Find or Claim on a Prepaid Funeral Plan

Free Funeral Plan Search: Find and Claim on a Prepaid Plan.

This our funeral plan search facility for FCA Registered Funeral Plan Providers. Otherwise, finding a mislaid or lost funeral plan after death is not straightforward. Much better to get the ducks in a row earlier, as actions you take after death could invalidate an otherwise perfectly good plan. The form to trace a funeral plan is further down the page, but it is still worth ringing providers, as not all seem to read their emails. The link to the FCA site at the foot may have updated information. If you can’t find the missing funeral plan, the Local Pages list funeral directors, Registrars and much more.  

It is always worth asking local funeral directors, as many people will have bought the lost funeral plan locally – especially if there is a funeral director they have used before and liked.  Just in case you don’t find the plan, it might be a thought to ask for a quote simultaneously.   See your Local Page for more information.

Claiming on a Prepaid Funeral Plan – how to claim on death.

If you are looking for information about claiming on a prepaid funeral your or a relative’s existing plan, contact the provider directly before you do anything, as doing otherwise may cause problems. Always call the provider company FIRST, before the undertaker, or you may end up with an unexpected bill.   Even if you bought it directly from an undertaker, you must check that the provider still authorises them.  If you think a prepaid plan may be in place, try the free trace a funeral plan search form below and the separate link for insurance-type plans. Many insurance-type funeral plans are cancelled without any benefits if premiums are missed, and some will insist on Probate being granted before releasing the funds. These are just a couple of the many ways the Financial Conduct Authority fails against its own standards. Check here for professional help with probate.

There is a fairly comprehensive list of funeral plan companies below. If you know who the plan is with,  you can Google the name and find their site.   If it may be an insurance-type plan, check the person’s recent bank statements to see if you can find the insurance company’s name that way. Such (typically) “Over 50s insurance plans” (which we don’t like) are usually paid by direct debit. That said, some older plans stopped requiring premiums after a certain age, say 85, so in the absence of documents, the search facility below may be the only way to trace them. If you do have an elderly or unwell friend or relative, it would be prudent to find out if they have a prepaid funeral plan or a funeral insurance,  and if so, who it is with.   That way, there will be no problems when the time comes to use it.

Local information     See also search for unknown assets or liabilities.    Search for Will

With Care: Claiming on a prepaid funeral plan.

Instructing an undertaker yourself could invalidate plan benefits, so it is MUCH better to find a missing prepaid funeral plan early and ensure everything is up to date. Typically, the aged parent has said that they have a plan, but no one has pinned them down as to what it was – or they just can’t remember. So, how do you find a funeral plan, if there is one? It could be a few thousand pounds down the drain, so ideally, check long before death as part of the organisation process.

Register a death        Probate Guide     What to do when someone dies checklist     Plan ahead    Unclaimed Asset Search.

If you’re buying a new funeral plan.

If you’re buying a new plan, check the Financial Services Register to ensure that the firm you’re dealing with is listed and has permissions for ‘entering into a funeral plan contract’ under the section ‘What can this firm do in the UK? ‘ Thanks to the regulators’ stupidity, there is no longer a full database of plan holders. Hence, this is the best I can do to help.

Here is what to do to find that lost funeral plan, ideally in advance:

• If you have immediate access,  check through the paperwork for a funeral plan (or, more likely for older people, an insurance policy).
• If immediately available, check bank statements for payments to funeral plan companies or insurance companies. For funeral plans, payment may have been in one go, as long ago as 1985.  If it was before that (and usually, after) then it would have been an insurance policy.   For insurance policies, the older type pre-regulation policies may have been made paid up with a value so that payments could have stopped decades ago.   For the awful post-regulation policies often with no cash value, a policy may well be valueless if it is a non-profit whole of life, as a few missed payments mean everything is lost.  But it’s still worth asking.
• To find a funeral plan, the only central point to check most companies WAS the now defunct Funeral Planning Authority, which did not survive the FCA takeover at the end of July 2022.  So I set up my own search facility (below), which covers all companies currently authorised by the FCA where we can get an email address  – which means that some are missing but will hopefully get taken over. Our funeral plan search facility is FREE.
The current FCA list is here, with notes on some of the non-authorised companies that you may find of use.
• After you have used the funeral plan search above, for a more thorough and general search for assets, try this asset search facility – you may even turn up some other assets!

How to avoid having to find a Funeral Plan:

• • Make sure your family knows about your plan, whether a proper prepaid plan or a life insurance policy, and how to claim on it, as doing the wrong thing may invalidate it.

