National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1989
- HeadquartersSawbridgeworth, United Kingdom
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors
- Legal name
- The National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors Ltd
- Website
- https://saif.org.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1989
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Sawbridgeworth
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Funeral Director Membership Subscriptions: Annual subscription fees for funeral director members based on the number of funerals arranged per year. Grades range from 1-50 funerals (Grade 1) to over 1,000 funerals (Grade 12). Additional charges apply for branches. Payment is collected via Direct Debit as the most cost-effective method.
- Probationary Membership: One-year membership for funeral directors with less than 12 months trading or funeral directing experience. A flat fee of £608 is charged for the year.
- Associate Membership: Annual subscription for companies supplying products and services to the funeral profession. £574 per year for England & Wales associates, with additional charges for branches.
- Membership Administration Fees: Non-refundable administration fee of £200 on application for membership.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Funeral Director Grade 1 - 1 to 50 funerals per year |
| Subscription | Annual | Funeral Director Grade 2 - 51 to 100 funerals per year |
| Subscription | Annual | Funeral Director Grade 3 - 101 to 200 funerals per year |
| Subscription | Annual | Funeral Director Grade 4 - 201 to 300 funerals per year |
| Subscription | Annual | Funeral Director Grade 5 - 301 to 400 funerals per year |
| Subscription | Annual | Funeral Director Grade 6 - 401 to 500 funerals per year |
| Subscription | Annual | Funeral Director Grade 7 - 501 to 600 funerals per year |
| Subscription | Annual | Funeral Director Grade 8 - 601 to 700 funerals per year |
| Subscription | Annual | Funeral Director Grade 9 - 701 to 800 funerals per year |
| Subscription | Annual | Funeral Director Grade 10 - 801 to 900 funerals per year |
| Subscription | Annual | Funeral Director Grade 11 - 901 to 1,000 funerals per year |
| Subscription | Annual | Funeral Director Grade 12 - Over 1,000 funerals per year |
| Subscription | Annual | Overseas Funeral Director Membership |
| Subscription | Annual | Probationary Membership |
| Subscription | Annual | Additional Branch Fee |
| Subscription | Annual | Scotland Grade 1A |
| Subscription | Annual | Scotland Grade 1B |
| Subscription | Annual | Scotland Grade 2 - 101 to 250 funerals per year |
| Subscription | Annual | Scotland Grade 3 - 251 to 500 funerals per year |
| Subscription | Annual | Scotland Grade 4 - 501 to 750 funerals per year |
| Subscription | Annual | Scotland Grade 5 - Over 750 funerals per year |
| Subscription | Annual | Associate Membership - England & Wales |
| Subscription | Annual | Additional Associate Branch Fee |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors product offering
Product offeringCore offering
SAIF is a trade association that provides membership services to independent funeral directors in the UK, including advocacy and government representation, ISO 9001:2015 quality assurance assessments, training through the Independent Funeral Directors College, bereavement support services (SAIFCare), staff counselling (SAIF Support), a Consumer Protection Scheme with Alternative Dispute Resolution, and member resources including a print and digital magazine (SAIFInsight). The organization also operates consumer-facing services including a Find-a-Member directory and bereavement helpline.
Product overview
SAIF (The National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors) operates as a trade association for independent, mostly family-owned funeral directors across the UK. Founded in 1989, SAIF provides a unified membership offering that includes advocacy and government representation, the SAIF Care bereavement support package (including SAIF Care Chat powered by GriefChat, a helpline, and email support), SAIF Support counselling for members and their staff, ISO 9001:2015-certified quality assurance assessments, SAIF Insight members' magazine, the Independent Funeral Directors College for training, and the SAIF Consumer Protection Scheme providing ADR services. The SAIF Business Centre handles membership administration, while optional services like SAIF Acquisition (business sales introduction agency), SAIF Charter (Golden Charter partnership), and SAIF Digital (website audits) provide additional member value.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- SAIF Membership Trade association membership for independent funeral directors offering advocacy, training, standards enforcement, and access to member benefits including bereavement support, staff counselling, and ISO 9001:2015 quality assurance assessments.
- SAIF Care Bereavement Support Bereavement support package available to clients of all SAIF members, including SAIF Care Chat (powered by GriefChat), a telephone bereavement careline, and email support provided by Professional Help Ltd.
- SAIF Support Staff Counselling Professional staff counselling service for SAIF funeral director members and their staff, run by Professional Help (member of British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy), offering help for distress, acute pressure, or depression.
- SAIF Consumer Protection Scheme Comprehensive Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) scheme providing procedures for complaints against funeral directors, approved by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI).
- SAIFInsight Magazine Members' magazine published in both print and digital (online) formats, keeping members up to date with news and views of the funeral profession.
- Independent Funeral Directors (IFD) College Training and education programmes providing professional development for SAIF members, ensuring they meet the highest standards through structured learning.
- SAIF Acquisition Introduction agency for independent funeral director owners considering selling their business to another independent, so that their business name is safeguarded with common vision and values.
- SAIF Digital Service that carries out audits on member websites to advise on improving performance and productivity.
