Funeral Plan Terms and Conditions

Please note if you have a Trust-based Funeral Plan purchased before 29th July 2022, the plan is covered by these Terms and Conditions.

 

If you have a Over 50s Insurance-backed Funeral Plan purchased before 29th July 2022, the plan is covered by these Terms and Conditions.

 

1. Definitions

 

There can be up to 3 people involved in your funeral plan: “Planholder” is the person who will be cremated when they die; “Customer” is the person who buys or pays for the Plan; (this is quite often the same as the Planholder); “Nominated Representative” is normally the person who we will deal with when the Planholder dies (this is normally next of kin but can be anyone). When we say “you”, “your” and “I” we mean the Customer. “We”, “us” and “our” refers to Pure Cremation Funeral Planning Limited. This is the funeral plan provider and manages your funeral plan. We are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority with Firm Reference Number 965260. Our registration details can be accessed at https://register.fca.org.uk. “Pure Cremation Limited”, is our sister company which deals with caring for the Planholder once they have died and performs the cremation. “Plan” is the funeral plan and is the agreement between you and us. This agreement is made up of this document, the application form and the funeral plan summary. We’ll issue the funeral plan summary before or when you buy your Plan and it is a useful summary of what is and what isn’t included in the Plan. When we use the phrase “our coverage area” we mean mainland England, Wales and Scotland plus the Isle of Wight and Isle of Skye. “Accidental Death” means a death which occurs within 90 days of an accident. By which we mean an event caused by violent, external bodily injury which could not be predicted and was not intentional. This does not include self inflicted injury such as suicide, or activities where there is an inherent risk of injury (such as war, terrorism, involvement in criminal acts, extreme sports, drug use, or injury while intoxicated) and death by natural causes, an illness or disease.

 

2. Plan eligibility

 

To buy a Plan, the Customer must be over 18 and pay using a UK bank account (cheque or transfer) or UK debit or credit card. To be covered by the Plan, the Planholder must be resident in our coverage area and must be over 18. Depending on how you choose to pay for your Plan there may be certain age restrictions. For details please see Section 5 – How do I pay for the Plan.

 

3. How does the Plan work?

 

The cremation will be provided by Pure Cremation Limited on the Planholder’s death, as long as the payment terms of the Plan have been met. You’ll find details of these in Section 5 – How do I pay for the Plan. Every Pure Cremation Funeral Plan includes collection of the body, day or night, from anywhere within our coverage area, cremation at a crematorium of our choice and return of ashes if requested. If the Planholder is travelling abroad, we would recommend they take out a travel insurance policy which will cover the costs of returning their body to the UK if they die, as the Plan does not cover the cost of repatriation. Once their body is returned, we can carry out the cremation. Alternatively, we may be able to help pay towards the cost of a cremation in the place that they die but we do not guarantee to cover the entire cost of this. We DO guarantee to cover the cost of a cremation carried out by us in the UK. We are normally unable to transfer people between different jurisdictions e.g. from England to Scotland.

 

4. What’s included and not included in the Plan?

 

The Plan is all inclusive for an unattended direct cremation and includes the cost of emergency collections, removal of any medical devices (e.g. pacemakers) all doctors fees and the return of any jewellery. Return of the ashes within 21 days of the cremation is also included. There are no additional or unexpected costs.

 

What products and services are included in the funeral plan?

 

• Collection from anywhere in mainland England, Wales and Scotland (includes Isle of Wight and Isle of Skye)
• Transfer to the crematorium and a solid pine eco-coffin (or suitable alternative)
• Cremation fees for an unattended committal at the crematorium of our choice and Doctor’s fees (if these apply)
• Hand delivery of the ashes to any mainland address in England, Wales and Scotland (includes Isle of Wight and Isle of Skye)
• All costs associated with the delivery of an unattended cremation when the Plan holder dies

 

What products and services are not included in the funeral plan?

 

• The use of a hearse, limousine of flowers
• A funeral ceremony at the crematorium
• A minister or a celebrant
• A choice of crematorium
• Mourners attending the committal at the crematorium

 

The Planholder is covered for Accidental Death from the day the Plan is taken out.

