Funerals costs have risen by 40% in the last eight years, an analysis of CBS figures has shown. The rise means an average funeral now costs close to €10,000, compared with  €7,500 in 2017.

NOS said there are no figures showing how many people are unable to pay a funeral bill, but local councils have a special benefits scheme in place to help. In Amsterdam, some 25 people applied for the scheme last year.

According to funeral director Lotte Wieling, a number of costs are unavoidable. “In the Netherlands, the deceased must be in a coffin or a basket. That costs money. And funerals or cremations can only take place after 36 hours, which means the body has to be kept in a cooled space at a funeral parlour, or at home.”

The Dutch also pay grave rights which, although they vary across the country, have also gone up, running into thousands of euros for a 20-year lease.

Higher gas prices have upped the price for cremations, Wieling said, and wood for coffins has also become more expensive. An aging population has also meant funeral directors are busier. Longer waiting times translate into higher costs for storing bodies, she said.

Approximately two-thirds of people in the Netherlands have funeral insurance, but very often it falls significantly short of the full cost. “People have been told a long time ago, they would be ok with a €3,000 or €4,000 cover but haven’t looked at their insurance since. Most have no idea about the real cost involved, ” she said.

There are ways of limiting the costs, Wieling said. The post-ceremony coffee and cake, or drinks, can be organised more cheaply at home. Expensive wreaths also have cheaper alternatives, she said.

A death notice in the paper is also expensive and can be replaced by a digital card, which can be shared on social media, “keeping things affordable and yet personal,” she said.