The new rules mean funeral directors have to display a standardised price list and more than half of funeral directors say they have seen an increase in number of people ‘shopping around’ for funeral quotes.

The Sun Life report shows the cost of a funeral has dropped 2.5% since the Funeral Markets Investigation Order 2021 came into force.

Funeral directors now need to display a price list at their premises and on their website showing the overall price of a funeral, the price of the individual items comprising the funeral and the price of certain additional products and services.

And according to SunLife’s annual report, the cost of the average funeral is now cheaper than it was a year ago – £3,953 on average, which is a 2.5% drop compared to 2021 and 5.5% cheaper than the £4,184 average cost in 2020.

The drop is only the second ever since the Cost of Dying report’s inception in 2004. Researchers also found that the cost of ‘direct cremations’ – the cheapest type of funeral – have come down and now cost an average of £1,511.

The changes have been widely welcomed by the industry. SunLife’s research found that almost two-thirds (63%) of funeral directors said they thought the industry had improved as a result of the CMA review and almost nine out of 10 were supportive of the measures.

When asked how the changes had affected them, many described breaking down costs and displaying them in a way they hadn’t before. Some even said that doing so led to them reassessing their pricing.

Ian Atkinson, chief marketing officer at SunLife said: “An overwhelming majority of funeral directors support the recent changes to their industry, and during a cost-of-living crisis when the price of so many things is rising fast, people will be glad to know that funeral costs have gone the other way.

“Our research has always shown that most people don’t shop around when buying a funeral, so it’s also good to see that over half of funeral directors have noticed an increase in the number of people getting more than one quote. People typically get more than one quote for their car insurance or when looking for a builder, so it makes sense to do so for a significant cost like a funeral too.”

What is the Funeral Markets Investigation Order?

In 2020, the Competitions and Markets Authority issued a series of ‘sunlight remedies’ to the funeral sector, following an in-depth market investigation. Many of these remedies were formalised into law with the Funeral Markets Investigation Order 2021.

The Order requires that, from 16 September 2021, all funeral directors must display a standardised price list at their premises and on their website.

The list must include:

• The headline price of a funeral
• The price of the individual items comprising the funeral
• The price of certain additional products and services