Funeral costs drop in research poll for first time since 2004 inception

February 14, 2022/Business, Regulations/

Since I started this blog in 2017 and continuously look for interesting topics for the readers, I’ve come to anticipate the annual research paper from Sun Life entitled the Sun Life Cost of Dying Report. While it comes out of Great Britain it is a great resource for me and what I have come to see as a potential predictor of trends going forward. . . not only in Great Britain, but across the Atlantic Ocean as well.

Sun Life’s annual report for 2021 indicates that for the first time since the 2004 inception of the research, average costs for death care have decreased for the consumers in Great Britain. What they classify as a “Basic Funeral” dropped 3.1% from 2020 to 2021. In U.S. dollars that cost came to $5,520 in 2021 as compared to $5,694 in 2020.

And for what Sun Life refers to as “The Cost of Dying” amount, which includes celebrations and memorialization, the cost dropped 4.3% for the year — from a U.S. dollar $12,606 in 2020 to $12,063 in 2021.

Here’s what Sun Life CEO Mark Screeton says about the drop in prices, “With government restrictions limiting the kind of send-off we give our loved ones for
much of the year, this drop in cost doesn’t come as a surprise. Neither does the rise in direct cremations, which were often the most practical service available during the pandemic.”

I would also add that the country’s Competition and Market Authority (CMA) working on, and bringing attention to, funeral costs probably had something to do with the decrease. For instance, in late 2020 they opined that “it is an obligation by funeral directors and crematroium operators to disclose prices that will help customers make informed decisions on funeral choices.”

The Sun Life Cost of Dying Report is great to flip through and digest. It is a compilation of 1,616 people who have organized a funeral and interviews with 100 funeral directors across the country. It is given in easy-to-read graphic formula and gives much information on costs and the trends and attitudes that consumers are looking at. You can access it here.

Here’s some items that I found interesting in the report:

Only 17% of consumers got a quote prior to selecting a funeral home/director
Direct cremation with no services has risen to 24% of Great Britain’s disposition choices
27% of death care consumers needed to borrow money from a friend or relative to pay for the death care charges
Going forward to save money 16% say they will choose a cheaper casket and an equal number (16%) say they will save money by not buying flowers
While 33% of consumers have a will, only 15% have funeral prearrangement plans
49% of those that had services said they referred to them as “Celebrations of Life”
The Number 1 song played at death care events was “Abide With Me”. When asked The Number 1 song requested respondents wanted played at their own service was “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life”.
The report states that 19% of consumers don’t know “any” of their loved ones death care wishes.

More news in the world of Death Care: