In our recently published 2025 funeral plan market report we use our expertise, market understanding, other subject expert views, and extensive consumer research to explore a continuation of key themes pivotal to the future of the funeral plan market in the UK.

  1. Sales have started to recover post regulation and threaten to overtake Over 50s plan sales for the first time.
  2. The FCA’s Pure Protection Market review threatens consequences for the Over 50s market which are likely to more fairly level the playing field between Funeral Plans and Over 50s plans and given poorer value of Over 50s plans as a funeral solution.
  3. Direct cremation trends continue to drive the market with direct cremation funeral plans now exceeding 60% of all plan sales.
  4. Many funeral directors have been affected by regulatory changes, with the proportion selling plans falling sharply, which is set to continue and will be to the detriment of the sector and to consumers.
  5. Propositions have seen improvements in problem areas we called out last year, but there is concern around the development of regular premium propositions and fees where customer fair value is questionable in some cases.
  6. Plan pricing has seen far sharper rises in direct cremation plans than traditional plans. Market leader Pure have now raised their headline DC plan price 25% in just 3 years.
  7. Our independent research of 1,500 UK consumers explores how they feel about funeral plans, key purchase drivers, how they go about buying, and the extent to which the Safe Hands funeral plan scandal (with a regular drumbeat of news) continues to drain confidence.

We outline in a little more depth some key conclusions from our report in relation to the market landscape, market size and growth, and market dynamics.

The funeral plan sector is still adapting to a newly regulated environment established by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) post-2022, which has led to significant structural changes among providers and a drive towards greater consumer protections. After a period of re-establishment and development post regulation, plan sales have now recovered to near their 5-year sales average having reached c185,000 sales in 2024, from a low of c150,000 in 2023.

Direct cremation is now the core market product (exceeding 60% market share) and firmly expected to lead the market for the foreseeable future. The gap in sales volumes between the funeral and Over 50 plans has narrowed, with the prospect that funeral plans could exceed Over 50 plan sales for the first time in the near future and given the likely impact on the Over 50s market from the FCA Pure Protection market review. Arising from the regulators scrutiny we anticipate an emphasis on key issues related to product features, commissions, and the marketing of Over 50s plans—including the use of potentially misleading claims about average funeral costs.

Good signs of sales uplift in the funeral plan market are juxtaposed however with ongoing concern about smaller independent funeral directors ability/desire to remain in the funeral plan market. We are concerned about the exodus of large volumes of independent funeral directors participating in the plan market post regulation (17% not selling vs 3% pre regulation) and is evidence of sales distribution power shifting towards the largest firms and remote players, distorting the market in their favour.

Co-op’s direct cremation entry early in 2024 (and reported sales success) combined with their media spend and brand strength entry threatens Pure’s market leadership position. Indeed, the prospect for Pure to maintain dominance, and marketing acquisition efficiency, looks tough given the expectation that competition will intensify further as high profile new entrants are expected from the adjacent Over 50 plan market and especially if they see a more challenging landscape ahead for future Over 50s sales.

And finally, we still believe that independent funeral directors are well placed to fight back in the market to regain share. Our consumer insights indicate that the majority of consumers who did not buy a plan from a local funeral director would have opted for one had it been priced similarly to an online firm. Furthermore, those considering purchasing a funeral plan in the future would prefer a local funeral director if the price were comparable to that of an online provider.

Hence given the reality that almost all direct cremation plans are cheaper (and comparable product quality) to the market leader, the issue is not about competitive pricing it is a marketing challenge to change consumer perception. The challenge is for FDs (backed up by their plan providers and trade bodies) to up their marketing effectiveness to tap into the undoubted consumer demand.

For the year ahead we anticipate continued shifts in the market driven by direct cremation’s growing dominance, increased scrutiny around consumer protection within the Over 50s life insurance market, and potential opportunities (particularly independent funeral directors) for providers to adapt their offerings, as well as market entry threats from big budget life insurers.

Want to find out more?

Purchase the full report

A full copy of our 2025 funeral plan market report is available to buy. This independent and unbiased report explores how the market has fared post FCA regulation, how trends are shaping the market, and how firms have continued to evolve their propositions in the direct cremation and traditional plan markets. We summarise results of our own independent research among more than 375 funeral directors and explore how they are suffering from the ongoing impact of regulation. We outline the findings from our survey of 1,500 UK adults which explores attitudes to buying a funeral plan, the key drivers, and how consumers go about making their purchase decision. We explore areas we think FCA still need to focus to ensure customer value, we outline how the outcome of the FCA Pure Protection review could see sales of funeral plans in the UK overtake sales of Over 50s plans for the first time.