Inflation rates are far surpassed by the rate of rising funeral costs in both the US and the UK. So, not only are costs increasing all across the board, funeral charges are becoming even more impossible to afford than they already were.
UK Government Steps In
In response to these alarming rates in the UK, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched in 2019 an investigation prompted by rising costs in the funeral industry. As part of the process, the CMA studied competition among funeral directors and among crematoria as well as pricing transparency. They surveyed consumers and asked for feedback from funeral professionals.
On August 13, 2020, the group published the following identified issues:
- People are too distressed at their time of need to compare providers and instead choose a familiar, recommended, or geographically close funeral home.
- Pricing and product information isn’t consistent enough to allow for cost comparisons.
- Funeral home and crematorium fees are increasing faster than inflation rates.
- Residents of Britain, Wales, and Northern Ireland believe funeral directors are regulated (they aren’t).
- Those same residents’ loved ones are receiving “unacceptably low levels of care.”
- The government makes opening a new crematorium extremely difficult, so consumers have very few to choose from.
COVID-19 has severely impacted this, according to a statement made by the CMA: “On the one hand, it is clear that the funerals sector is not working well and that reforms will be needed. On the other hand, the pandemic has created insurmountable obstacles to some of the solutions needed to design and implement far-reaching reform of the sector at this stage.”
Price caps on funeral services and merchandise, which is one of the proposed reforms, have not been well received by the industry.
Parallel Issues in the US
According to the NFDA, “The National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) released the results of its latest Member General Price List Study, which shows that the median cost of a funeral has increased 6.4% over the past five years to $7,640 and the median cost of a funeral with cremation has increased 7.3% over the past five years to $5,150. The report further notes the overall rate of inflation has increased 8.4% over the same time period. The Member General Price List Study is available to NFDA members at no cost.”
The Bureau of Labor Statistics just published a fascinating look at the cost of dying in the US, showing that the price index for funerals has risen almost twice as fast as consumer prices for all other items.
Monopolization has become a common issue, and for now, the best consumers can do is save in advance and compare pricing from each funeral service provider. Not only has COVID shed a light on the cost of living, but also the cost of dying.