• • Ensure you and your family fully understand what is paid for and not covered.  We never cease to be amazed by the number of people buying plans over the phone without seeing the full terms and conditions.
  • Always have the paperwork with other important documents in a designated folder that the family can find easily.
  • Never pay for a funeral plan in cash, as there is less of a record of payment.
  • When moving house, tell your funeral plan provider. The cost may vary in the new area with some plans.
  • This form might form a useful basis for an Important Documents file. It’s not cheerful but practical – it saves time when you are alive, too.

Use this form for a FREE Lost Funeral Plan Search.

Find a lost or forgotten funeral plan: we suspect many providers don’t read their emails, so you may need to phone to trace a plan.

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Find a Funeral Plan – free search. Is there a funeral plan at all?

Is there a Funeral Plan?

Finding a funeral plan after death is not always simple, especially now the Funeral Planning Authority search facility is closed – but we have a lost funeral policy search facility above, which should contact most REGISTERED funeral plan providers.  Sadly, the FCA has cut the number of companies from 65 to 23, but all those who have not succeeded in registering must transfer their plans to the regulated companies by 31st October 2020.   Often, everyone knows there is one, but no one knows where the paperwork is. In many cases, the lost funeral plan will actually be an insurance policy rather than a proper prepaid funeral.   Prepaid funeral plans were only introduced in the UK in 1985.   So there is a fair chance that it was an insurance policy with an older person. To this day, far more Over 50’s insurance policies are sold than proper prepaid funeral plans. (Back to what to do after a death.)

Lost: How to go about Finding a Funeral Policy / Over 50s Plan as opposed to a proper funeral plan.

The biggest seller of Over 50’s Plans is Axa Sun Life on  0800 008 6060, though there are dozens of others. The Unclaimed Assets Register has sadly closed, so try Gretel. Needless to say, the FCA, which regulates financial services, hasn’t bothered to help consumers as it is duty-bound to do.

If you have the policy document or can find the company through a direct debit on the deceased person’s bank account, it should be fairly easy – though the direct debit may turn out to be for something else, of course.   If the name doesn’t seem to fit with any insurance company you can find, the company may have changed its name this Association of British Insurers page may help, the page covers pensions too and will tell you what name the company is now trading under. Then you can contact them. Literally, hundreds of old insurance companies now have new names and owners with the massive consolidation driven by regulation. So, just because you can’t find the name online, don’t give up.

Sadly, you may find that the policy is no longer in force, particularly if it is one of the (awful IMHO) non-profit whole-of-life policies created in an attempt to reduce regulation.   The problem with them is that they have no cash value at any time, so everything is lost if payments are stopped, and that is very common when people are old and poorly.

Find a Funeral Plan.

At the moment, we can find no central register of prepaid plans, so we have done our best to ensure you can find one if it exists.  Many providers are former members of the funeral planning authority and we have tried to list their phone numbers below.  Dignity (which also runs Age UK plans) are one of the biggest providers, along with Coop, and Golden Charter. Many of the remaining regulated plans should be contactable in one go through the form below.

A more comprehensive list of providers appears below, but many of these are sadly not going to remain in business  You will need to Google the contact details but please do let me know what you find so that I can offer better help in future.

Finally, we are here to help if you need professional help with probate.  If you want help or a free Probate guide, go here.   Should you need professional help, the cost would normally be recovered from the estate.

How do I Find a Funeral Plan?

If you have an existing plan, you need to contact the Funeral Plan Company direct for any assistance unless they have provided you with a specific funeral director to contact.   If you are trying to track down a plan, use the form above, as the Funeral Planning Authority service is closed.  It is also important to notify them immediately should you move.

The page on claiming on a prepaid plan is crucial reading unless you are about to contact the correct firm before arranging anything at all.

Age UK 0800 731 0651

• Avalon 0800 014 9112 Regulated Form emails them.

• Bristol Memorial Woodland Funeral Plans – contact Plan with Grace

• Capital Life Contact Dignity – form contacts Dignity. See (PDF).

• Celebration of Life Planning Regulated 0800 150 3555  Form emails them. Confirmed.

• Choice Plans 01803 298 243 Regulated.  Form emails them.

• Chosen Heritage – contact Dignity

• Central England Cooperative Regulated 01543 421303 Requested. Meanwhile, try sa***@*************ng.coop

• Co-op Southern Coop 0800 088 4883 0808 239 1704  Regulated Requested.

• Crystal Cremations  Regulated 01204 951066. Form emails them about lost funeral plans.

• Darwen Funeral Services, 59-61 Blackburn Rd, Darwen BB3 1EJ Tel: 01254 873618  Transfered to Crystal Cremations.

• Dignity Plans 0800 484 0516 Regulated Form emails them.

• Distinct Plans  Regulated. 01204 951066.   Added to email form 22/8/23  Unconfirmed

• Ecclesiastical 0800 055 6503 Regulated.   Form emails them. Confirmed.

