Bereavement Commission report “a much deserved boost for the bereaved,” say Settld and Exizent

Recommendations for ‘minimum death administration standards’ in line with Bereavement Standards campaign.

Award winning end-of-life admin services Settld and Exizent have today welcomed the recommendations contained in a long-awaited report by the UK Commission on Bereavement.

The report highlights the need for better treatment of bereaved families, and recommends that government departments and regulators ensure minimum standards for death administration.

Vicky Wilson, co-founder and CEO of Settld, said: “Settld has fought a long campaign for better Bereavement Standards, and we are delighted that the Bereavement Commission’s report is a much deserved boost for the bereaved..

“We are encouraged that such a detailed and thorough investigation by the Commission supports our view that bereaved customers are too often pushed aside, and deserve much better standards of care. One way to achieve this is one-stop-shops, like Settld.

“We are pleased that the report urges Governments across the UK to legislate so that people can choose whether to register a death in person or online. The current system of paper-based death registration is from a bygone era, and is a huge and unnecessary additional stress for families. We hope a new digital system can be swiftly enacted.

“Perhaps the most crucial recommendation is the call for bereaved customers to be treated fairly and sensitively and for governments and regulators to work with relevant industry groups to develop minimum standards for death administration processes.

“We already have cross party backing for the Bereavement Standards campaign, and we hope that  the Commission’s hard work will lead to better standards of treatment for all bereaved customers.”

Nick Cousins, co-founder and CEO of Exizent said: “As a business focused on enhancing the bereavement journey for everyone involved, Exizent are encouraged to see the Bereavement Commission’s comments that highlight the need to simplify the administrative tasks that face both bereaved individuals and the professionals that are often called upon to help navigate what is an unnecessarily complex and fragmented process.

“We welcome all calls for greater standardisation of processes, adoption of technology and the pursuit of the “tell us once” concept across a broader range of services.”

Headquartered in Sunderland, Settld enables members of the public to notify all service providers of a death, from banks and insurers to energy firms, mobile providers, subscription services, social media platforms and others.

Settld’s online service is free to the public. Users can close, transfer or amend accounts and obtain date of death balances for probate.

Settld – at www.settld.care – consistently receives 5-star reviews from customers.