Funeral Plans and The FCA (Financial Conduct Authority)
A Guide For Over 50's
Financial Conduct Authority
The Financial Conduct Authority, FCA, is the UKs financial regulatory body. It operates independently of the UK government and it is financed by charging its members, those in the financial services industry, fees. It maintains the integrity of the UK’s financial markets by regulating financial firms that provide services to consumers. So, whatever you are financing you are protected by the regulations set out by the FCA.
It is then rather surprising that funeral insurance is not currently regulated by the FCA. They can be a quite costly and customers want to know that their money is safe, especially as it is a product that hopefully won’t be used for years to come. That said it is reported that this could change in the future and FCA could regulate them and some funeral plan providers are already making steps to follow FCA guidelines.
If you do want peace of mind with your funeral plan then the best option is to go through a funeral plan provider that is registered with the Funeral Planning Authority, FPA, who are the only UK body that regulates the pre-paid funeral plan providers.
Funeral Planning Authority
The Funeral Planning Authority, FPA, was set up by the industry in 2002 to regulate the providers of pre-paid funeral plans. Its aim is to ensure providers that are registered with the FPA operate in a manner that will give customers the funeral they paid for when it is needed. They are also able to help with complaints about a plan or provider (but not actual funerals)
To become registered member of the FPA, funeral plan providers must undertake a tough registration process to prove they can operate with the Rules and Code of Practice. They are then tested on an annual basis through a re-registration process.
Funeral Plans
A funeral plan allows a customer to pay in advance for theirs or another person’s funeral. Pre-paid plans allow the customer to choose the arrangements for the sort of funeral they wish to have. It also enables the customer to fix the cost of some of the costs of a funeral and protect against future inflation of funeral related costs. Funeral plans differ from lump sums paid out by some life assurance policies and sometimes also called funeral plans as pre-paid funeral plans cannot be spent on other things and have a contractual arrangement with a provider who is responsible for arranging the pre-paid and planned funereal.
Your Money
When you pay into or finish your payment plan for your pre-paid funeral plan the FPA doesn’t keep the money. They use it to purchase a whole life insurance policy on the life of the plan holder or place the monies in a trust. This is so that if anything were to go wrong with the funeral plan provider the assets to pay for the funeral are separate and safe.
Does the Plan Cover the Entire Cost of The Funeral?
As with anything it is important to read each plans term and conditions so that you know what is covered and more importantly what is not covered. Quiet often items considered third party costs like medical fees, newspaper notices are not covered by a plan. Also, the costs of a burial plot or interment fees are not normally covered in a plan.
Funeral plan providers don’t have to be registered with anyone so it’s rather reassuring when providers like The Co Op Funeralcare, Golden Leaves Limited, Age UK, Dignity Caring Funeral Services, Funeral Planning Services and several more have chosen to register with FPA.
The Financial Conduct Authority, FCA, is the UKs financial regulatory body. It operates independently of the UK government and it is financed by charging its members, those in the financial services industry, fees. It maintains the integrity of the UK’s financial markets by regulating financial firms that provide services to consumers. So, whatever you are financing you are protected by the regulations set out by the FCA.
It is then rather surprising that funeral insurance is not currently regulated by the FCA. They can be a quite costly and customers want to know that their money is safe, especially as it is a product that hopefully won’t be used for years to come. That said it is reported that this could change in the future and FCA could regulate them and some funeral plan providers are already making steps to follow FCA guidelines.
If you do want peace of mind with your funeral plan then the best option is to go through a funeral plan provider that is registered with the Funeral Planning Authority, FPA, who are the only UK body that regulates the pre-paid funeral plan providers.
Funeral Planning Authority
The Funeral Planning Authority, FPA, was set up by the industry in 2002 to regulate the providers of pre-paid funeral plans. Its aim is to ensure providers that are registered with the FPA operate in a manner that will give customers the funeral they paid for when it is needed. They are also able to help with complaints about a plan or provider (but not actual funerals)
To become registered member of the FPA, funeral plan providers must undertake a tough registration process to prove they can operate with the Rules and Code of Practice. They are then tested on an annual basis through a re-registration process.
Funeral Plans
A funeral plan allows a customer to pay in advance for theirs or another person’s funeral. Pre-paid plans allow the customer to choose the arrangements for the sort of funeral they wish to have. It also enables the customer to fix the cost of some of the costs of a funeral and protect against future inflation of funeral related costs. Funeral plans differ from lump sums paid out by some life assurance policies and sometimes also called funeral plans as pre-paid funeral plans cannot be spent on other things and have a contractual arrangement with a provider who is responsible for arranging the pre-paid and planned funereal.
Your Money
When you pay into or finish your payment plan for your pre-paid funeral plan the FPA doesn’t keep the money. They use it to purchase a whole life insurance policy on the life of the plan holder or place the monies in a trust. This is so that if anything were to go wrong with the funeral plan provider the assets to pay for the funeral are separate and safe.
Does the Plan Cover the Entire Cost of The Funeral?
As with anything it is important to read each plans term and conditions so that you know what is covered and more importantly what is not covered. Quiet often items considered third party costs like medical fees, newspaper notices are not covered by a plan. Also, the costs of a burial plot or interment fees are not normally covered in a plan.
Funeral plan providers don’t have to be registered with anyone so it’s rather reassuring when providers like The Co Op Funeralcare, Golden Leaves Limited, Age UK, Dignity Caring Funeral Services, Funeral Planning Services and several more have chosen to register with FPA.
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