Funeral costs fall as half of Brits look to dial back on spend
Funeral costs have fallen for the first time in 18 years as Brits take on a new pandemic-era mentality to spend more money on living, rather than dying.
The average cost of a basic funeral has shrunk 3.1 per cent to £4,056 since 2020. While the average price in London sits at £5,358.
Even though the cost had fallen last year, 50 per cent of people still tried to cut back on funeral costs, according to life insurance and funeral planner SunLife.
Funeral services changed drastically due to the pandemic, the insurer explained, with 85 per cent of funerals between February 2020 and July 2021 being affected by social distancing measures which limited the number of attendees.
Sally Howarth of Funeral Plan Market suggested that Brits trying to dial back funeral spending “has been caused by the pandemic making people want to spend their money on living rather than dying”.
“Yes, a percentage of our customers will doubtless be feeling the cost of living squeeze but overall the pandemic has been a wake-up call about the importance of enjoying life while it lasts.”
Howarth added that the pandemic may have even “fundamentally changed” how people view traditional funerals, “which is increasingly seen as a dour event rather than a celebration of a person’s life”.
“The importance of which has been put into sharp focus after the events of recent times.”