People typically select a funeral home because it has been recommended to them, they’ve been there before and the location is convenient for friends and family.
Most of the 100 or so funeral homes in the GTA accommodate all faiths and cultures, although many groups have favoured spots that cater to their community. For example, Benjamin’s Park Memorial Chapel and Steeles Memorial Chapel perform a large portion of the services for Jews and in most cases the remains are buried in Jewish cemeteries.
Service providers catering to the Muslim community in the GTA include the Islamic Foundation of Toronto, Scarborough Muslim Association andAftercare Cremation and Burial Service. These companies will look after the transporting of the body to a Mosque, where it is bathed and enshrouded, and then transfer it to the cemetery to be buried.
Muslims have traditionally been buried in non-denominational cemeteries across the GTA, but there are plans for a Shia-Sunni Muslim cemetery in Richmond Hill.
No matter the faith, the basic costs of a full service funeral remain the same. The average for a service, visitation, body preparation and interment or cremation is $4,663, according to the Ontario Board of Funeral Services, which regulates the industry. Benjamin’s says their average is about $4,800, while Aftercare says it is about $4,000 in their case.
If you go no frills, the costs can come down 50 per cent or more.
Here are the five things to keep in mind when looking for a funeral home:
1. Ask friends and family for a recommendation. How were they treated? What services were provided and at what price?
2. Ensure the funeral home is able to accommodate your religious and cultural needs.
3. Call around or go online and compare prices and features. Get a final quote in writing.
4. When getting a quote the main components include the cost of the body preparation, service, burial/cremation and the casket/burial container.
5. Every funeral director and transfer service operator is required by law to have price lists available at no charge and without obligation.
All funeral homes are overseen by the Board of Funeral Services a self-regulating body, set up under the Funeral Directors and Establishments Act. The board serves as a consumer protection agency and is the place to go when you have a complaint.
The board offers compensation when:
1.A pre-paid funeral contract has been cancelled and funds and interest accrued were not appropriately paid out;
2.A prepaid service was not fulfilled and a person was forced to go elsewhere; or excess pre-paid funds were not returned to the estate of the beneficiary.
3.There are allegations of professional misconduct or incompetence.
“There are protections to make sure the standards are consistent and that there’s accountability,” says Doug Kennedy, managing director of operations at Turner & Porter Funeral Directors. Kennedy sits on the Board of Funeral Services and is the past president of the Ontario Funeral Services Association.
Some funeral service providers allow you to arrange funerals online, so you don’t have to actually visit a home. This can be convenient, especially in cases where a funeral hasn’t been pre-planned and you don’t live near the deceased whose funeral you are arranging.
Online services tend to be more affordable because they have less overhead than a conventional funeral home.
One example of a company that offers Web-based services is Basic Funerals and Cremation Choices, a Mississauga-based licensed funeral establishment that has a physical funeral home location, but it mainly targets the online market.
Customers can peruse options and prices or chat with an online funeral director, then contact the provider via e-mail or phone to finalize details and payment.
“There’s really no reason you need to pull someone from their home and away their family at a time like that, especially for the arrangement process,” says the company’s CEO Eric Vandermeersch.
As such, a basic cremation through Basic Funerals costs $1,695; a burial and graveside service costs $1,800; and a basic funeral with casket is $3,200 (including taxes, fees and disbursements).
“If you compare what we offer to a traditional funeral home package, our services cost on average 50 per cent less,” Vandermeersch says.
Basicfunerals.ca can also film the service and stream it over the Web, particularly handy in a place like Toronto, Vandermeersch notes, where “there’s so many people here who have extended family elsewhere in the world.”
Beckett-Glaves Family Funeral Centre in Brantford also broadcasts funeral services online.
A growing number of traditional funeral providers also enable customers to browse options and obtain a quote online, but recommend that pre-planners eventually pay a visit to the funeral home.
“A funeral is not like buying a CD or book online,” says Jim Cardinal, president of Cardinal Funeral Homes. “There’s a lot more involved - decisions we want to make sure people are clear on.”
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