 

Can I add anything?

 

When the cremation is being arranged, you can request up to 12 attendees at the committal. You will be charged for this at that point. The current cost is between £250-£400. 

 

Before or just after you buy your Plan, you’ll receive a funeral plan summary. This will confirm what’s in your Plan. If anything that your Plan includes today isn’t available at the time of the Planholder’s cremation, we’ll provide reasonable alternatives.

 

 

5. How do I pay for the Plan?

 

There are three ways to pay for your Pure Cremation Funeral Plan.

 

What happens if I miss a payment?

 

Your Plan is at risk if you do not keep up with regular payments. It’s important that you contact us as soon as you can if you are finding it difficult to pay the fixed term or continuous payments. If you miss two payments we will notify you in writing.

 

Fixed Term Payment

 

If you miss two consecutive monthly payments and they remain unpaid for a period greater than 10 days from our notification your Plan will be cancelled by us. However, if you contact us, we will consider pausing your Plan for a mutually agreed period of time and discuss what this means for your Fixed Term Payment schedule and your Qualifying Period.

 

Continuous Payment

 

If you miss two consecutive monthly payments and they remain unpaid for a period greater than 10 days from our notification your Plan will be cancelled by us.

 

Please note that if there are insufficient funds in your account to make a payment on the nominated day we will reapply for the payment 10 days later.

 

Do I need to pay a deposit towards the Plan?

 

No. We don’t require any deposit. The Plan is either paid for using a Single Payment or by Monthly Payments.

 

6. Who is the Nominated Representative?

 

The Nominated Representative is the person we are expecting to deal with when the Planholder dies. This person is normally identified when the Plan is taken out and often a next of kin.

 

The Nominated Representative can be changed at any time – please see Section 16 General Conditions – Can I make changes to the Plan?

 

The Nominated Representative can also be the Customer but CANNOT be the Planholder. We would normally write to the Nominated Representative, within 5 days, to inform them about the Plan, but the Customer can ask us not to do this.

 

7. What happens when the Planholder dies?

 

The Nominated Representative should contact us using the telephone number in Section 13 What if I need to contact Pure Cremation. This number is in operation 24/7/365.

 

If the Planholder dies at home or in a nursing home or hospice we’ll send a team out as soon as possible to collect their body.

 

If the Planholder dies in hospital then we usually have to wait until we have the Green Form (a formal certificate allowing us to perform a cremation) from the Registrar or a release form issued by the hospital before we can collect their body.

 

The Nominated Representative will need to provide us with the Registrar’s certificate for burial or cremation (the Green Form) and sign some simple forms that we send to them by post or email. We’ll then take care of the rest.

 

8. Are there any qualifying periods before the Planholder is covered by the plan?

 

How you pay for the plan will determine the qualifying period the Planholder has before they are fully covered for a Pure Cremation Funeral Plan.

9. Price and Funeral Plan Disclosure Statement

 

Single and Fixed Term Payment Plans

 

The total cost of your funeral plan is £1,795. This is wholly attributable to the supply of your funeral plan. From this total cost £1,050 is placed in an independent trust. This amount is used to provide the Planholder with the direct cremation funeral described at the time of their death, whenever in the future that may occur. Pure Cremation Funeral Planning Limited has negotiated this charge with the provider of the direct cremation and guarantees that you will not be charged more than this amount for the direct cremation funeral when the time arrives.

 

Any additional money that you pay over and above the £1,050 is retained by Pure Cremation Funeral Planning Limited.

 

 

Your monthly payments paid to us are used to purchase a whole of life insurance policy for the Planholder’s benefit with Scottish Friendly Assurance Society.

 

Pure Cremation Funeral Planning Limited will retain a commission amount between £2 and £6 your monthly payment as well as receiving a sales commission from Scottish Friendly Assurance Society of between £198.48 and £363.60. The actual amount in both cases will depend on the Planholder’s age. If you would like more details on the actual commission applicable to your individual circumstances, please contact us on 0800 033 7737.

