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Golden Charter > Our Funeral Plans

Our funeral plans

As everyone has different needs when it comes to funeral planning, we make sure our plans are as flexible as possible. Compare our plans below.

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Compare our funeral plans

As everyone has different needs when it comes to funeral planning, we make sure our plans are as flexible as possible. We have five plans to choose from, so whether you’d like a traditional cremation or burial service, or a no-fuss direct cremation with no service or attendees, you’ll be able to pick the plan that best suits your needs and budget.

* The pay monthly price of our Basic Plan is based on a 50 year old paying by the instalment payment option with a £49 deposit over 10 years. An instalment charge is included based on the term you select and is included in the overall cost of your funeral plan.

** The pay monthly prices are based on a 50 year old paying by the instalment payment option with a £49 deposit over 15 years. An instalment charge is included based on the term you select and is included in the overall cost of your funeral plan.

What's included in our funeral plans?

All of the following features are included in our funeral plans as standard and at no extra cost. Please note, features marked with a * are not included within the Basic Plan.

  • Provision of professional services and making all arrangements for the funeral

  • Advice on the certification and registration of the death and related documentation

  • The coffin*

  • Collection and transportation of the deceased to the funeral director's premises within a 25 mile radius (collection time frame is dependent on the plan you choose)

  • Care of the deceased prior to burial or cremation

  • Use of chapel of rest or service rooms*

  • Family viewing at any pre-arranged time (Costs may apply if out-of-hours viewing is required.)

  • Arrangement of the funeral service at a local cemetery or crematorium*

  • Funeral held on a normal weekday, during working hours*

  • Hearse to local crematorium or cemetery*

  • Provision of sufficient staff to attend to the coffin as required (e.g. pallbearers)

  • Built-in allowance towards third party costs (amount dependent on the plan you choose)

  • 24 hour funeral director telephone support for the bereaved

  • Transportation to the funeral director’s premises if death occurs whilst on holiday in mainland UK

What's not included in our funeral plans?

The following features are not included in our funeral plans as standard, but you can express your wishes when you purchase and add on as appropriate.

  • Embalming

  • Burial plot (our plans don’t include the purchase of a burial plot. Should you choose burial, the plans include an allowance towards the opening of a new or existing grave)

  • Headstone or memorial

  • Catering / wake

  • Medical certificates

  • Minister or officiant fees

  • Flowers

  • Order of service

  • Newspaper / online notices

Additional information

Other funeral costs you need to think about

Whilst the cost of the funeral director’s services are included in your plan, there are other costs you need to consider.

Third party costs

All our plans include an allowance towards third party costs. These are costs for essential, non-funeral director services required to carry out a cremation or burial. Funeral directors cannot control these costs and these fees need to be paid at the time of the funeral. These costs are paid by us or by the selected funeral director to other suppliers or professionals to carry out funeral services.

All our plans include an allowance towards third party costs. Our Basic Plan includes a £500 built-in allowance, our Value Plan includes an £800 allowance whilst our Standard, Select and Premier Plans include a £1,100 allowance. This allowance can be used towards cremation fees, burial or interment fees as well as the minister or Officiant’s fee to conduct the service. The built-in allowance will not be used towards certain third party costs such as doctor’s fees (if applicable) or the purchase of the burial plot.

The value of the allowance included in your plan may grow over time. There will only be more to pay at the time of the funeral if the third party costs exceed the allowance when you buy your plan, or if the costs increase by more than the growth of your plan.

Optional third party cost guarantee

If you select cremation, and pay for your plan by the single payment or 12 monthly payment options you can opt to guarantee your third party costs for an additional £200. If you choose the additional guarantee, third party costs will be covered if you die within five years from when your plan is fully paid. If you die after the specified guaranteed period, your additional payment of £200 will be added to your third party costs allowance. This guarantee is not available for burials or if you choose the Basic Plan. Please refer to our Key Features and Terms & Conditions (PDF) document for more information.

Optional services

You can choose to add extra services such as flowers, newspaper notices, a reception, catering and orders of service. These costs are not covered by your plan, you can choose to add these as an additional cost or your funeral director can help to organise these at the time.

Our Fees

The retail price of your funeral plan is representative of the equivalent cost of a funeral today plus an arrangement fee of £285 which we retain to help cover the costs of setting up your plan. In addition, from the retail price paid, we retain £250 as a contribution towards the costs we incur in the marketing of your funeral plan.

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FAQs

If you'd like to know more about Golden Charter or our funeral plans, you can find answers to our most frequently asked questions in our FAQs section.

If you have further questions, please contact us and we'll be happy to help.