Beyond Launches a Revolutionary Free Will-writing Service 0

Beyond launches a revolutionary free will-writing service

  • Beyond have launched a revolutionary free online will-writing service for anyone in England and Wales
  • Previously consumers would have to pay hundreds of pounds to have a will written 1
  • March is ‘Free Wills Month’ 2, when certain charities subsidise the cost of simple wills for over 55s – but Beyond are making it free forever, no matter how many times you update your will or how old you are
  • If just 5% of the UK population used this service, the total saving would be over £650 million 3
  • Over half (60%) of UK adults are currently without a will, meaning that over 31 million now run the risk of their estate being distributed contrary to their wishes 4

Challenger brand Beyond today unveiled a revolutionary online free will-writing service, helping consumers in England and Wales save hundreds of pounds in will writing services.

Beyond are on a mission “to free people from their worries surrounding after-life arrangements”, and recently gained national coverage in The Times for their work on making funeral costs transparent. This free online will writing service continues their progress towards disrupting one of life’s most archaic industries.

Currently, solicitors usually charge consumers £100 to £200 for a simple will. Even existing online will writing services charge £50. If just 5% of the UK population used Beyond’s free online will writing service, the total saving would be in excess of an astounding £650 million.

March is ‘Free Wills Month’, when charities offer members of the public aged 55 and over the opportunity to have their simple wills written or updated free of charge. However, Beyond believe that every adult is entitled to a free ‘simple’ will throughout the year and no matter how old they are.

Ian Strang, CEO and co-founder of Beyond says: “In our opinion, making a simple will doesn’t need to be a laborious or expensive thing to do. In fact, once we’d built the technology, we realised that there’s no cost to us for anyone to use it – so why not give it away for free and help families and charities all over the country – not just for one month a year, but forever?”

Visitors to the Beyond website can now make their will in around ten minutes by answering a few quick questions about themselves and their wishes.. Once they’re happy with their will, visitors can simply print it off and sign it with two witnesses to make it valid. They can come back at any time and update it for free.

The number of people without a will in the UK is at an all-time high. 60% of UK adults don’t have a will 4, meaning that over 31 million people now run the risk of having their estate distributed solely according to intestacy law, which may not reflect their wishes. Three quarters of the 35-54 age group have taken no steps to ensure their loved ones would inherit their estate according to their wishes.

 

Legality

Beyond have worked with expert legal advisors to make sure they use the latest legal precedents in all their wills, and all their legal texts have been approved by STEP lawyers. Once the wills produced by their service are printed and signed with two witnesses, they become valid and legally binding.

Beyond are members of the Institute of Fundraising and abide by the Code of Fundraising Practice. 5

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Notes for Editors

  1. Lawyers fees for will writing services – https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/using-a-solicitor-to-write-your-will  
  2. Free wills month – https://freewillsmonth.org.uk/
  3. UK Population by age – https://www.statista.com/statistics/281174/uk-population-by-age/
  4. Unbiased research on wills – https://business.unbiased.co.uk/press-releases/31-million-uk-adults-at-risk-of-dying-without-a-will-2-10-2017
  5. Beyond’s membership of the Institute of Fundraising – https://www.institute-of-fundraising.org.uk/consultants-and-suppliers/find-a-supplier/beyond/
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Beyond Announces £2m Investment and Re-brand to Drive its Disruption of Death Services 1

Beyond, the UK’s only price comparison website for funeral services, announced an investment round of £2m million, which took place in February. The company, which used to be known as Funeralbooker, will use this investment to drive customer acquisition for its growing portfolio of after life services, and today also announces the launch of its rebranded website.

The funding round was led by Talis Capital, a London-based venture capital firm, focused on early-stage technology companies. Beyond’s existing investors, including White Cloud Capital, also participated in the round.

Beyond began offering customers funeral director price comparison services and now partners with over 1,000 independent funeral directors in the UK, representing around 30% of independent directors. From there, the company expanded its service offering to include funeral financing, estate administration and funeral pre-plans. Most recently in March, the Company launched a new product that allows anyone in England or Wales to write a simple will, online, for free.

This round of funding for Beyond comes as the UK government announces an investigation into the funeral sector, following the publication of a short-sell report from Beyond on Dignity PLC, which is generally held responsible by commentators for wiping over 60% (£1bn) from Dignity’s Market Cap.

Ian Strang, Founder/CEO of Beyond said “The funeral market has long failed the consumer and we’re hard at work fixing it. If even 5% of people arranging a funeral or writing a will used our services, the annual saving would be over £1bn. This funding round will give us the ability to get our message out there to the public and change attitudes about shopping around for what is, after all, an inevitable purchase for us all.”

Vasile Foca, Managing Partner at Talis said “Beyond is a dynamic business with a truly unique proposition, which offers consumers transparency and choice in an often-opaque marketplace. With its innovative platform and inspiring leadership team, we believe that Beyond will continue to go from strength to strength, and we are delighted to partner with them as they embark on their next phase of growth.”

Ian Strang, added “It’s great to have an investor like Talis involved because of their deep expertise in the technology sector and experience of working with consumer-facing brands, as well as to enjoy the continued support of White Cloud” he added.”

 

 

Left in its Wake: Cost of Dying Rising Twice as Fast as Cost of Living 0

  • Burial costs up 20% nationwide in just three years
  • Cremation fees see 17.6% increase over same period
  • Prices of other goods have only risen 7.67% in that time

The spiralling cost of dying is rising twice as fast as the cost of living, funeral services comparison site Beyond reveals today, as funeral prices surge ahead of inflation.

While the cost of living has increased by a cumulative 7.67% since 2015, the average price of burials has risen by 19.9% – almost three times as much. The national average price of a burial plot is now an eye-watering £1,838.

Cost of dying soared in the last years

It is a similar story in the cremation market, where fees are up by 17.6% over the past three years. With cremations now accounting for close to 80% of all funerals in the UK, and with close to half a million deaths each year, this is big business. The average price for a cremation is now £784, with some crematoriums charging as much as £1,070.

How average funeral prices have continued to rise:

2015 2016 2017 2018 Total % increase
Crematoriums £667 £713 £751 £784 17.54%
Cemeteries £1,533 £1,631 £1,740 £1,838 19.90%

 

It has never been more expensive to die, with funerals commonly now reaching £5,000 or more once all additional costs such as cars, coffins and admin fees are included. Beyond’s research raises concerns that a lack of competition is driving prices higher.

Private funeral services firm Dignity run 19 of the 20 most expensive crematoriums in the country, with a direct correlation between an absence of competition and the ability to impose higher prices on grieving relatives with no other options.

Unsurprisingly, London is home to the UK’s most expensive cemeteries with land prices in the capital at a premium for both property and burials. However, it is Wales and the South West that have seen the sharpest hikes in the last 12 months, each with 12% increases for average burial prices in just a year.

James Dunn, co-founder of Beyond, comments:

“The numbers of people dying each year is fairly predictable to it’s staggering to see the cost of dying race ahead of the cost of living by such a margin.

“Funeral prices in this country are not something that we particularly enjoy talking about and that means awareness of the relative value presented by providers is low.

“Providers are going unchallenged and consumers are not being well-served by the market, which lacks a great deal of competition. The Government has to get a grip on this escalating costs.”