The costs related to death, such as a funeral and a headstone, have collectively risen by £400 in a year to £7,248, a report says.
The cost is 20% higher than four years ago, according to the report commissioned by financial services company Sun Life Direct.
The cost of funerals was key to the increase, it said,
Can’t comment on the state of affairs in Britain, but in the US the funeral industry is one of the most powerful lobby groups one never hears about. They have managed through legislation and aggressive sales practices to make expensive funerals normative here. The modern American funeral is really ghastly and should be repudiated as un-Christian. Many of the practices, such as embalming, are positively pagan and should be denounced as the desecration of human remains. Huge amounts of money are spent on utterly unnecessary things such as embalming, in ground vaults and elaborately appointed metal caskets.
In many states laws have been passed requiring the remains of deceased persons to be handled exclusively by licensed undertakers, who will often refuse to accept clients who don’t want their loved ones embalmed or other unnecessary expenses. It’s an incredible racket.
That’s true, Ad Orientem. I remember my mum going on about the sealed in-ground vault requirements when she did her pre-arranged funeral. It is a racket. And the prices they charge just to provide a morbid, drab visitation room are crazy.
I hate the funeral expectations. My parents’ funerals left me traumatized and I will never do that to my son. Having to sit there next to my parents’ terribly made-up remains, greeting people (including gawkers I knew my mum couldn’t stand), and hearing stupid remarks about how they looked and the speculations on the price of the casket and flowers made me want to scream. I had to hunt down the funeral director, who thought it strange that I desperately needed a cup of tea and was at a loss to provide one. Totally out of touch, especially for all of the money he was paid!