Dying abroad - what next?

[Jac Sprat]

Hi we’re signed up to Direct cremation in the UK.
If we die abroad - will Comfort cover the return of our bodies to UK and the Direct cremation take over ? We have the standard motorhome insurance with them (Aviva)
Trying to get our heads round it to make it easier for our kids if it happens.
Cheers,
Jac sprat x

 

[shawn&emma]

Not sure on the answer to your questions but my parents recently signed up to DC, I was a little dubious but after reading through it all we are actually contemplating signing up ourselves. The thought of everything being done so family left behind don’t have the hassle is great.

Shawn

 

[Carpmart]

Isn’t this why you have health/travel insurance… I’ve always assumed they would repatriate my remains under this policy.

 

[jumar]

It's common practice here in Spain to have such procedures in place....we both have Funeral Plans which are Pre-Paid...
As you might be aware the Die on Monday Cremation on Tuesday is the norm here....other days are available...
Having a plan takes the stress out of a very traumatic time for the partner and the family.
It's very different here...corpse storage is generally unheard-of and costly....so there is no time for family gatherings pre-cremation...it suits us....no hassle...

 

[Widge]

It's common practice here in Spain to have such procedures in place....we both have Funeral Plans which are Pre-Paid...
As you might be aware the Die on Monday Cremation on Tuesday is the norm here....other days are available...
Having a plan takes the stress out of a very traumatic time for the partner and the family.
It's very different here...corpse storage is generally unheard-of and costly....so there is no time for family gatherings pre-cremation...it suits us....no hassle...

Here in France is similar unless there are strange circumstances for the death, burial is normaly within a day or so. When we said to our french neighbours that we were going back for my mother in laws funeral, and the earliest they could do it was nearly three weeks time they were dumbfounded.

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[dryad]

Hi we’re signed up to Direct cremation in the UK.
If we die abroad - will Comfort cover the return of our bodies to UK and the Direct cremation take over ? We have the standard motorhome insurance with them (Aviva)
Trying to get our heads round it to make it easier for our kids if it happens.
Cheers,
Jac sprat x

quickest and direct way of knowing is to contact comfort and aviva and ask, get the info directly from the horses mouth so to speak, if not, ask what extra insurance you might need for this..

quite costly to repatriate a body so i've been led to understand..

.

 

[Widge]

quickest and direct way of knowing is to contact comfort and aviva and ask, get the info directly from the horses mouth so to speak, if not, ask what extra insurance you might need for this..

quite costly to repatriate a body so i've been led to understand..

.

A few years ago when my elderly mother in law was still alive, I got a quick quote as she was panicking about not having travel insurance, it was going to cost a couple of grand from south of france to repatriate a body. But i think you are allowed to do it yourself as long as you have the relevent paperwork.

 

[Otter Spotter]

A few years ago when my elderly mother in law was still alive, I got a quick quote as she was panicking about not having travel insurance, it was going to cost a couple of grand from south of france to repatriate a body. But i think you are allowed to do it yourself as long as you have the relevent paperwork.

I think border control may have something to say if you tried to drive through with a dead body sat on the back seat! Just might get a bit wiffy too in summer

 

[The Wino]

I would have thought if your paying yourself it would be much cheaper to cremate abroad and repatriate the ashes. You could tell your relatives that was a plan so they didn't need to think what your wishes would have been it would save a lot of hassle.

 

[Gaston aires]

In the film, little miss sunshine, when Grampa passed on they rolled him up in a carpet, tied him on the roof of a VW camper, and drove him home. After two weeks in the Australian sunshine all you see was the van followed by thousands of flies.
Phil

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[EuroTrotters]

As Jim said

I saw an advert for funeral plans, and thought to myself, "this is the last thing I need.

 

[Widge]

I would have thought if your paying yourself it would be much cheaper to cremate abroad and repatriate the ashes. You could tell your relatives that was a plan so they didn't need to think what your wishes would have been it would save a lot of hassle.

I jokingly said to my mother in law, that an urn didn't weigh very much, she didnt see the funny side.

 

[chaser]

As Jim said

I saw an advert for funeral plans, and thought to myself, "this is the last thing I need.

Clever, that

 

[Widge]

In the film, little miss sunshine, when Grampa passed on they rolled him up in a carpet, tied him on the roof of a VW camper, and drove him home
Phil

I heard a story about a similar case, not a carpet but a proper container on a roof rack. The person stopped in a services for a quick bite to eat and a trip to the loo, only to find his car had been stolen while he was there.

 

[Lenny HB]

Can't see motor insurance covering it, would be down to travel insurance you need to ask them.

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[Widge]

I would have thought if your paying yourself it would be much cheaper to cremate abroad and repatriate the ashes. You could tell your relatives that was a plan so they didn't need to think what your wishes would have been it would save a lot of hassle.

My wifes second cousin died in January, he was in his 80s and had moved to Adelaide Australia in his teens and never got the opertunaty to return to the uk, but wanted some his ashes put in the river wye at Chepstow where he was born. At great expense his son shipped some back to a relative in the uk to do the deed, when they arrived they had the wrong name, the shipping company had messed up the last leg of the journey, and the correct ashes were still at Heathrow, bizarrely the wrong ashes that had also been shipped from Adelaide were for somebody only a few miles away, so the relative delivered them herself.

 

[Pausim]

I think you need to check the small print on your funeral plan and on your travel policy. My wife’s brother and sister in law were killed in France and repatriating their bodies was complex. As I recall it involved the Consulate, French undertaker, French legal authorities, Police, UK undertaker, insurance companies and probably several others in the background. The circumstances of the death may make a big difference. I believe repatriation of a body also usually involves embalmment.

