Mark Moran Director of Intermediaries ‘Funeral planning – a growing market in a non-regulated world. Should we be concerned?’ Mark Moran Director of Intermediaries

Ambition… …for funeral plans to be seen as an important part of the protection advice process

Regulation of funeral planning Regulated by the FCA under RAO 2001 Providers exempt from regulation provided monies invested in either a Whole of Life insurance arrangement or a Trust All plan providers operate using exemption Funeral Planning Authority provides voluntary registration Members include Co-op Dignity Golden Charter Perfect Choice Golden Leaves Avalon

Key benefits of a funeral plan A thoughtful way to plan ahead and make things simpler for your family at a difficult time When required, one phone call takes care of everything Offers you the opportunity to specify and tailor your wishes giving you and your family peace of mind You can specify all your wishes such as music, readings and type of service Give your family reassurance that the funeral directors costs will have already been taken care of You will know in advance who your funeral director is

* Sun Life Cost of Dying Report 2017 Trends Increase in ‘David Bowie’ style funeral 10% of funeral directors (FDs) received requests for cremation only funerals (average cost £1,835) Rise in eco funerals 2016 7.2% 2017 9.1% Reduction in religious funerals 68% of FDs saw drop in requests for religious services Increase in ‘celebrations of life’ 82% of FDs saw move away from mourning to celebrating Half of all funerals now include modern songs, music or anthems Benny Hill music! ‘Ding Dong the Witch is Dead’ from The Wizard of Oz ‘Another One Bites the Dust’ by Queen Another had only Cliff Richard songs throughout the service….. * Sun Life Cost of Dying Report 2017

FPA registered firms only Funeral Planning A growing market… FPA registered firms only

What’s fuelling the growth… Greater focus from established providers Explosion in data market Google the term ‘funeral plan’, hugely competitive market for funeral related search terms New entrants to market – funeral planning companies, non-FPA registered Volume plan sellers, many from debt / PPI background Expanded routes to market Funeral directors Intermediaries Direct to consumer Retail/ shopping centres

Recent press coverage

Fairer Finance Report Main themes…… Uncertainty regarding what’s included in a plan Fully guaranteed plan Allowance for third party costs Worry that there will not be enough to pay for the funeral Poor sales practices Cold calling Pressure selling Belief that FCA regulates funeral plans Concern around security of plan holders monies and what happens if a plan provider goes bust

Addressing the challenges ahead Driving awareness of FPA registered plan provider business models Helping consumers and intermediaries understand what’s important when choosing a funeral plan provider Dealing with increased press coverage Need to extol benefits of a funeral plan GDPR Embracing increased regulation in whatever form

The key questions to ask any provider Is the plan provider registered with the FPA and signed up to their Code of Conduct? Where are my clients’ monies protected? What funeral directors do you deal with? Do you allocate my client’s plan to a specific funeral director when the plan is arranged? Does your provider encourage your plan holders to contact the funeral director? What happens to plan holders’ money if the funeral is carried out by another funeral director?

What makes Golden Charter different? We’re owned by funeral directors We exist to support the independent funeral sector Importantly, we allocate plans at outset We create a contract between plan holder and funeral director Plan holder wants to know who’ll be performing their funeral Our Trust is completely independent of Golden Charter Ltd Plan holders monies are ring-fenced within our Trust, valued at £936m (March 2017) Transparency on average plan value in Trust FPA registration, adherence to Rules and Code of Conduct Rigorous assurance/ compliance processes monitoring sales quality across entire business

Summary A product that provides real benefits to the planholder and their survivors Should be an important part of the advice process Low barriers to entry for sellers and providers Regulation is an issue that won’t go away Always an emotive subject with increased ‘noise’ at government level Choose a plan provider wisely!

Thank you for listening