The Importance of Choosing a Cremation Service Provider
When someone in your life has passed away, it can be overwhelming to organize everything for their end-of-life arrangements. You don’t have to do it alone. Cremation service providers bring their compassion and professional knowledge to handle the details so you can focus on being with your family and making decisions without unnecessary stress.
Before signing a contract with a cremation service provider, it’s important to choose the right fit for you and your family. You’ll be empowered to make an informed decision by interviewing and vetting the company. If you’re making final arrangements for the first time, knowing exactly which questions to ask about cremation can be challenging. We’ve created this guide for you and included answers to frequently asked questions about the cremation process.
What Is a Cremation Service Provider?
A cremation service provider specializes in providing simple, direct cremations as we do at Simple Choice Cremation.
Below is a list of services provided by most cremation service providers:
- Transportation of the decedent from the place of death
- Transportation to the crematorium
- Support filling out and submitting necessary documentation, such as the death certificate.
- Consulting and professional advice
- Cremation containers, caskets and urns
- Sheltering the body until the cremation
- Preparation of the body for cremation
- Cremation
- Storage of cremated remains until pickup, delivery, or transfer for final disposition.
Why Is It Important to Ask Cremation Questions?
Asking questions is the best way to make an informed decision about whether the cremation service provider you’re looking at is the right fit for your needs. Each is unique, so it’s important to know what they offer, whether they provide curated packages or if each service is individually priced. An option might appear affordable at first glance, but you may find yourself paying other fees without asking clarifying questions to understand how your provider operates.
When choosing a service provider, you want to ensure that you can entrust the staff to treat you, your family, and your loved one with compassionate care every step of the way. If a potential company doesn’t want to answer your questions or gets defensive, that’s a good indicator that they might not be the right fit.
Questions to Ask a Cremation Service Provider in Advance
Before you meet with a potential service provider, it’s beneficial to have some questions ready to ask them. Here are a few that you might consider, but please note that this is a non-exhaustive list.
- Are you licensed through the Bereavement Authority of Ontario (or the appropriate authority in your region)?
- What’s included in your packages? Or, if they don’t offer packages: Which services are required and which ones are optional?
- Are there any additional fees outside the package that I need to consider?
- Do you provide visitations or assist with memorial services?
- Are you connected with any cremation gardens, cemeteries or mausoleums?
- Do you have a policy on how you recycle or dispose of the remains of any prosthetics or implants?
- Do you have a verification process to confirm the body’s identity throughout the entire cremation process, and what is it?
- How many years have you been in business?
- Do you offer payment plans, or do you require the amount to be paid in full upfront?
Frequently Asked Questions About Cremation
1. What’s Included in the Cremation Process?
The cremation process is comprehensive to maintain integrity from start to finish. There are 6 key steps:
- Identifying the body.
- Preparing and submitting required documents and receiving authorization and permits.
- Preparing the body for cremation.
- Transporting the body to the crematorium, if not already on-site, and to the cremation chamber.
- Inspection of remains. Any metal bits are carefully removed, then the remains are processed into final cremated remains.
Cremated remains are placed into a temporary container or urn.
2. Can I Witness the Cremation Process?
Whether you can witness the cremation process will depend on the cremation service provider’s policies. In Ontario, ceremonies aren’t permitted inside the crematorium. Some have adjacent chapels where a ceremony may take place, or you can book a different location, such as a funeral home. We recommend you ask your cremation service provider about available options.
3. Do I Need to Purchase an Urn or Casket through the Cremation Services Provider?
No. While your provider typically offers a wide selection of quality caskets and urns, you can purchase them from wherever you wish. If you choose to purchase a casket from a third party, you’ll want to confirm with crematorium staff that it’s appropriate for cremation before purchasing.
4. What Are the Payment Options?
Each provider will offer different payment options, so it’s important to ask whether you can pay in a way that works for you. Most at-need providers will require payment in full when signing the contract, as the services are delivered in full right away. If you’re working with a larger funeral and cemetery services company, they may offer prepayment options when pre-planning end-of-life arrangements for yourself or a family member.
5. Can We Have an Open-Casket Service?
You may be able to organize a service there with the body present before the cremation. Some direct cremation service providers may also support transporting the body to the crematorium from a location where a service is held first, but you’ll need to ask whether this is a possibility before planning anything.
Alternatively, you might also consider a celebration of life service after cremation, with or without an urn present. This option allows you to book the event months after the cremation, which gives more time for planning and coordinating with anyone who would need to travel to attend.
6. Where Will the Cremated Remains Be Stored?
Once the cremation is complete, the cremated remains will either be placed in a temporary container or an urn that the family has purchased. If the family has selected multiple keepsake urns, an additional charge might accrue to divide the cremated remains.
7. How Long Must We Wait After Their Death Before We Can Cremate a Family Member?
All government documentation must be correctly submitted, such as the Statement of Death form in Ontario, and the service provider must receive both the Official Death Certificate and written approval from the authorized representative to begin the cremation process. The wait time will vary based on the cremation service provider, the crematorium's schedule and other factors. At Simple Choice Cremation, the process is typically completed within 10 days, though we understand the need for expedited cremation in some cases and do offer this at an additional cost.
8. When Will We Receive the Cremated Remains Once the Cremation Is Complete?
The time you receive the cremated remains will vary between cremation service providers. However, you can usually expect to pick them up within 2-5 business days following the cremation. At Simple Choice Cremation, we understand that, due to factors like location, schedules, and accessibility needs, some people prefer to have the cremated remains mailed to them rather than going to pick them up. If you’d prefer to have them mailed to you, we offer this service at an additional cost.
Choosing Simple Choice Cremation as an Alternative to a Funeral Home
At Simple Choice Cremation, it’s our mission to provide caring and affordable cremation arrangements. Planning a cremation is a multi-step process, and we’re here to help so you don’t have to do it alone. Learn more about how cremation service providers like us complete the process in our blog post, Cremation Services.
