Questions and answers
How do I pay for Simple Choice Funerals?
Funeral Assist and Funeral Plan are paid for with a life insurance policy from AXA Wealth Ltd, trading as Sun Life Direct. You simply pay a fixed monthly premium for the rest of your life, or until age 90, whichever is sooner. If you do live until age 90 you simply stop paying, but your chosen funeral services will still be provided when the time comes.
After you have been paying into the policy for two years, you can be sure your chosen funeral services will be provided by The Co-operative Funeralcare when you're gone. If you die within the first two years of taking out the policy, we'd pay your estate all the premiums paid plus an extra 20%, and your chosen funeral services would not be provided, unless you die as the result of an accident.
If you were to die in an accident during the first 2 years of your Policy, or within 3 months of the accident as a result of injuries sustained in it, your chosen funeral services would be provided. See the Terms and Conditions for details.
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What are disbursements?
Disbursements (also known as 'third party costs') are the necessary fees paid to third parties - the Crematorium, Ministers/Officiants and Doctors - at the time of the funeral. These are paid via the funeral director but are not under their control. As a rough guide, the average combined cost of these disbursements for a cremation funeral is £850** today and could rise in the years to come.
Choosing Funeral Plan means that you will be taking care of these fees and your loved ones will not have to pay for them at the time of the funeral.
**Mintel Research Consultancy, Average Funeral Pricing, July 2012.
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What if I want to have extra services not included in Simple Choice Funerals?
There are a number of additional services that are not included but can be requested by the person arranging your funeral at the time. Your Co-operative Funeralcare Funeral Director will be able to provide guidance and advice on this. Any personal wishes that you may have can be recorded with the Funeral Director and passed on to your family at the time of the funeral. Any additional services will need to be paid for at the time of the funeral.
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What happens if I die when I'm abroad?
Funeral Plan and Funeral Assist do not cover the cost of transportation from abroad. You would need to ensure that you have travel insurance that covers repatriation costs or pay at the time of need. The Co-operative Funeralcare has a Repatriation Team that can assist with these arrangements in the event of a death overseas.
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What if my family arranges and pays for a funeral directly and are unaware of my Co-operative Funeralcare funeral arrangements?
The cash sum from the life insurance policy that would have been paid to The Co-operative Funeralcare would be paid to your estate by Sun Life Direct. However, the cash sum payable may not cover the full cost of alternative funeral services.
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What happens if I change my mind and I don't want to continue with the funeral plans I've made?
If you change your mind you can write to us quoting Department NPE/Servicing at the following address:
Sun Life Direct,
The Co-operative Funeralcare Admin,
PO Box 446,
Bristol BS99 1DR.
We will then let The Co-operative Funeralcare know that you would like to cancel your funeral services.
Provided you continue to pay your premiums into the life insurance policy Sun Life Direct will then pay the cash sum to your estate when you die and not to The Co-operative Funeralcare.
The cash sum payable increases by 5% every year until your death, even though your premiums stay the same. If you choose the Funeral Plan option, the cash sum we would provide on death after two years is £2,838.94. So if you die after ten years, the cash sum payable would be £4,194.40. If you choose the Funeral Assist option, the cash sum we would provide on death after two years is £1,846.69. So if you die after ten years, the cash sum payable would be £2,728.40.
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What if I am under the age of 50?
Paying for Simple Choice Funerals with a monthly life insurance policy is only available to those aged between 50-80.
However you can still take care of your funeral services with a single, straightforward payment to The Co-operative Funeralcare.
As long as you're over 18, both the Funeral Assist and Funeral Plan can be paid for in this way. What's more, you can pay by cheque, credit card or debit card. Please call 0800 904 7674 for further information.
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