I'd like to submit a protest...

[reynardo]

There's an ad playing on daytime TV for a funeral insurance scheme, with various figures being thrown around, and images of a full-flowered-and-music'd funeral in places.

The voiceover tells you that you can be covered for $1.50 per week. The small print at the bottom when they're saying that says it covers you for $3000.

A moment later the lady who is saying what a help it was to have the insurance is saying you can be covered up to $10,000.

And it's all done so quickly that you'd think the $1.50/week covered the $10,000.

Now I can get awfully cynical, so I thought I'd check how much a funeral cost. I looked up numerous websites, expecting to find a price list somewhere. I looked and looked, but none of them have a price list anywhere. If you ring up or email them, they want you to come in and discuss your funeral requirements. If you try to explain it's not for now, they want you to sign up for a pre-paid service which they still want to discuss.

While I understand that for such a personal service care must be taken, I can't see why the price of a basic funeral, simple casket and hearse can't be listed. Even if it's listed as "cremation or plot will cost extra, please ring us".

And I'm pretty sure that the $1.50 option (for $3000 payout) wouldn't be enough for the most fundamental funeral. I have memories of my brother's one costing about $5000, and that was 13 years ago.

Comments

[turnberryknkn.livejournal.com]

(nods nods) There was an essay in the literature collection they gave us, "On Doctoring", on the high cost of funerals and dying...written thirty odd years ago. Sounds like nothing's changed. Argh.