Southern Enterprise Awards 2021

88 | Southern Enterprise Awards 2021 Aug21711 A funeral plan from Ecclesiastical Planning Services is the ideal way to make financial provision for your funeral in advance. We find out more about the firm in the wake of its being awarded a Southern Enterprise Award for 2021. Based in Gloucester, Ecclesiastical Planning Services is one of the UK’s leading funeral plan providers and part of the Ecclesiastical Group, which has been protecting people, property, and funds since 1887 and offering pre-paid funeral plans since 2006. It has been working with over 900 funeral directing branches across the UK to support them with their funeral plans. Ecclesiastical Planning Services provides a safe home for funeral plan funds as well as training, literature, and marketing support. Its business model is based on honesty, transparency and “doing the right thing” for funeral directors and the families they serve. In order to support funeral directing firms during the pandemic and to enable them to show solidarity with their local communities, Ecclesiastical quickly developed a suite of community support communications and distributed supplies of bereavement guides at no cost. Commissioned and written by its charity partner, Penhaligon’s Friends based in Cornwall, the guides were designed to support families helping children cope with grief. The group’s values underpin much of what it does, and this is borne out in customer satisfaction levels, having been voted MOST TRUSTED funeral plan provider by 98% of funeral directors it works with, while 66% of funeral directors are extremely or very satisfied with the overall service and 87% would recommend it to others. Moreover, 96% of funeral directors rate its speed of SERVICE as above average or market leading. * In addition, Ecclesiastical Planning Services is well-regarded within the industry. The National Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD) believes it is the most robust and professionally managed funeral plan provider for independent funeral directing firms (2021) and in 2017, it was recognised by Fairer Finance for high levels of transparency and fair value for customers. ** Ecclesiastical also offers an outstanding pre- payment product with customer funds being Funeral Plan Experts of the Year – South West held securely in specially designed whole-of-life assurance policies where every penny of the pre- payment amount is ring-fenced for use at the time of need. Capital protection means funeral plan values at time of death can never fall below the original pre-payment amount, which is believed to be a unique feature. In addition, funeral plans are locally packaged and priced to reflect local variations in services and costs. The year 2020 brought many challenges including, like many businesses, a swift move to home working for the Ecclesiastical Planning Services’ team. A number of the team, like many around the country, were juggling childcare and home schooling with work. There were the inevitable technological issues of re-directing phone lines, accessing claims payment platforms, and connecting with colleagues remotely. The team adapted very well, and the use of Microsoft TEAMS assisted with the collaborative approach they were used to. Many of the Client Services Team continued to attend a Covid-safe office environment to perform vital tasks such as printing that could not be undertaken at home. As the death rate sadly rose, the number of funeral plan claims increased, putting the client services team under immense pressure as they began processing a record number of claims within normal service levels (three days) even at the height of the pandemic. This meant that funerals could continue to take place, enabling funeral homes to operate and continue to support families in need. With an outstanding reputation for service, an innovative, transparent, and localised approach as well as a secure financial model, it’ no surprise that Ecclesiastical was voted Funeral Plan Experts of the Year – South West in the Southern Enterprise Awards 2021. Emma Simpson, Marketing Manager at Ecclesiastical Planning Services, commented: “We’re absolutely delighted to win the ‘Funeral Plan Experts, South West Award’, which has been achieved through the combined efforts of the whole team. It really is a credit to the hard work and dedicated approach of everyone involved.” Moving forward, the firm is determined to widen its network of funeral directing firms through offering what it believes is a unique proposition. “We introduced a range of innovative trade campaigns to raise awareness, strengthen our messages and generate interest,” continues Emma. “Undeterred by the global pandemic, campaigns included engagement devices such as magnifying glasses, jigsaws and branded key fobs with invites to ‘road test’ our new buy-online facility. We have signed up over 120 new funeral director firms to buy-online and over 50 new sellers. We are also excited to be planning our next tranche of campaigns. “We continue to secure Board support for our growth plans and our recruitment drive continued during the pandemic, at a time when many businesses were struggling financially. With Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulation on the horizon, we are well positioned for this change and continue to prepare for it, having recently submitted our FCA application.” Sources: *2020 funeral director opinion survey, based on 71 responses (20% response rate). **Is the pre-paid planning market working well for customers? 2017 report. Contact: Emma Simpson Company: Ecclesiastical Planning Services Ltd Web Address: www.ecclesiastical.com