 

For comparison purposes, if you were to approach Pure Cremation Limited and request a funeral that was needed today, what is referred to as an ‘at need’ service, you would have to pay between £1,295 (for death in hospital) and £1,545 (for death at home) in one lump sum payment.

 

10. How we keep your money safe

 

Single and Fixed Term Payment Plans

 

Pure Cremation Funeral Planning Trust

 

All payments are placed into the Pure Cremation Funeral Planning Trust. This has been established and is managed in strict accordance with Rules set out by the Financial Conduct Authority using their statutory powers derived from the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. The Trust is completely separate from the Pure Cremation business and is managed by four trustees, three of whom are independent of the Pure group of companies.When the Planholder dies, funds are released from the trust so that the cremation can be provided. If you have chosen to pay in a single lump sum or in monthly instalments then money can also be released in other circumstances; for instance, if you or we cancel your Plan, your money (less a cancellation fee, if applicable) will be refunded to you. Please see Section 11 – Cancelling your Plan for further details.

 

Managing the Trust’s money

 

The Trust’s money is managed by a fund manager that is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. They invest the money in accordance with the investment policy of the Trust. This policy is reviewed each year to ensure a cautious and ethical approach is maintained by the fund manager. The Trustees regularly review the fund manager’s performance, and the Trust is audited each year and undergoes an actuarial valuation at least every 12 months to confirm that there are sufficient funds to meet regulatory requirements.

 

Your monthly payments to us are used to purchase a Whole of Life Insurance Policy from Scottish Friendly Assurance Society Limited. When the Planholder dies we claim on this insurance policy and it is designed to provide enough money to deliver the cremation. This insurance policy has no surrender or transfer value.Scottish Friendly Assurance Society Limited are authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Details can be found on the Financial Services Register - Registration No. 110002. To receive the Plan benefit you must keep up yourpayments.

 

Continuous Payment Plans

 

Your monthly payments to us are used to purchase a Whole of Life Insurance Policy from Scottish Friendly Assurance Society Limited. When the Planholder dies we claim on this insurance policy and it is designed to provide enough money to deliver the cremation.

 

This insurance policy has no surrender or transfer value.

 

Scottish Friendly Assurance Society Limited are authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Details can be found on the Financial Services Register - Registration No. 110002.

 

To receive the Plan benefit you must keep up your payments.

11. Cancelling the Plan

 

You can cancel your Plan at any time without reason. The table below details your cancellation period and what refund you are entitled to depending on how you pay for your Plan.

Effects of Cancellation

 

If you cancel this Plan, either within or after the cancellation period, the Plan will end and no further payments will be payable and no services detailed in the Funeral Plan Summary will be provided.

 

Our right to cancel your Plan

 

We may cancel your Plan if you don’t keep up the monthly payments on your plan and these remain unpaid for a period of 2 consecutive months or more. We may also cancel your plan if we have reason to suspect illegal activity in relation to your Plan or any payments relating to it.

 

What if I don’t use the Plan?

 

We’ll stay in regular contact with you using the contact details that we have. If you do not use the Plan following the death of the Planholder, then you can cancel it, and you will receive a refund in line with the table in this section.

 

You can cancel your Plan by using the details below to get in touch.

 

Phone: 0800 033 7737

 

Email: [email protected]

 

Or by writing to us at: Pure Cremation Funeral Planning Limited, Eagle House, Joule Road, Andover, Hampshire SP10 3UX

 

12. Making a complaint

 

If you want to make a complaint

 

You should contact us by phone email or post.

 

Phone: 0800 033 7737

 

Email: [email protected]

 

Post: Pure Cremation Funeral Planning Limited, Complaints Department, Eagle House Joule Road, Andover, Hampshire SP10 3UX.

 

If you’re not happy with our response to your complaint, you can ask the Financial Ombudsman Service to look into it. This is a free, independent and impartial service that helps resolve disputes.

 

Although you can refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service at any time, they’ll ask for our permission to investigate complaints where:

 

• you haven’t complained to us first, to give us the chance to put things right; or
• you have complained to us, but we haven’t given you our final response yet and we’re still within our timescales.

