees the identity of their ashes. There is usually no crematorium ceremony (although Pure Cremation does have a Ceremony Hall the family can hire if they wish).	There is a crematorium ceremony for family, usually of around 45 minutes, where the coffin is present. The cremation will take place after that – it may be the same day, or it may be a few days later (it is a misconception that the cremation will always happen immediately that it goes ‘behind the curtain’.) There is unlikely to be a ceramic disc.
5.Remembrance	The family can have their own ceremony, send-off, remembrance or celebration of life, wherever and whenever they wish. They may have more money for this send-off since a pure cremation is around £2,000 less than a traditional funeral.	The family can have their own wake, send-off, remembrance or celebration of life in addition to the crematorium ceremony, usually straight afterwards, which may restrict the choice of venues available.
6.Ashes return	The ashes are returned back to family, by hand, in a biodegradable urn (so it can be buried if wished), along with the ceramic disc.	The ashes are collected by family or returned to them by the funeral director. This may be in an urn or a temporary ashes container, depending on the funeral director and what the family has paid for.

Some people still buy over 50s plans from companies like SunLife or British Seniors. However, they do not provide a funeral, just a ‘sum assured’ which can ‘help towards funeral costs’.

Government website MoneyHelper says, ‘Although an over 50s life insurance plan might seem like a straightforward way to provide a lump sum for your loved ones, it can actually be poor value for money.’

And Which? says, ‘A key issue is that over 50s life insurance often pays out less than you have paid in premiums. Which? along with many other financial experts, does not advise buying this kind of product.’

So think carefully about whether an over 50s plan would meet your needs – if you’re looking for something that guarantees to cover the cost of your funeral, over 50s life insurance may deliver what you want.

How does Pure Cremation compare?

Funeral plan comparison table

Three more reasons why people choose Pure

2. Affordable price.

3. Great service.

Comparing a Pure Cremation with a traditional funeral

Over 50s life insurance

Five other things to compare us 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.

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