Funeral plan sales flatten due to lack of third party sellers

The Funeral Planning Authority has today released the latest figures for the number of plans sold by registered providers. A total of 207,700 plans were sold in 2017, a small drop from 210,700 in 2016.

The flattening in sales figures is primarily attributable to a reduction in sales from third party sellers. This follows enhanced guidance given by the Funeral Planning Authority regarding provider’s responsibilities for the sales practices of third parties.

In contrast, direct sales and sales through funeral directors have increased as providers respond to growing consumer demand and continue to expand the market.

Graeme McAusland, CEO of the Funeral Planning Authority comments, “Our role is to protect consumer’s interest and ensure that registered providers and the third parties they work with are behaving in a way that delivers the best outcomes for consumers.

“We regularly review our Rules and Code of Practice that registered providers have to adhere to, aligning them with changes in the marketplace. We believe that the levelling of plan sales in 2017 is, at least in part, attributable to a renewed focus from us on third party sales. During which we outlined how providers should be supervising those selling on their behalf and guaranteeing that they were also upholding the high standards that we expect.”

These figures and the impact of the Funeral Planning Authority approach to third parties highlights the importance of customers buying their plans from providers who are registered with the Funeral Planning Authority.

Customers can check on the Funeral Planning Authority website. www.FuneralPlanningAuthority.co.uk