 

How we manage your complaint

 

We will send you a prompt written acknowledgment or a summary resolution communication (if the complaint can be resolved within 3 business days). We’ll also let you know about the Financial Ombudsman Service at this time.

 

For more complex complaints, we’ll send you our final response as soon as we’ve completed our investigation and no later than within 56 days. We’ll also keep you informed in writing along the way so you’ll know when to expect to hear from us.

 

If we haven’t been able to finalise our investigation by 56 days we’ll send you a letter letting you know and what steps you can take. These will include letting you know you can go to the Financial Ombudsman Service if you’d prefer not to wait until we’ve finalised our investigation. The contact details for the Financial Ombudsman Service are below.

 

Web: www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk

 

Email: [email protected]

 

Phone: 0800 0234 567 (free from UK landlines and mobiles)

 

Post: Financial Ombudsman Service, Exchange Tower, London E14 9SR

 

13. What if I need to contact Pure Cremation?

 

You can contact us in the following ways for Plan sales, lost Plan documents, Plan enquiries, general enquiries and if the Planholder dies. We will send you a plan statement every 3 years to keep you updated on the Plan.

 

Phone: 0800 033 7737

 

Email: [email protected]

 

Post: Pure Cremation Funeral Planning Limited, Eagle House, Joule Road, Andover, Hampshire SP10 3UX.

 

The funeral plan is provided by Pure Cremation Funeral Planning Limited (registered in England and Wales, company number 09906976)

 

Our Registered office is at: Charlton Park Crematorium, Charlton Down, Andover, England, SP11 0TA

 

14. What if we go out of business

 

Single and Fixed Term Payment Plans

 

In the unlikely event Pure Cremation Funeral Planning Limited were to go out of business, there are arrangements in place that make it likely your funeral plan contract will continue to be provided by a new firm whilst keeping the terms and service that were agreed.

 

In the event that your funeral plan contract could not be carried out by Pure Cremation Funeral Planning Limited or another firm that was appointed, you would promptly receive a refund of all the money held on your behalf within the independent trust without any further deduction.

 

You should be aware that in the event that your funeral plan could not continue to be carried out by Pure Cremation Funeral Planning Limited or the new provider identified, your funeral plan would cease, and you may incur additional costs in making new arrangements with a new provider.

 

Continuous Payment Plans

 

In the unlikely event Pure Cremation Funeral Planning Limited were to go out of business, there are arrangements in place that make it likely your funeral plan contract will continue to be provided by a new firm whilst keeping the terms and service that were agreed.

 

Scottish Friendly, the firm that provides the insurance that backs your funeral plan, will work with whoever is appointed to run the business thereafter to ensure your plan is maintained and delivered.

 

You should be aware that in the event that your funeral plan could not continue to be carried out by Pure Cremation Funeral Planning Limited or the new provider identified, your funeral plan would cease, and you may incur additional costs in making new arrangements with a new provider.

 

15. Financial Services Compensation Scheme

 

What is Financial Services Compensation Scheme?

 

In the unlikely event we are unable to meet our obligations or pay claims made against us, for instance in the event we stop trading or become insolvent, you (or the estate of the Planholder) may be entitled to compensation from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. Any compensation amount will depend on the circumstances of the claim.

 

Further information can be found by contacting the Financial Services Compensation Scheme:

 

Phone: 0800 678 1100

 

Web: www.fscs.org.uk

 

16. General Conditions

 

Can I transfer the Plan to someone else?

 

No, you CANNOT transfer the plan to someone else.

 

Can I make changes to the Plan?

 

Please contact us if you change your name, address, bank details, Nominated Representative or any other information that may affect your Plan. If you are paying monthly you can also contact us if you want to make a change to the monthly payment date.

 

What if I lose the Plan documents?

 

If you lose any documents just call or email us and we’ll send you replacements free of charge.

 

What else may affect the Plan?

 

If there is a change in the law or tax rules that affects the way funeral plans or cremations are carried out, we may need to either apply additional charges or pay you money back. We will carefully consider whether to apply any additional charges and commit to keeping them as low as possible. We will contact you to advise of any additional charges.