A funeral home’s experience following Safe Hands’ collapse
The collapse of Safe Hands in March 2022 caused the funeral plans of 46,000 customers to be made void, as the company was not regulated by the FCA. A subsequent fraud inquiry launched in October 2023 by the Serious Fraud Office revealed suspected fraud at Safe Hands and its parent company, SHP Capital Holdings Ltd. Funeral director at Jennifer Ashe and Son, Joe Evans, talks about the process of honouring prepaid plans through Safe Hands and whether this event has the capacity to sour people’s opinion of the funeral plan structure
When did you first hear about Safe Hands’ collapse and what was your reaction to Jennifer Ashe and Son honouring its prepaid funerals?
We knew there was trouble coming just before it was officially announced; on the day of, our phone lines did not stop ringing, all with concerns from our customers over their Safe Hands plans. John Ashe, our managing director, said that every customer who calls would have their plan honoured, despite the situation with Safe Hands. It was quickly established we had sold over 200 Safe Hands plans, but our policy remained – we would help these families.
We, as with many funeral directors, had been recommended Safe Hands. We did our due diligence and everything seemed in order. We also decided that all of those who had been sold Safe Hands plans with other funeral directors would also have their plans honoured – they just had to cover disbursement fees.
Can you tell us about the process of helping the families left behind after Safe Hands’ collapse? Did they come to you or did the funeral home reach out?
Immediately, everyone was freaking out on the phone, as many had put their life savings into their plan. We tried our best to calm them down, as we were helping them the best we could. A local journalist arranged to do a story with us, to let as many people as possible know that we were willing to help. We also reached out to help those who were left with nothing at all.
In your opinion, do you think this situation will give prepaid funeral plans a bad name, and why? Has it changed your personal opinions?
The legislation that came into play in May 2022, means that funeral plans are now considered a financial product. Companies are rigorously stress-tested, and there is a requirement that many have to be there. Every company needs to follow the strict code of the FCA, and we, as funeral directors, must provide our customers with unbiased options when it comes to what they want for their arrangements.
We understand a lot of families have been left with nothing, after Safe Hands’ collapse, but funeral plans should still be considered as safe and viable options for funeral arrangements.
From your experiences with this collapse, what would your advice be to other families with a pre-paid funeral plan?
Our advice is, if your funeral plan was taken out prior to the current legislation being in play, then you need to look at who the plan is with, and who it is held with, look at all of the paperwork and emails you have on file. Ensure they are on the list of approved sellers on the FCA website, ring your funeral director and check if the provider is still trading.
Anyone looking for a funeral plan, we’d recommend researching different providers, and ask your funeral director who they use. Ensure the company is an approved seller and fully registered, and that you are presented with all rights and security questions before putting pen to paper on the plan.