Companies that use National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- GriefChatcoreGriefChat is a bereavement support service that powers SAIFCare Chat, SAIF's online chat service. Trained bereavement counsellors provide support through chat, available Monday-Friday 9am-9pm. This partnership enables SAIF to offer professional bereavement counselling integrated into their member client services.
- Professional Help LtdcoreProfessional Help Ltd provides trained and qualified staff for SAIF Care bereavement support (helpline: 0800 917 7224) and SAIF Support staff counselling service (Phone: 0800 077 8578). Professional Help is a member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy, providing grief care and mental health support for funeral directors and their staff.
- Parkinson's UKminorGary Staker, SAIF National President 2026/27, has chosen Parkinson's UK as his Charity of the Year. This partnership supports fundraising activities during his presidential term.
- British Assessment Bureau (ISO Certification)coreSAIF maintains ISO 9001:2015 certification through the British Assessment Bureau, verified at british-assessment.co.uk. This certification covers SAIF's management systems for quality assurance assessments and business support.
- Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI)coreSAIF is formally approved as an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) body by CTSI. The approval is verified annually and SAIF provides annual reports as required under the Alternative Dispute Resolution for Consumer Disputes Regulations 2015.
Scale indicators4 records
National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- National Funeral Directors Association: NFDA is the largest US funeral service trade association, providing advocacy, education, and member benefits to funeral directors. It is the most direct international structural analog to SAIF, operating a similar tiered membership model and serving as the recognized voice of the funeral profession in its country.
- National Association of Funeral Directors: NAFD is the other major UK trade association representing funeral directors, offering training, codes of practice, and consumer-facing services. It is the closest direct peer to SAIF in the UK, competing for the same independent funeral director member base with overlapping advocacy, training, and standards offerings.
- Selected Independent Funeral Homes: Selected Independent Funeral Homes is a US-based membership organization specifically serving independent, often family-owned funeral homes. Its focus on independent funeral directors as a sub-segment of the profession directly parallels SAIF's core positioning in the UK.
- British Institute of Funeral Directors: BIFD is a UK body focused on professional development and recognition for funeral directors through qualifications and continuing professional development. It overlaps with SAIF's IFD College training offering and represents another UK organization pursuing the funeral director member segment from a professional-development angle.
Regional players
- Funeral Service Association of Canada: FSAC is the Canadian national funeral service trade association, with a member-driven structure focused on advocacy, education, and professional standards. It is comparable as an English-language industry trade body for funeral directors but operates in a different national jurisdiction than SAIF.
Others
- Hospice UK: Hospice UK is the national charity for hospice and end-of-life care, which operates adjacent bereavement support services and intersects with SAIF Care's bereavement mission. It is comparable as a UK organization providing bereavement-facing services to consumers, though it is charity-led rather than a trade body.
- Funeral Consumers Alliance: Funeral Consumers Alliance is a US consumer-side organization advocating for affordable and meaningful funeral arrangements. It is comparable to SAIF's consumer-protection and bereavement-support functions in spirit but is positioned on the consumer side of the market rather than the funeral director side.
- Federation of Burial and Cremation Authorities: FBCA represents local authority burial and cremation authorities in the UK, sitting alongside the death-care industry. While not a direct competitor for funeral director membership, it is an adjacent UK professional body in the same sector that SAIF engages with on standards and policy matters.
Emerging players
- Golden Charter: Golden Charter is the UK's largest provider of funeral plans and is SAIF's exclusive partner under the SAIF Charter product, offering financial incentives to members who exclusively sell Golden Charter funeral plans. The deep commercial relationship and shared member customer base make it a closely adjacent peer within the UK funeral ecosystem.
- Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management: ICCM is a UK-based professional membership body representing cemetery and crematorium managers and operators. While its member focus is upstream of SAIF's funeral director focus, both organizations operate in the UK death-care sector and engage on adjacent regulatory and consumer-facing issues such as standards and bereavement.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors social profiles
Digital presenceNational Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles11 records
National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors
What does National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors do?
SAIF is a trade association that provides membership services to independent funeral directors in the UK, including advocacy and government representation, ISO 9001:2015 quality assurance assessments, training through the Independent Funeral Directors College, bereavement support services (SAIFCare), staff counselling (SAIF Support), a Consumer Protection Scheme with Alternative Dispute Resolution, and member resources including a print and digital magazine (SAIFInsight). The organization also operates consumer-facing services including a Find-a-Member directory and bereavement helpline.
Is National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors a public or private company?
National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors is a private company. It is classified as management employee owned and is currently operating.
When was National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors founded?
National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors was founded in 1989. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors based?
National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors is headquartered in Sawbridgeworth, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Funeral Director Membership Subscriptions are the primary driver. The others are probationary Membership, associate Membership and membership Administration Fees.
Who are National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are National Funeral Directors Association, National Association of Funeral Directors, Selected Independent Funeral Homes and British Institute of Funeral Directors. Funeral Service Association of Canada is listed as a regional player. Others are Hospice UK, Funeral Consumers Alliance and Federation of Burial and Cremation Authorities. Emerging players are Golden Charter and Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management.
Does National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors have an API?
No public API is recorded for National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors.