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Thursday, October 16, 2014

The cost of dying

The "cost of dying" is more than 10% higher than it was this time last year, according to a report.

The average cost of services including probate, headstones, flowers and the burial or cremation fee is now £8,427, according to insurer SunLife. The average burial cost is now £3,982, a rise of 2% since last year and 89% since the survey began in 2004. The average funeral cost in the London area was £10,498, compared with £5,893 in Northern Ireland.

The average cost of a funeral has increased by 87% since the survey was first conducted in 2004.
 Estate administration fees have risen 39%. Hiring a professional such as a solicitor now accounts for more than a third of expenditure associated with a person's death.

Dr Kate Woodthorpe, a sociologist from the University of Bath and author of the SunLife report, said "Local authorities are trying to preserve land by removing subsidies for burial, and in the case of cremation trying to recover the costs of meeting mercury emissions targets".

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-29627269

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