Why choose the Dorset Funeral Plan?

• We guarantee the selection of your choice at today's price, regardless of when the funeral may be needed.
  
• You choose what kind of funeral you would like, instead of your family and friends having to guess. You can choose a set plan or we can tailor every detail exactly as you want it.
  
• Total security - your funeral payments are placed in the Funeral Planning Trust with HSBC Trust Company (UK) Limited as custodian trustee.
  
• The service will be provided by a local independent funeral director with an established reputation for quality of service, but if you move away you can transfer your plan through a network of professional firms across the UK.
  
• Your relatives will be spared a financial burden, at what could be a difficult and distressing time for them.
  
• Your plan can be purchased with a once-only payment or by installments, whichever suits you best.
  
• There is no age limit and there are no questions about your health.
  
• You can purchase a plan by post or we can visit you to discuss your particular wished whichever you choose.
  
• Flexibility if you change your mind later - the plan can be amended if necessary.

"Purchasing a funeral plan gives me peace of mind, knowing that all the arrangements are made and paid for.

Now I can get on with the rest of my life!"

Why should we think about
paying for our own funeral?

"Most of us, as we get older, expect to provide money to meet our funeral expenses. We're not morbid. It's to do with independence and responsibility. Leaving everything in order for our relatives and friends. We don't often talk about it - because there's no need to - but the fact is that funerals cost money, and we want to take care of the cost."

Providing for funeral costs in advance - what are the options?

There are three main options available to someone who wants to provide now, for the cost of a funeral in the future.

1. SAVINGS OR INVESTMENTS

You can put money in a savings account, or invest it, against the day when it will be needed. This involves a risk: the sum available at the time might be sufficient to pay for the funeral (indeed if your investment is good there might be money left over) but it might not be enough. Reports have shown that funeral costs have risen faster than the official rate of inflation: for example the cost of an average funeral increased by 25% in only three years, from 1990 to 1993. Very few savings can match that sort of increase. (Source: Third Age International)

2. A WHOLE-LIFE INSURANCE POLICY

Insurance policies are sometimes advertised to cover funeral costs, often offering "free gifts", but they have been heavily criticised in the press. To calculate the true cost you have to multiply the payment by your life expectancy in months - the results can be staggering! Sometimes these policies do not guarantee to pay for the funeral in the early years.

3. A GUARANTEED FUNERAL PLAN

An increasing number of people choose to pay for their funeral themselves now, rather than set aside a sum of money or an insurance policy towards the cost. With the savings or insurance options your family will usually have to pay for the funeral themselves and then hope to get the money from your estate, often months later. But with a guaranteed funeral plan the service has already been paid for - a much more practical solution!

The Dorset Funeral Plan

'Funeral plans for local people'

WHY YOU SHOULD PRE-ARRANGE YOUR FUNERAL

• Throughout our lives we make plans for the future. We plan for the security of our family and for our retirement. So it makes sense to plan for the one thing that none of us can avoid.
• If you decide to pre-arrange your own funeral, you are able to choose the kind of funeral you would like, instead of your family and friends trying to guess.
• You pay today's price, regardless of when the funeral may be needed and however much inflation there is in the future.
• You save your family the ordeal of coping with all the arrangements at a time when they will be distressed and they will be spared the financial burden.
• You can then get on with living your life to the full, confident that you are leaving everything in order for those you leave behind.
• Over 500,000 people in the UK have decided to take this step and have pre-arranged their own funeral.
• We guarantee the funeral of your choice at today's price, regardless of when the funeral may be needed.
• You can choose one of our fixed price "Package Plans" or a personally tailored service to suit your requirements.
• Total security -Your funeral payments are placed in the Funeral Planning Trust, with HSBCTrust Company Limited as Custodian Trustee.
• Our money back promise: If, for any reason, you wish to change your mind, you can receive a full refund at any time.
• Your funeral will be conducted by a local professional Funeral Director with a well established reputation for quality of service and care.

The Dorset Funeral Plan is provided through the Independent Dorset Funeral Directors, for a brochure or further information please contact us

DISBURSEMENTS

Included within the price of each plan is a contribution towards other expenses, such as crematorium or cemetery fees, doctors' fees for a cremation certificate and minister's or church fees - these fees are known as "disbursements". The amount included for disbursements will be increased annually in line with the Retail Price Index but please note that these costs are outside of our control and cannot be guaranteed. You can include a larger (or smaller) contribution to disbursements if you wish, and the plan price will be amended accordingly.