Being a funeral director is one of the most important jobs in our society.
It’s also one of the most underappreciated. Most people happily go about their days without giving the profession a second thought, right up until they face a loss.
As a funeral director you wear a multitude of hats. You’re a bereavement counsellor, an event organiser, a referee between family members who might have very different ideas of what is going to happen at their loved one’s funeral, a route planner, and a financial advisor in terms of coffins, caskets, and cremation options.
If you’re running a horse-drawn hearse, you also need to worry about large animal welfare, temperaments, and idiosyncrasies.
And finally, you may find you need to step into the embalming room on occasion due to short-staffing or over-demand.
Wrestling with raising a tricky vessel (if you know you know) while the phone’s ringing off the hook, mourners are due to arrive for a viewing in an hour, and one of your customers just scared the daylights out of the new driver by groaning from the back of the transport is an experience you may end up revisiting in your sleep for a while.
In other words, the last thing you want to be stressing over is insurance.
Funeral directors’ insurance will give you the reassurance you need to carry on with your job carefully and professionally.
There is no set funeral director’s insurance package, because there are so many different potential areas to cover.
Legally you will need employers’ liability insurance that covers you for at least £5 million as soon as you become an employer. Apart from that, your coverage will depend on your business, what services you supply, and what you wish to cover.
It’s a very good idea to have building and contents insurance, for example, your showroom and embalming area will easily have several thousand pounds worth of equipment, if not more – the average investment for small funeral homes is estimated at around £20k to £30k for start-up equipment costs – and a flood or fire can put you out of business.
Public liability insurance would cover you against any claims for injuries by either your clients or members of the public.
Trips and spills happen. Unfortunately, if they happen to someone who is already grieving a loved one, the results are likely to be explosive when emotions are running high.
You’ve also got the option to cover any loss of the deceased’s possessions, cover for outside masonry including statues and gravestones, cyber insurance – an ever-growing necessity in today’s technological world, professional indemnity insurance, and business interruption cover.
If you’re running a horse-drawn hearse and own both the equipment and animals, rather than subcontracting, you’ll want to invest in animal cover as well. Horses are large, but surprisingly delicate animals when it comes to certain health issues, and large animal care gets expensive in a hurry.
Whether you run a traditional funeral home or have moved in eco-friendly or even sea burials, or specialise in cremations instead, your broker will discuss all aspects of your business with you and put together the plan that covers your needs best.
It’s pointless getting cremations cover if you work purely in the eco-funeral industry, for example, and your broker will understand this.
Good funeral director’s insurance means that you can continue with your work assured that no matter what life - or death - throws at you, you’re financially covered if things go wrong.