• Empathy 0800 035 5729 There was an offer to transfer to a Dignity plan, which closed on 7th February 2023.  Find out more on the administrator’s website, including Frequently Answered Questions – which was down last time I tried and the time before that.    But see Dignity. (PDF).

• Eternal Peace Plans 0330 311 2570 in**@***************co.uk 4B Promenade, Bridlington, East Yorkshire YO15 2PX . No longer trading has refunded all plan holders. Contact them if you have not had a refund.

• Family Funeral Trust Regulated tel:0203 540 6660 Form emails them.

• Fox Milton – see Unique Funeral Plans below.
• Freeman Brothers   Regulated ma**@****************co.uk                           01403 254590   Form emails them. Unconfirmed response.

• Funeral Planning Services/Ecclesiastical 01508 218100 regulated. See above. Form emails them. Unconfirmed.
• Geo. Hanson & Sons (Hucknall) Ltd has transferred its plans to Golden Leaves. Not heard? 0115 963 2013 Email: fu******@**********co.uk

• Go As You Please 01670 730303 are an appointed representative of Independent Funeral Planning Services Ltd. Form emails them. Unconfirmed.

• Golden Charter 0800 111 4514.  Regulated Form emails them. Confirmed.

• Golden Leaves 0800 854448 Regulated Form emails them. Unconfirmed.

• Haven Personal Plans  Regulated  01706 230285. Email added to form 22/8/23. Unconfirmed.

• Independent Funeral Planning Services (IFPS & The IFPS) Regulated 01869 943 086  su*****@************************co.uk Form emails them. Unconfirmed.

• Independent Family Funeral Directors Ltd (including Fosters Family Funeral Directors) Regulated. 0800 121 8090 SCOTLAND so not emailed as our site is predominantly about England and Wales.  Call them if you think it might be a Scottish plan.

• Iberian in**@*****************ns.combased in Spain  Death 900 104351 or 0161 285 0860 Did not apply for authorisation in the U. See FCA July 2022 consumer alert. Contact the firm at: Suite 151 Silk House, Park Green, Macclesfield, Cheshire, SK11 7QJ. Form does NOT email them. Plan holders now living in the UK should contact them for a refund or to make alternative arrangements.

• Liberty 0800 413046   ????
• Liberty Cremations      0800 0086867                   Form emails them from 22/8/23

• Mairi Urquhart & Son Ltd. Application for authorisation withdrawn and has transferred its plans to Crystal Cremations Limited (above).      If you haven’t heard from the firm about the future of your plan, contact them at:  1-3 Mitchell Lane, Alness, IV17 0QW Email: in**@*****************on.com Telephone: 01349 880901

• Maplebrook Funeral Plans withdrew its application for authorisation and has transferred its plans to Golden Leaves Limited, an authorised funeral plan provider. If you haven’t heard from Golden Leaves about the future of your plan, or have any questions, you can contact them on: Telephone: 0800 85 44 48 Email:  in**@**********es.com The Golden Leaves website.

• M & F Funeral Services Ltd ? Regulated ? 0131 285 7174   They operate in Scotland so call them if relevant.

• Memoria / Low Cost / Affordable  Plans 0800 8620158 Regulated Forms are set to them, but unconfirmed

• Not for Profit Funeral Plans  Kelly Semke and Duncan Beat of Quantuma are appointed as Joint Liquidators.  Email: no*****************************@******ma.com Telephone: 023 8033 6464  Updated 11/12/23 Awaiting further update.

• One Life Funeral Planning Ltd has now been closed right down. Former plan holders can potentially obtain discounts on new plans or funerals HERE.

• Open Funeral Plans 0330 660 0072 Regulated. Form emails them.
•  
• Paul Young Funeral Director not regulated If you haven’t heard from Paul Young about the future of your plan, you can contact him at: 16 High Street, Aston, Askern, Doncaster DN6 0AB; or KingsGate, Waterdale, Doncaster DN1 3JZ Telephone: 01302618864, 07729173058 Email: pa**@*****co.uk, pa**@*****************co.uk, pa***********@****ud.com

• Peace Burials / Peace Funerals Regulated. 0800 093 0505   Form emails them.

• Perfect Choice 0800 055 6503 see Ecclesiastical above. Form emails Ecclesiastical.

• Plan With Grace Regulated. 0800 471 4689. Form emails them, but no acknowledgement to us. as yet.

• Post Office (old plans – no longer selling)  0800 033 4301

• Pride Planning has appointed Darren Brookes of Milner Boardman as administrator.  If you did not opt-in to be transferred to a Dignity funeral plan, it is now too late to do so. There may be a distribution to others in time but do make certain they have your contact details. See their site.    See Dignity PDF.

