Funeral plan FAQs

For generations, Dignity has been helping to make funeral planning as easy and stress-free as possible. Dignity launched the UK’s very first funeral plan in 1985. Since then we have helped nearly one million* people make provisions for their funeral costs in advance. You can find more about Dignity and it's history here.

A Funeral Plan is a way to prepay funeral costs in advance. It also allows you to help protect your family from the worry and stress of making all the arrangements.

Taking out a Prepaid Funeral Plan allows you to make important decisions about what you and your family want from the funeral. Once it’s paid, we will not request a penny more for the services included in the Plan, so you’ll have complete peace of mind, knowing you have financially prepared.

Taking out a Funeral Plan will also help save your loved ones the worry and stress of making all the funeral arrangements at such an emotional time, because they will already know what you wanted and a trusted Dignity Nominated Funeral Director will be there to guide and support them every step of the way.

Savings and life insurance don’t guarantee to cover your funeral costs – whereas a Prepaid Funeral Plan does. And with funeral expenses rising year on year, you may find that savings and life insurance aren’t enough to cover the cost of the funeral. In addition, banks and over 50s life insurance providers will not arrange your funeral, but Dignity will.

If you take out a Prepaid Funeral Plan from Dignity, you can freeze funeral costs at today’s prices, so no matter how much they rise, the cost of the cremation funeral services included in the Plan will be guaranteed – meaning that loved ones are less likely to have to use any savings or inheritance you may have left them. What’s more, the funeral will be planned and paid for, so your loved ones won’t have the added stress of making all of the arrangements at a difficult and emotional time.

It’s also worth noting that for inheritance tax planning purposes, a Funeral Plan sits outside the estate. For more information, visit Best Way To Take Care Of Funeral Costs.

Anyone aged 18 or over can take out a Prepaid Funeral Plan from Dignity. There are no upper age limits. There are no health or medical questions.

Dignity’s Prepaid Funeral Plans include the Funeral Director services. If a cremation is required the cremation fee and ministers fees in the Plan are covered. If a burial is required a contribution of £1,220 will be paid towards the burial and other third party costs. For more information, take a look at Dignity’s choice of Prepaid Funeral Plans – or call us to discuss your options further.

• Embalming
• The cost of special requests such as memorials, flowers, catering, newspaper obituaries etc.
• Transport of more than 50 miles from the Nominated Funeral Director. Any charge for any additional miles will be payable to the Nominated Funeral Director at the time
• The cost of removal of mechanisms such as pacemakers (which must be removed before a cremation)
• Costs for conducting the funeral, burial or cremation on a weekend, at an unusual hour or public holiday
• Any additional charges passed to us due to changes in regulations, tax, laws or generally accepted practice
• The cost of repatriation outside mainland Great Britain, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Wight
• Any Doctor’s fees and Coroner’s fees

Dignity have a network of owned and approved funeral directors across the UK that can be used with our funeral plans. Some plans have a more restricted choice of funeral director. If you’d like to find your nearest funeral director, or if you have a specific funeral director in mind and would like to know if they’re available through the Plan, please call us.

It's easy to arrange your Prepaid Funeral Plan online with our hassle free online checkout.

No. We have a range of ways to pay for your chosen Funeral Plan. You can also spread the cost, compare our plans for further detailed information.

You can spread the cost of your Funeral Plan over 12 months, at no extra cost.

Longer fixed terms are available provided that all payments over any term longer than 12 months are completed by the 85th birthday of the eldest person named on the plan and the instalment term does not exceed the maximum term available. Plans purchased over a period greater than 12 months will incur an additional fee. This charge is needed to make sure the money paid into the Trust Fund can increase in line with Inflation during the term of the Plan and means that we can still provide the guaranteed services in the Agreement, irrespective of when the Funeral Plan is required.

If you purchase online you will receive confirmation straight away, your Funeral Plan will be processed and you’ll receive a Planholder Pack in the post within 14 days. You’ll find all the details of your Funeral Plan inside, including instructions about how to implement the Plan and of course, our contact details. We’ll also include a second copy of everything so you can pass this on to your family or Funeral Organiser.

Yes, just call, email or write to us and we’ll change your Plan accordingly.

After 30 days, a cancellation fee of £249 will apply. This will be deducted from the amount you've paid into your Funeral Plan and the rest will be refunded.

Once you've bought your Prepaid Funeral Plan, you will have 30 days to change your mind. So whether you've paid a deposit or paid in full, your money will be refunded if you cancel with 30 days. If you choose to cancel after the 30 days, a cancellation charge of £249 will apply. Please read our Terms & Conditions for full details.

If the Planholder passes away abroad, it’s the responsibility of their Next of Kin to arrange repatriation. The cost of this is usually covered by their travel insurance. However, if the Planholder passes away in the UK, the Plan will be activated and we’ll arrange for them to be brought to the Nominated Funeral Director. Any additional mileage above that included in the Plan will be chargeable.

Your Dignity Nominated Funeral Director must provide all the services outlined in your Plan and they must meet our high quality standards. However, if your family wishes to add to the Plan at the time of the funeral, they can. For example, they could upgrade the coffin or add an extra limousine to the Plan, or they could arrange for readings, hymns or special pieces of music to be played. Some requests may incur additional costs, which, similarly, are not included in the Plan. Please visit our Terms & Conditions.

Your Prepaid Funeral Plans are portable, so you can use them anywhere in mainland Great Britain, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Wight. If you move home, simply tell Dignity your new address and we will update our records.

The money for your funeral would still be protected because it is legally separate from Dignity. In the unlikely event that we were to go out of business it may however mean that we would be unable to provide the funeral we had promised to provide. If this happened the Managing Trustees of the Trust would work with the remaining Nominated Funeral Directors, and where necessary seek to appoint new Nominated Funeral Directors, to continue to provide services to Planholders. We are a registered provider with the Funeral Planning Authority and in this scenario other Registered Providers would co-operate in the delivery of the Authority’s “Pledge to Customers” by which the other Registered Providers will examine the ways in which they might assist in delivering the funerals of customers of the insolvent Registered Provider.

If you choose to pay for your plan over more than 12 months, and pass away before you’ve finished paying for it, Dignity will cover your outstanding balance.

We will not ask your loved ones to pay a penny more than you’ve already paid for all the services included in your plan.

That’s the Dignity Promise; you can find more information about this here.