Authorities “claw back” about 10% of defunct preneed losses

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Funeral Director Daily recently learned that holders of pre-need funeral plans from Safe Hands Plans, Ltd. will initially receive about 10% of their investment back as authorities have “clawed back” funds from resources left when the company was declared insolvent in 2022.  It is estimated that 46,000 consumers had invested in the British plan to pre-plan and pre-pay one’s funeral expenses.

This recent article from the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) indicates that “planholders could receive initial repayments – of between 8.5pence and 12.5pence for every pound they lost – by the end of June.”  That would be the equivilent of receiving 8.5 to 12.5 cents on every American dollar invested.

Funeral plans are now regulated by the British Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) but Safe Hands Plans was one of the firms that was in the business before the regulation was started — Safe Hands Plans collapsed about 4 months before the FCA began their regulation of the industry.

FRP Advisors, who is the government authorized authority trying to recover funds has said that the process with Safe Hands Plans “had been “complex” and had required extensive legal action both in the UK and abroad – including in the Cayman Islands – to trace funds that are due to creditors”.

In any regard the linked article tells of consumers who are not happy with the results and consumers who have suffered significant loss alienating them with the funeral and pre-planning industries.

One consumer made this comment in the linked article, “I’m disappointed.  Somebody else has to now find the money and arrange my funeral when I’m not here because I would never buy another [funeral plan].”

Great Britain’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) “confirmed it was progressing on an active criminal investigation into alleged fraud by Safe Hands Plans Limited and its parent company SHP Capital Holdings Limited”.

Related — The British Financial Conduct Authority

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

Funeral Director Daily take:  I think the regulations of funeral planning in Great Britain is a big step in the right direction.  Unfortunately, the Safe Hands Plan case has given negative publicity to a generally good product and what should be a smart decision by British consumers.  It’s a public relations issue that our British friends in the pre-need market need to overcome to win over the trust of their consumers going forward.

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