 

[pagey]

Our kids have been told if we die abroad we stay there , can't see the point of being brought back

 

[Odd job]

I can see the benefit of a prepaid plan. My daughter's boyfriend has just lost his dad, the dad had no money, no plan and had not even given any thought to it, it is causing problems because the family have no idea of his wishes, what can be afforded and on top of that they're still grieving.

 

[Lenny HB]

Our ex-neighbor's husband died in Spain just after they moved there, he was cremated in Spain she had tremendous hassle with the legal side & paperwork just to bring his ashes back to the UK. Best to put them in a suitcase and not tell anyone.

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[Brains]

Some personal experience.

My younger sister died in Prague after a short illness.
It meant we had a little time to find out her wishes.
She was only in her 40's and had no real assets she had no official will or requests.

Luckily she did not want to be shipped back to the UK.
To do this officially is very expensive. The British Embassy would have assisted, but strongly advised against it.
It is legal however to put a coffin in the back of a van and drive yourself (with the deceased's passport), but as you can imagine a logistical nightmare as you really need a refrigerated van, and no one is going to rent you one for a week to drive a body back from Prague.

We organised a local crem funeral, she had a number of local friends, a load of family flew out and we took back her ashes.

.... and four years later I'm still sorting out the mess left behind, but that is what happens if you don't leave a will.

Re Comfort Insurance.
Be aware if one of you dies abroad and you are both insured to drive the van, then the other will need to drive the van home.
Comfort will only arrange a driver if there is no second driver and no family/friends prepared to step in. They will not be paying for fuel or ferry costs.

A mate of mine was flown out to Greece by an insurance company (not Comfort) to drive back a large empty panel van, everything was done at the lowest possible cost, Ryan Air outbound, late night ferries home, no toll roads, very low PD's which meant sandwiches and sleeping in the back of the van.
He has not taken up any of their other offers to drive vehicles back to the UK

Basically it has to be a crem funeral in your location and then a wake at home with the ashes. (Which will need to be bought back by a family member, not DHL)

 

[Manic]

Our kids have been told if we die abroad we stay there , can't see the point of being brought back

What about the 90 day rule

 

[coroner]

I think border control may have something to say if you tried to drive through with a dead body sat on the back seat! Just might get a bit wiffy too in summer

They could put me in a dinghy then when it gets to uk shores the government will pay for everything win win

 

[EuroTrotters]

What about the 90 day rule

Brillante

 

[Puddleduck]

I can see the benefit of a prepaid plan. My daughter's boyfriend has just lost his dad, the dad had no money, no plan and had not even given any thought to it, it is causing problems because the family have no idea of his wishes, what can be afforded and on top of that they're still grieving.

One of my Grandmothers had a prepaid plan and had arranged everything herself even to the hymns and readings.

My other Grandma just said she wanted a service in church, cremation and then to be scattered where we scattered my Grandad's ashes.

My Dad had a prepaid plan but all it said was "cremation". He didn't fill any of the other parts of the form in so we were left not knowing what he really wanted although in some ways it gave Mum something to think about in the days after the death. Dad was not at all religious so it was a humanist service. Mum was really worried about what their friends would think and I pointed out that if they really were people of faith they would respect Dad's beliefs.

Mum also has a prepaid plan and has written out some of what she wants.

The only extras we had to pay for Dad's funeral were the service sheets as Mum wanted a more expensive sheet than Dad had paid for and the notice to go in the paper. Obviously the funeral tea was an extra as well because we hired a room in a local hotel and they catered (except for Martin, my daughter, me and my ex-brother-in-law as they couldn't cater for special diets without a special request which my sister had failed to do).

I have to admit that a direct cremation with no service would suit me as long as my friends and family had a party at some point as a celebration of life. No tears allowed.

It would be worth checking the pre-payment policy you have to ensure that would cover the costs of a cremation outside the UK. Bringing a body back is not easy, especially given that you will be numb and in grief. Martin's uncle died on holdiay in Spain and it was far from easy to arrange repatriation as there had to be post-mortums both in Spain and again in the UK.

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[Brains]

What about the 90 day rule

It applies.

Either the body needs to have been returned to the UK with the passport
or
You need the local death certificate and the crematorium certificate. Both have to be translated into English by an official translator which has to be verified and sealed by a dual language solicitor all then verified by the British Embassy or Consulate.

Having had conversations with the very helpful staff at the British Embassy in Prague, apparently it is not unknown for UK citizens who what to start again (usually pursued by HMRC or HMP or the local drug gang) to arrange their 'death' in a foreign land, apparently the best place to do this is Haiti. In the Czech Rep. it would be almost impossible.

 

[pampam]

I like the idea of paying up front for a quick cremation
No service
No tea etc
No hearst
If its quick and cheap
Basically no funeral
No service
And nice and cheap
Suits me nice

 

[pagey]

What about the 90 day rule

You know where they can stick that summons

 

[gus-lopez]

Either the body needs to have been returned to the UK with the passport
or
You need the local death certificate and the crematorium certificate.

Or you just cremate & let them wonder?

 

[Soycd]

I like the idea of paying up front for a quick cremation
No service
No tea etc
No hearst
If its quick and cheap
Basically no funeral
No service
And nice and cheap
Suits me nice

Mum died during covid and dad and I agreed to a direct cremation, as she would have wanted. Dad said that's what he wanted when he died, which he did last March. Big money in the funeral business, a direct funeral is about £1,1000 so goodness knows what some folk end up paying. Sorry to OP, it's not answering your question but the whole conversation is quite interesting.

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