Consumers can now search for lost and dormant funeral plans on behalf of deceased loved ones with eziFunerals
Executors, administrators and other representatives, acting on behalf of friends and family can benefit from eziFunerals tracing service.
With 190,394 deaths in 2022, many families face the difficult task of managing the estate of their loved ones, with the often complex and time-consuming job of tracking down both current and dormant funeral plans.
Peter Erceg, Owner and Founder of eziFunerals said: “This is an important next step in our mission to help families find lost and missing funeral plans and return it to consumers where it belongs.
“Many of us will face the daunting task of managing the estate of a loved one, often at a time when we want to grieve, but the practical aspects need attention. When someone dies the people left behind face the difficult task of trying to track down all the pensions, bank accounts, savings and funeral plans someone might have had.
By allowing access to third parties, we hope to make the task of finding lost and missing funeral plans on behalf of others a much simpler, quicker and less complex task, and importantly, at minimal cost.”
How eziFunerals Helped Karyn Muller Reclaim Her Lost Funeral Plan and $1,301.30
Karyn Muller decided to trace a lost funeral plan earlier this year after her mother passed away.
After she had paid for the funeral, Karyn began the difficult task of organising her mother’s affairs.
As she sorted through her mothers documents she had found a Certificate of Membership from Grand United Friendly Society. Despite all her best attempts to find the fund manager, she was unsuccessful.
So she decided to give eziFunerals a try.
Once eziFunerals was provided with Karyn’s mother’s details, they contacted all the registered Funeral Societies, who manage pre-paid funeral plans. Just like Karyn, eziFunerals attempts to find the missing funeral plan were also unsuccessful.
But eziFunerals did not stop searching and decided to dig deeper with the information Karyn provided.
The research found that Grand United Friendly Society had merged with Australian Unity in 2005. Despite Australian Unity previously stating they did not have a funeral plan in Karyn’s mother’s name, eziFunerals decided to give them another try.
With the additional information obtained by eziFunerals, Australian Unity were able to conduct another search and, on this occasion, eziFunerals found a match.
With eziFunerals help, Karyn was able to lodge a claim with Australian Unity and received $1,301.30 that her mother had planned for her family. A happy ending.
“This is why we set up eziFunerals service, to provide a low cost, simple and accessible means to search for lost and missing funeral plans.”
“We definitely encourage people to be proactive and search for a lost funeral plans.”
“Most people won’t have a clue how to go about it, so eziFunerals is a great place to start.”
If a loved one passes away and you think they might have purchased a prepaid funeral plan, but you can’t find any of the information, we may be able to help.
How to find out if you have unclaimed funeral funds
Consumers can now search for lost and missing funeral plans on behalf of loved ones that have passed away with eziFunerals tracing service.
When a close loved one passes away, amongst all the feelings of loss and sadness, there is the difficult task of trying to track down all the pensions, bank accounts, savings and funeral plans someone might have had.
How does eziFunerals tracing service work?
eziFunerals tracing system is simple. They have access to most of the registered funeral plan providers in Australia.
When you submit a tracing request, they contact all of them in one go for you. This saves you hours of time trawling through company sites and trying to get the correct contact details.
If any provider has a potential match for a prepaid plan they will contact you directly. They do not handle any sensitive account information about the funeral plan itself and that remains between the provider and the next of kin.
The service makes its money from a small flat fee charged to consumers who submit a request.
Peter Erceg, Owner and Founder of eziFunerals said: “Unfortunately there is no central database of all prepaid funeral plans, and this means that eziFunerals cannot search directly for a missing plan on your behalf. However, this form allows us to ask registered funeral fund managers whether they have a prepaid funeral plan in place for your relative or loved one.
TRACE A MISSING FUNERAL PLAN
About eziFunerals
eziFunerals supports individuals and families cope with end of life decisions, death and funerals. We are an independent, Australian-owned and operated company. We are not part of any other funeral company.
Our member Funeral Directors operate in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Australia wide. They are chosen for their knowledge, quality, service, personalisation and experience. They go above and beyond, and will take the time to support the family.
For more information or to make contact with a trusted Independent funeral director, call eziFunerals on 1300 236 402 or visit www.ezifunerals.com.au.
Peter Erceg
Peter Erceg is the Owner and Founder of eziFunerals. He has had a long history within the funeral industry, and is a published author of ‘What Kind Of Funeral: A self help guide to planning a meaningful funeral’. Prior to eziFunerals, Peter worked in the public sector and health industry for more than 30 years. The views and opinions expressed on posts are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of eziFunerals and members.
