Caskets For Funerals
Although people often use the terms caskets and coffins interchangeably, there are a few small differences between a casket and coffin.
People have used the word ‘coffin’ since the early sixteenth century. It describes a box used for burying dead people.
The shape of a coffin is typically the same as that of a body. It has six or eight sides and is narrower where the dead person will be. Because the shape can save on wood, it is often cheaper than a casket.
Around the middle of the nineteenth century, the term ‘casket’ came into use as well. Initially, people stored only jewellery in containers. Then in the nineteenth century, people started to use it for burying dead people as well. Caskets have a rectangular shape.
The high Cost of Funeral Caskets and Why They Cost So much
Caskets can be even more expensive than coffins, which contributes to the high costs involved at funerals. Caskets can cost up to R150 000 or more.
More caskets sold in the year 2000 than ever before. Due to the declining economy, the market has been going downwards since then.
When making funeral arrangements, the funeral costs are often so high, that family of the deceased start to use the cremation process instead. Buying an urn for cremation, as part of the services offered at the crematorium, is much more realistic than having to buy an expensive casket.
Aspects determining the price:
- the bells or whistles the person wants
- the external construction material
- the workmanship
- the interior fabric
Casket manufacturers in South Africa
Manufacturers of caskets or coffins in South Africa make up a long list. The same manufacturers usually make caskets, as well as coffins.
A few examples are:
- Omega Funeral Ware’
- ‘The Koles Group Coffins Manufacturers’ (a hundred percent black owned South African business)
- ‘Cellar Craft Coffins’
Coffin-making is a kind of business that grows quite quickly in South Africa, especially since funerals are an important pa any culture. Funeral plans do cover caskets and coffins.
High Funeral Costs
The high funeral cost involved with funeral planning makes funeral cover an essential these days. Cheap funerals are not an option in the African culture. Having to buy a casket on top of all the costs, makes it a financial problem for most people.
Other financial aspects to keep in mind, except for the casket:
- Transporting of the deceased
- Use of funeral parlour for dead till burial
- Transport to graveyard (if necessary)
- Flowers
- Tombstone
- A video, etc.
Funeral Cover is Important in Larger Families
There are many funeral plans on offer in South Africa these days. Fortunately, about half of the population in South Africa already has funeral cover. Although many families are jobless, or have only one breadwinner, they still buy funeral cover.
Financial institutions offering funeral cover are for example:
- Old Mutual
- Standard Bank
- AVBOB
- Momentum, and many more
At AVBOB, anything from R10 000 – R50 000 can be paid out, depending on the plan. Under certain funeral cover policies, the casket might be covered as well.
In most funeral cover plans, a certain amount is paid out to cover funeral costs. This amount could then be used sparingly, to include cover for an affordable casket as well.
Having good funeral cover will solve many problems when a funeral suddenly has to be arranged.
To get a complimentary funeral cover quote, please complete and send the form on this page
All info was correct at time of publishing