A burial society is a type of benefit/friendly society. These groups historically existed in England and elsewhere, and were constituted for the purpose of providing by voluntary subscriptions for the funeral expenses of the husband, wife or child of a member, or of the widow of a deceased member. Some also allowed for insuring money to be paid on the death of a member.[1]
Not-for-profit burial societies still exist today. For-profit companies also provide funeral insurance.
Jewish communities often include a burial society known as the chevra kadisha, which also covers performing the necessary Jewish funerary rituals and ceremonies.
- ^ One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Burial Societies". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 4 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 824.
