How the cost of a funeral has soared 90pc

The price of a send-off has been pushed above £8,000

The average basic funeral cost £3,693 last year - up 90pc in the past decade Credit: Photo: Alamy

Funeral costs are rising faster than house prices in some areas, and the soaring expenses are putting pressure on public authorities.

However, pinning down the reason for funeral inflation is difficult, even for those in the industry.

The average price of death is now £8,126, according to a survey by Sun Life, which offers policies to insure against the growing cost of funerals. The fastest-rising part of this cost is the funeral itself, which is 90pc more expensive than a decade ago at £3,693.

Costs are growing in all corners of this service. Funeral directors charge an average of £2,204 for the coffin, organising and other advice, while the fee for a cremation has risen to £688. Doctors charge an average of £164 to certify death, while a minister costs £152, Sun Life found.

On top of this is the £2,000 for extras such as catering for a wake, a headstone and limousine hire.

Rounding off the fees is an average £2,433 payment to lawyers and others who will administer the departed’s estate.

Prices have jumped by about 7pc in the past year, according to Royal London, which has elbowed its way into the market for funeral payment policies in the past couple of years and is now the third biggest provider.

“I can’t say that we understand all the drivers of the price rises,” said Phil Loney, chief executive. “That’s why there are parliamentary inquiries going on.”

The ballooning costs, coupled with pressure on local authority budgets that might have subsided some of these fees, have pushed more people into financial difficulty following a funeral. Half now get into debt to pay for a send-off, Sun Life found.

A recent report warned that increasing numbers were pledging their bodies to science to avoid the burden of funeral costs. The Human Tissue Authority receives around 2,000 enquiries a year about donation.

A Government fund provides compassionate grants to almost 40,000 families a year to assist with the cost of bereavement, yet 40pc of applications for this fund are turned down and the payments are capped at £700.

According to Freedom of Information figures obtained by the BBC, local authorities are also having to provide more pauper’s funerals, with the overall bill rising 28pc to £1.7m in the four years to 2013/14. In the latest year in the figures, councils carried out 2,580 public health funerals, although this is a small fraction of the 500,000 annual deaths.

The Scottish Parliament is updating the rules on funeral costs to try to prevent funeral poverty, while in Westminster the Department for Work and Pensions is reassessing the various benefits available to cover the cost of death.