Aussies are shirking the multi-thousand dollar cost of funerals

Women are more organised than men when it comes to planning their funerals, but Aussies generally are not very organised at all on that front.

Comparison site finder.com.au surveyed more than 2,000 people of all ages, and found that 60 percent did not plan to organise or pay for their funeral in advance.

Of the 40 per cent who have, 14 per cent were counting on life insurance to cover the cost, 8 per cent had taken out funeral insurance, 8 per cent had plumped for a prepaid plan with a funeral provider and 10 per cent had other plans, ranging from donating their body to science to forgoing a funeral.

New South Welshman were the most disorganised or disinterested when it comes to end-of-life planning, with 65 percent saying they had no intention of paying for a funeral before they die, while Queenslanders and South Australians were the most responsible, with 47 per cent planning to pre-pay their funeral costs.

And at 42 per cent, women generally were more keen on a pre-arranged, pre-paid funeral, while men were less interested, with just 38 percent organising or pre-paying.

According to funeralplanner.com, Western Australia is the most expensive state to die in, with the average Perth funeral coming in at $7,764, with Sydney ($7,621) and Melbourne ($7,586) not far behind. Funeral Planner is a site that helps families price and plan for funeral costs.

Bessie Hassan, an insurance expert at Finder said that the high cost of living could be why most people preferred not to think about the cost of dying.

But given that funerals could cost thousands of dollars, pre-paid funeral plans or funeral insurance policies with capped limits could be worth considering, Hassan said.

“These allow you to pay in increments ahead of time,” she said. “Compare policies online to make sure you get the best deal.”

Have you pre-planned your funeral, or are you leaving it to your family or friends?