Funeral costs reach an all-time high: SunLife

Increase of 134% from 21 years ago

Jaskeet Briah
clock • 3 min read

The cost of a “simple attended” funeral has reached an all-time high of £4,285 in 2024 amid a 3.5% rise in funeral costs in the past year, with the overall cost of dying now standing at £9,797, according to SunLife.

The 21st edition of the SunLife Cost of Dying report found that costs of a simple funeral – including an attended burial or cremation, funeral director, doctor and celebrant fees, a coffin and limousine – have risen faster than inflation. The price of a simple funeral stood at £1,835 when SunLife first started indexing funeral costs in 2004. While the average cost today would be £3,211 if funeral prices increased at the same rate as inflation, SunLife said funeral costs are now 134% higher than they were 21 years ago, rising from under £2,000 to more than £4,000. The total cost of dyi...

To continue reading this article...

Join COVER for free

  • Unlimited access to real-time news, key trend analysis and industry insights.
  • Stay on top of the latest developments around health and wellbeing, diversity and inclusion and the cost of living crisis.
  • Receive breaking news stories straight to your inbox in the daily newsletter.
  • Members only access to monthly programme 'The COVER Review'
  • Be the first to hear about our CPD accredited events and awards programmes.

Join now

 

Already a Cover member?

Login

More on Individual Protection

Young adults unsure how to purchase protection

Young adults unsure how to purchase protection

LifeSearch research shows

Jaskeet Briah
clock 06 February 2025 • 1 min read
Eleos expands health benefits offering

Eleos expands health benefits offering

Partnership with HealthKey

Jaskeet Briah
clock 05 February 2025 • 1 min read
Cancer cases rise for RedArc

Cancer cases rise for RedArc

Represented the most new cases

Jaskeet Briah
clock 03 February 2025 • 2 min read