The Direct Cremation funeral plan provides for the collection of the deceased, a cremation without attendees or service and the return of the ashes in a simple urn. As there is no provision to view the deceased before the cremation, there is no facility to attend the cremation and no funeral service, this cremation plan is our most cost effective plan and is ideal for those who want time to consider and arrange a more personal memorial service at a later date.

What’s included:

• Administration of the plan
• Attending to all necessary funeral arrangements
• The funeral director’s services
• Unattended cremation service
• Conveyance of the deceased to the mortuary within Portugal
• 24 hours’ mortuary expenses
• Preparation and care of the deceased
• Supply of a coffin
• Cremation fee and doctor’s certificate
• Supply of a simple urn
• Ashes to be returned to family within mainland Portugal
• Certificate to allow ashes to be taken on board an aircraft
• Death certificate in language of country of residence and translated to English
• Dual plan cover with the UK
• 24-Hour English-speaking emergency helpline

What is not included:

• Contribution to repatriation of ashes
• Extra mortuary expenses for more than one day
• Burial of the deceased
• Attendance or viewing of the deceased
• Religious or non-religious funeral service

Important information you should know

Single payment (i.e. one lump sum) paying in Euros or Sterling – you can cancel within 30 days or within 7 days of us telling you who your funeral director is (if this is later). You’ll get all your money back. If you cancel after this, you’ll get your money back but we’ll keep a €374 / £325 charge for administration.

12 or 18 months’ instalments paying in Euros or Sterling – you can cancel at any time in the first 12 months and get back everything you’ve paid. After that, you’ll get your money back but we’ll keep a €374 / £325 charge for administration (18 months’ instalment option you must pay the instalments by your 80th birthday). If you pass away within the first 12 months as a result of an accident, we will cover the cost of the plan in full and will not seek to recover any outstanding balance.

24 – 120 months’ instalments paying in Euros or Sterling – you can cancel at any time during the first 12 months and get back everything you’ve paid. After that, you’ll get your money back, but we’ll keep a £325 charge for administration. For cancellations after 12 months, you will get back all amounts paid to the date when you can cancel but you will be charged a fee of £325 and we will also retain 50% of the Instalment Payment Fees (IPF) due up to the date of cancellation. Payment option not available if you have been advised by a doctor of a condition or illness that will cause death within 12 months of applying for a plan. You must pay the instalments by your 80th birthday. If you pass away within the first 12 months as a result of an accident, we will cover the cost of the plan in full and will not seek to recover any outstanding balance.

Fully Guaranteed In Spain & UK – Third-party fees and expenses included within the plan that relate to a cremation are fully guaranteed in the UK and internationally, with no additional payments required. In the UK, this cremation cover applies to cremations taking place Monday to Friday only.​ Where a burial is selected, the plan does not guarantee burial third-party fees, therefor, there may still be costs that have to be met at the time of burial. The cremation allowance will be applied at the time of the funeral as a contribution towards the burial third-party fees and expenses.

What happens to the money I paid for my plan? – We help many thousands of customers to plan and fund their funerals. Because of economies of scale, we can sell our plans to our customers at a rate which is usually far more cost effective than it would be for them buying from a funeral director at the time of the funeral itself. As a commercial enterprise, we have costs of doing business and promotional marketing.  These costs are met by supply side economies of scale delivered by our ability to purchase funerals in bulk and are consequently absorbed into the price of our plans.

We retain an amount from the price paid by you for your plan (which is currently €374 / £325) to cover our administrative costs of running the business for the life of each plan, which is approximately 11 years.  We also retain an amount (which currently ranges between €436 / £379.26 and €1079 / £938 dependent on which plan you purchase) to cover marketing, sales fulfilment expenses and to provide the business with an element of profit. The balance is placed in the Trust in order to pay the appointed funeral director and other costs of the agreed funeral (for further information, please see our Commission and Payment Disclosure and refer to our fees and payments breakdown summary table for further details).