• Prosperous Life has appointed Andrew Knowles and Geoff Bouchier of Kroll Advisory Ltd as joint administrators.  It is now too late to opt into transferring your plan to Dignity  The administrators have said that any instalment payments received after the firm entered administration will be securely ring-fenced and returned to customers if a transfer is not completed. Contact the joint administrators if you have any questions about your plan: The Chancery, 58 Spring Gardens, Manchester, MS 1EW Email: Pr************@***ll.com  Telephone: 0161 827 9000 See the frequently answered questions on the Prosperous Life website. I suspect it is way out of date.  Dignity Prosperous Life PDF.

• PS Cremations – not regulated Contact the firm at: Carr Well, Swalewood Lane, High Birstwith, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, HG3 2JN

• Pure Cremation 0800 033 7737 Regulated Form emails them.

• Ready4Retirement appointed liquidators, Begbies Traynor.  Most post 24th August 2020 plan holders will be transferred to a new provider, Low Cost Funeral Limited, on the same terms. A small number of plan holders will not be transferred due to their plans not being insurance-backed. These plan holders were offered a new, discounted plan with Low Cost Funeral (Memoria). The old website has gone.
• See also Ready4Retirement Limited (including their brand “BeRetirementWise”) has ceased trading. However, funeral plans sold by Ready4Retirement Limited PRIOR to 24 August 2020 are NOT AFFECTED and are held by Independent Family Funeral Directors Ltd (Fosters) above.

• Rest Assured appointed Jeremy Bennett of O’Haras Limited as the liquidator. Dignity Funeral Plans Limited (Dignity) was offering customers a new, equivalent funeral plan at no additional cost or the option of a partial refund.   My understanding is that if a claim for a refund or transfer was not made before 6th February 2023, all is lost.  Worth trying Dignity though in case the plan was transferred. See Dignity PDF.

• Safe Hands went into administration on 23 March. Ben Stanyon and Nedim Ailyan of FRP Advisory Trading Limited have been appointed as joint administrators.  Dignity Funerals and Co-op Funeral Care were offering Safe Hands customers the ability to take out a new plan at a discounted price.  https://www.safehandsplans.co.uk/for FAQs and updates or call the administrators on 0800 640 9928 or email sa*******@*********ry.com.  Sadly the Serious Frauds Office are investigating Safe Hands.  Dignity Info PDF.

• Saga 0800 092 3700   They seem to be associated with funeral plans but certainly no longer offer them.

•  Silver Clouds has appointed Jeremy Bennett of O’Hara’s Limited as its administrator. During this period, where a funeral is required, families of plan-holders should contact the administrator O’Haras Limited.  For further information, please call the administrator on 0345 222 0271 or email si**********@****as.co   The address for correspondence is Moorend House, Snelsins Lane, Cleckheaton, BD19 3UE. Many planholders will have transferred to Dignity. More info on Dignity transfers.

• SJP Lichfield  has transferred its plans to Golden Leaves Limited. If you haven’t heard from the firm about the future of your plan, contact them at: Email: so****@******************es.com

• Sovereign Lifecare Ltd. Did not apply for authorisation. See July 2022 consumer alert. Contact the firm at: 32 Brenkley way, Seaton Burn, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE13 6DS

• Sun Life 0800 121 6677. See link for details of how to claim on plans sold through Sun Life.

• Tyde Group Limited Did not apply for authorisation. Contact the firm at: Unit 4, St John’s House, Haslett Avenue West, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 1HS Email: su*****@**de.co Telephone: 0333 444 2211

• Unique Funeral Plans (Fox Milton t/a) Further information, including FAQs, is available here or you can contact the liquidator at: Grant Thornton UK LLP, 11th Floor Landmark, St Peter’s Square, 1 Oxford St, Manchester, M1 4PB Email: cm********@***gt.com Telephone: 0161 953 6906   It does not look good – if you paid by debit or credit card, ask them for a refund.
• Wren & Fraser withdrew their application.  Contact the firm in**@***********er.com  5 Redwood Crescent, Peel Park, East Kilbride G74 5PA

• William Alty & Sons Ltd Regulated. 01254 503240  Form does email them.

Trace a funeral plan: this is our attempt at replacing the Funeral Planning Authority’s Find a funeral plan service.

Please check the FCA website for updates before making decisions, and if you think there may be a lost funeral plan, try the form above.

Register a death        Probate Guide     What to do when someone dies checklist     Plan ahead

FCA List of Funeral Plan Providers

The FCA are notorious for NOT Treating Customers Fairly!! Check for updates here.

This page is about how to find a funeral plan.