Avalon funeral plans review

As with many other funeral plans, Avalon funeral plans don’t guarantee to cover all third-party fees.

Third-party costs are doctors fees and minister fees, and fees to carry out the burial or cremation.

Avalon contribute up to £1,000 towards these costs, but this may not be a sufficient amount when the time comes.

This is because third party fees make up to on average £860 for a cremation and £2,288 for a burial.

And this is just today’s rate.

Third-party fees are expected to increase in line with rising funeral costs, (which have risen 130% in the last 16 years^[1]).

Therefore, the Avalon contribution could be worth less in the future, and your loved ones may have to pay the shortfall for this.

But, Reassured can help you arrange a funeral plan that does guarantee to cover all third-party fees, locked in at today’s price.

Get in touch with a member of our award-winning team and secure your fully guaranteed funeral plan today.

If you opt to pay by monthly instalments over a number of years, you must have paid all the instalments by your 80th or 90th birthday (depending on your age).

If you’re aged between 18 and 77, and you opt to pay by monthly instalments, you could qualify for the Avalon Promise.

Funeral plans purchased through Reassured offer similar payment options, none of which require a deposit.

As explained previously, unlike funeral plans we offer, Avalon funeral plans don’t cover all third-party fees.

This is the doctor fees, minister fees and cremation or burial fees.

Instead, they provide an allowance to cover some of the costs, and your loved ones may have to pay the remaining balance when the time comes.

Also, Avalon funeral plans don’t include the cost of a burial plot.

This is usually the case with funeral plans, as the cost of burial plots vary greatly across the UK.

Other elements not included in an Avalon funeral plan are the flowers, memorial, obituary, catering, and the wake.

There may also be extra charges if your loved ones choose to change the funeral director (within the Avalon network), or were to have the funeral at the weekend.

Unless you have a repatriation funeral plan, an Avalon funeral plan won’t cover the cost of the repatriation back to the UK or N.Ireland.

The cheapest Avalon funeral plan for no-fuss direct cremation costs £1,895 or from £17.76 per month.

A direct cremation is when the body of the deceased is taken directly to the crematorium, and a traditional funeral service isn’t held.

Loved ones won’t need to attend the crematorium in this scenario, except to collect the ashes after the cremation has taken place.

Avalon also offer a cremation with service funeral plan, which costs £2,695 or from £25.67 per month.

This is a direct cremation, but on this occasion your loved ones can organise a funeral service held at the crematorium.

Direct cremation funeral plans are available through Reassured from as little as £16.51^† a month.

Get in touch to compare your prepaid plan options.

The Avalon funeral trust holds the funeral plan funds until they are ready to be used.

The trust is separate from Avalon funeral plans and managed by independent trustees.

They ensure that there are enough funds in the trust to ensure that customers of Avalon funeral plans receive the funeral they paid for.

FPA approved funeral plans will have this form of protection in place.

Funeral plans arranged through Reassured are fully FPA approved so you have peace of mind your money is protected.

Avalon funeral plans provide many benefits, however, whether an Avalon funeral plan is right for you will depend on your own personal circumstances.

The Avalon direct cremation options are the cheapest (from £1,895), however, this won’t provide your loved ones with the opportunity to say their goodbyes at a funeral service.

Unless they choose to carry out the funeral service themselves, which can be a lot for them to take on during a time of grief.

The traditional funeral plan options start from £3,645 or from £35.06 a month.

For the most expensive funeral plans on the market, the services included in each plan aren’t exceptional to those of other funeral plans. Also, Avalon only offers a contribution of up to £1,000 towards third-party fees.

It may be that Avalon funeral plans are able to charge more for their plans as they are award-winning, and offer the unique online LifeLocker tool.

As mentioned, funeral plans arranged through Reassured offer great value for money as they guarantee to cover your essential funeral costs at today’s prices.

This means that no matter how much funeral prices rise in the future, there’ll be nothing more to pay towards the services included in the plan bought today.

[1] https://www.sunlife.co.uk/siteassets/documents/cost-of-dying/SL-cost-of-dying-report-2020.pdf/

^*£20.38 per month includes a £75 discount only available to Co-op members, based on a 50-year-old purchasing a Simple Funeral Plan at £3,220 after discount with 25 years payment term (total amount payable £6,115.40), as of 20th November 2020

^**Based on 50 years old purchasing a Standard Funeral Plan at £3,645 with 15 years payment term

^†£16.51 a month is for the Simplicity Cremations Lily Plan, provided by Reassured which is for a direct cremation only, at £1,495 with 10 years payment term (total amount payable £1,981.80)