As you might expect in a world turned topsy-turvy in 2020-2021, the funeral industry saw wide-spread changes in that time, according to findings from the financial services company SunLife, which published its annual report that researches the cost of dying in the UK.
While the research carried out revealed many changes to funerals that resulted because of the pandemic, it also showed that the average funeral in 2021 cost £128 less than in 2020, the first drop in funeral costs since SunLife began its research in 2004.
Costs of a send off
The average cost of a send-off, which SunLife defines as including the optional “extras” such as transport, catering, the wake and flowers, is split into:
- £1,024 for a memorial
- £406 for the catering
- £206 for the flowers
- £268 for the venue hire
- £71 for the death notice
- £83 for the death notice
- £105 for the order sheets
… adding up to a grand total of £2,484, down 1.9% since 2020.
The decrease is likely because of the wide-spread restrictions that were in place during the lockdowns put in place to slow the spread of Covid-19. Compared to those who had to organise funerals in the past four years, people in 2021 spent less on extras such as venue hire, catering and limousines.
Direct cremations rise in popularity
What was also note-worthy during that time is the rise in awareness/popularity of direct cremations. This is the most affordable choice for a funeral as the deceased goes straight to the crematorium and the family can choose to either keep or scatter the ashes. There is no service. The late singer David Bowie elected to be directly cremated.
64% of people are now aware of direct cremations and 18% of all funerals in the past four years were direct cremations.
The reasons people gave SunLife for choosing direct cremations ranged from because of the Covid-19 restrictions and people wanting to hold celebrations of life events once those restrictions were lifted, and because the family member hadn’t wanted a fuss nor to inflict large costs on their families.
Changes in attitude
SunLife also noted that the general attitude to funerals is changing. Even with the disruption caused by Covid-19, most people still want to give their loved one a more upbeat send-off. In 2021, almost half of all funeral services were described as a “celebration of life”.
Some 17% of people who had to organise a funeral in that time said that they tried something different, such as colourful dress codes and more light-hearted speeches. 65% of funeral directors noted a drop in the number of traditional religious festival, 2% higher than the previous year.
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