21/11/2019
The funeral planning and insurance markets are large, with over 200,000 financial products taken out each year. This means big business for large companies.
Pre-paid funeral plans and insurances are supposed to safeguard your money until it’s needed, ensuring that it’s used to provide the funeral you wish for. But buyer beware!
Funeral plans are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) or any other statutory regulator. Even though a pre-paid plan resembles an insurance product, providers are exempt from regulation by putting customers’ money either into a trust or a ‘whole of life’ insurance policy.
The vast majority of – if not all – providers make use of this exemption. This also means consumers are unable to complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service and have no protection if a provider goes out of business.
Taking out a funeral plan means the consumer either pays a lump sum or instalments to the plan provider. Your money is invested into a trust fund with trustees, typically in a predominantly cash fund. Administration charges are usually upfront.
An insurance policy, sometimes known as Over-50s plan, is usually monthly payments to the insurance company, providing a given lump sum of cash when the time comes. This sounds straightforward, but the policy is closed if any payments are missed, and no money is payable by the insurance company.
https://www.funeralplanningtrust.co.uk
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