As with any occasion, planning a funeral can end up being pretty pricey.
Tragically, while you're grieving the loss of a loved one, you have so many things to consider – from the cost of the coffin and hearse hire to flowers and food.
And depending on where in the UK you live depends just how high these costs are.
You might assume that it would be most expensive to have a funeral in London, but according to new research, this isn't actually the case.
A study by online services marketplace Bark.com found that the West Midlands are actually the most expensive place to have a funeral.
This was followed by Greater London and Hampshire.
The research analysed more than 500,000 prices across the UK and also found the cheapest areas.
Yorkshire was revealed as the cheapest, with Lancashire and Cornwall coming just behind.
The research delved into prices for a multitude of services needed for organising a funeral and wake, including hearse and car hire, funeral director costs, solicitors’ fees, coffin costs, catering, florists, gravestone engravement, and venue hire.
Bark.com decided to conduct the study after the Scottish Government launched a new fund to help low income families with funeral costs – which rose by 112 percent from 2004 to 2017 faster than house prices, wages and petrol.
The platform looked at price data from the last four years and found that despite having lower costs for a number of funeral related services, West Midlands had an above average hearse hire average price, which made it the most expensive region on average in the country.
The five most expensive counties in the UK to hold a funeral, along with the average cost, are as follows:
1. West Midlands – £6,450
2. Greater London – £6,200
3. Hampshire – £5,803
4. Surrey – £5,575
5. Cambridgeshire – £5,300
The five cheapest counties in the UK to hold a funeral, along with the average cost, are:
1. Yorkshire – £2,768
2. Lancashire – £2,732
3. Cornwall – £2,945
4. Cheshire – £2,970
5. Aberdeenshire – £3,010
Kai Feller, Bark.com co-founder, said: "Having to organise a funeral is never going to be a nice job, and for many across the UK finding the funds to do so can be extremely stressful – particularly when you’re grieving. So, we wanted to highlight the varying costs across the UK, so people are aware how much a funeral will likely set them back depending on their location."
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