Most Brits think they should pay for their own funerals but only a small percentage actually do
Brits not facing up to grave financing
Friday, 16 Feb 2007 09:03
Brits are not facing up to financing their own funeral despite most believing they should pay for their death provisions before they pass away.
That is according to new research from Mintel, which shows 54 per cent of over-55s think you should prepay for their own funeral but only three per cent actually do so.
Across adults as a whole, the survey shows 70 per cent feel people should take the burden of planning and paying for a funeral away from their families.
However, a significant minority (36 per cent) see funerals as something that the state is responsible for paying for.
"Death is not a topic that many find easy to discuss either with the family or with friends," commented Katy Child, senior market analyst at Mintel.
"Although there is a good deal of informal planning of funerals and most consumers like the idea of arranging or pre-paying their funeral, this is rarely translated into formal planning of the event.
"Converting this potential interest into action is one of the major challenges facing the industry."
She added the take-up of prepaying for funerals would increase once the subject became less of a taboo - evident by the success in other countries, including US and Belgium, of campaigns to promote awareness of taking responsibility for funeral provisions.
The research shows 90 per cent of adults have considered plans for their death, with 36 per cent wanting a burial and 54 per cent preferring a cremation.