Prepaid funeral plans work by paying a monthly fee or a lump sum, this money is then used by the provider to organise and deliver the funeral on the death of the named individual.  Funeral plans are protected against inflation so, in theory, the price you pay today will cover your funeral wishes, even if in 20 years' time.  However, when selecting a prepaid funeral plan, you will need to take note of what the plan covers, as some aspects of a funeral may not be included, often pre-paid funeral plan providers have the choice of several different packages.  

It is important that if you are purchasing the plan for yourself that you inform your loved ones about the plan and keep the details somewhere safe and accessible, this makes it easy for loved ones to access the plan and make contact with the provider. Once contact has been made the provider will action the plan as agreed, in some cases there may be extra fees to be paid if loved ones wish to add extra services to the plan.  

The prepaid funeral market has recently come under the regulation of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and now offers planners more security than in the past. As of July 2022, all firms that sell pre-paid funeral plans are now required by law to be FCA regulated. On The Farewell Guide we only list FCA regulated pre-paid funeral firms, to give you the greatest confidence when finding a prepaid funeral plan.  Prepaid funeral becoming regulated is great news for the consumer as it offers significantly increased consumer protection including:

• Protection of your money if the provider goes into administration
• The opportunity to make a complaint to the Financial Obudsman if you are unhappy with the service you have recieved. 

You can check whether a provider is FCA registered by searching the Financial Services Register.