More than half of adults say they were not aware of their loved ones’ final wishes, according to a report from MetLife.
The insurer’s The Last Word: Tackling the death and funeral planning taboo report surveyed 2,000 adults who have experienced a bereavement in the last two years.
The study looked at the experiences, attitudes, and behaviours of those who have faced a bereavement and funeral planning in the last two years.
It found just over half (51%) were not aware of any final wishes from the deceased, including funeral preferences, song choice and coffin type.
The report also found that two in five (44%) UK adults had not spoken to anyone about dying or their funeral plans.
Just over a quarter (28%) said they knew practical choices for the funeral preference, such as burial or cremation, as well as coffin type, while one in five (21%) knew how the funeral would be paid for.
The same number (21%) knew which poems, prayers, readings, songs and hymns the deceased wanted.
Just 14% were aware of the style of wake and location, and the same number (14%) knew who to invite to the funeral.
Adrian Matthews, head of employee benefits at MetLife UK, (pictured) said: “Losing someone close to us is something that none of us want to think about, let alone discuss, regardless of our age.
“Yet one thing we can be certain of in life is our death and the inevitable impact this will have on our families, so it’s important that we open up the conversation, tackling it head on so that we talk about it to help minimise the impact on those left behind.
“We naturally take out insurance on events that may never happen, such as to protect our car, home or mobile phone, but we don’t talk about or plan for certainties that will, like death or funeral planning.
“So why is it we often ignore the emotional protection that could support our loved ones – by having the conversation about our wishes and thoughts, so that when the time comes, they can focus on grieving for their loss, not trying to contemplate how to best say goodbye.“
He added that tackling the conversation head on ensured peace of mind and that an already emotional and stressful time was not made more upsetting with the fear of not carrying out the final wishes of loved ones.
“Our report shines a light on the support that people most value and need during what is an extremely difficult time,“ he said.