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How do we compare with alternatives for funeral planning?
If you’ve ever looked at the different types of funeral or ways to pay for one, you may wonder how they compare against each other. Here we look at the main choices for someone in Britain today, to see the key differences between them.
Comparing a pure cremation with a direct cremation and a traditional funeral
Pure Cremation
Unlike most funeral plan providers, we provide every part of the service. We have our own private ambulances, care facilities and state-of-the-art crematoria set in beautiful parkland. Unlike with many other plans, someone can rest easy in our care the whole time. Plus, everyone has their own unique ceramic disc (something no other provider offers), which guarantees the identity of their ashes. And we hand-deliver the ashes personally back to a family’s home, in a permanent urn.
‘Direct cremation’
Similarly, a direct cremation will also cut out costs like the hearse and crematorium ceremony. However, there still may be funeral director fees to pay, depending on who you use. Not everything you need may be included either, so check the provider carefully. Most ‘direct cremations’ use cheap veneer coffins and a ‘temporary ashes container’ (in other words, a cardboard box) to return ashes in.
Traditional funeral
The most expensive choice of all is a traditional funeral. These include ‘all the bells and whistles’, including a crematorium ceremony and other expenses you might not want included. Typically arranged by a funeral director, who will transport the deceased to another company’s crematorium for the cremation. The funeral director’s fees can be a large part of the total cost.
A warning on over 50s life insurance
Arguably the worst option, as these plans (from companies like SunLife) don’t provide a funeral, just some money towards them, so family still have to make all the arrangements. What’s more, many people believe they offer poor value for money. For instance, Money Saving Expert says, ‘For many, they’re a seriously bad bet… there are huge holes and risks with these policies’, while government site MoneyHelper says they can be ‘poor value for money’.
Compare a Pure Cremation plan with other funeral plans
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, Golden Charter, Distinct Cremations, 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.
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.
Finally, most people will want their ashes to be returned to loved ones in an urn, but some companies use a temporary container to return ashes.
Five key things to compare Pure Cremation on
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.
Who a pure cremation is not suitable for
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.