Co-op Funeralcare has pledged to address funeral affordability by beating any like-for-like quotes from competitors.
The business – part of the Co-op Group – also announced the reduction of the cost of its affordable funeral option by £100, and introduced additional member discounts. It has lowered its funeral prices by 15% since 2015, attracting four times more customers for these services.
The initiative is a response to a recent survey on death and bereavement conducted by the Group, which showed that 4 million British people suffered financial hardship after a bereavement.
With the new measures, the price of the simple funeral option at the Co-op Group will be £1,895 plus third party costs (£1,675 in Scotland). Members of the Group will benefit from an additional discount of £200 on all core funeral options and 5% if greater, taking the member price of a simple funeral to £1,695 plus third party costs.
The discount builds on other measures by Co-op Funeralcare in 2018 to promote funeral affordability. In July it launched discounts of up to £400 off funeral costs to support families facing a shortfall on funeral costs due to over 50’s policies.
And earlier in May, Co-op Funeralcare had announced a new direct cremation service costing £1,395 inclusive of third party costs.
Robert Maclachlan, managing director of Co-op Funeralcare and Life Planning said: “The fact that four million Brits have suffered financial hardship after a bereavement is startling. As a member-owned organisation, the changes we are making form part of a long term focus we have on leading the market to further assist the bereaved in tackling funeral affordability.
“Funerals are becoming increasingly price-sensitive and in the last two years we have seen a huge shift in the number of clients seeking affordable funeral choices. Our new guarantee to beat on price means that families choosing a funeral with the Co-op can be assured that they are receiving a competitively priced funeral, with no compromise on our high standards of care.”
