Funeral scheme not new

Press, 21 February 1987, Page 3

Funeral scheme not new

The cost of funerals in Christchurch is less than the national average of $2OOO and pay-now dielater schemes have been running for many years, local funeral directors say.

In a report in “The Press” of Thursday the president of the Funeral Directors’ Association, Mr Trevor Parker, said a new family bereavement plan just unveiled was designed for people worried about the cost of funerals, which today “nudged $2000.” A director of Academy Funeral Services, Mr Peter Lawrence, said he

had 19 telephone calls from elderly people worried that inflation had overtaken their prepayment of funerals.

Mr Lawrence said the average cost of a funeral in Christchhurch was much less than $2OOO. He also said the paynow die-later scheme was not new and had been run by most Christchurch funeral directors for tnany years. . i ”■

People are able to prepay for funerals at the current rate and the money is invested at high interest to keep pace with inflation. < ’ ..

The manager of J. Lamb, Trotter and Son, Mr Carl .TroUer, said (the average price Iri Neiv ■' Zealand was $2OOO but the. Christchurch average was about $lBOO. That figure included such costs as flowers, advertising, and donations to a church. North Island funerals were generally more expensive because of the higher price of burial plots. In Auckland, burial plots cost as much as $lOOO but in Christchurch they were available from about $l6O, Mr Trotter said.

"I can do services a lot cheaper if required. ”