bpost reforms death announcement mailing process
bpost is introducing a new and improved mailing process for sending death announcements, which are the most emotionally charged letters people send each other. From now on, bpost will track each death announcement so that customers will have certainty about the delivery. The rate remains the same.
Thursday 24 April 2025This new way of sending death announcements addresses a sensitive challenge: to better support bereaved families when announcing the death of a loved one. It goes without saying that maximum reliability is needed when sending such sensitive letters. The improved mailing process was developed in collaboration with sector federation Funebra, which represents 700 funeral directors in Belgium.
How exactly does it work?
Central to this new way of sending letters is an eye-catching red bag, equipped with a unique barcode, which guarantees accurate tracking of each postal item. The funeral director will deliver the bag to the family who, in turn, will put the death announcements in it and take it to a post office of their choice before 4pm. Postal stamps are not required. The death announcements will subsequently be sent to their destination via a highly secure and accelerated circuit within bpost. Thanks to internal tracking, bpost knows exactly where each death announcement is at all times and, therefore, when it has arrived. Invoicing is done automatically afterwards by the funeral director.
During an extensive four-month testing phase between October and February, near-perfect results were achieved on sending death announcements thanks to the new mailing process. In the unlikely event that the death announcement is delayed or not delivered, the funeral director will always inform the family.
"This new system is a great improvement: the process is not only more transparent, it also guarantees delivery for the next of kin,", says Johan Dexters, President of Funebra. "The funeral director now takes care of all follow-up and invoicing, which takes a great amount of worry away from the family and significantly improves the quality of service."
Families who do not use a funeral director linked to Funebra can send the death announcements directly through the post office. The process remains the same in that customers can send their death announcements via the 'red bag'. In the event of a delay or problem, bpost will contact the customer directly.
