Dutch underestimate funeral costs, don’t know what their insurance covers

Some two-thirds of the Dutch have an insurance policy to cover the cost of their funeral but most don’t know what they are actually getting or what the true cost of a funeral is, family spending institute Nibud said on Wednesday.

Around half of funeral policies are not large enough to cover the cost of the ceremony and burial or cremation, Nibud said. The average funeral costs around €7,500, but most people assume the bill will be around €6,000.

But 20% of funeral insurance policies cover bills up to €5,000 while 25% will be able to claim between €5,000 and €7,500.  Some 60% of those polled said they did not want to saddle relatives with the cost.

Nibud wants funeral insurance firms to provide better information to policy holders about their coverage.

In the past, funeral insurance firms have repeatedly come under fire for sending grieving relatives bills for extra services which people thought were covered by their basic policy, or for advising unnecessary extra services.

Nibud has developed a tool, in Dutch, to help people work out the true cost of a funeral in accordance with their wishes.

Further reading:
Death and the Dutch, Amsterdam has a museum devoted to funerals
10 things about death in the Netherlands