UK deceased suppression service, The Bereavement Register, has forged an agreement with itc Legal Services to enable surviving relatives and friends to opt-in to the register when they close the accounts of their departed loved ones.

itc Legal Services – which provides bereavement services to the financial services community (including some of the UK’s biggest clearing banks) – will furnish The Bereavement Register with a unique and previously unavailable data source. REaD UK managing director, Luci Penn, who manages The Bereavement Register, said: “In the nine years since The Bereavement Register launched, the market has changed enormously.

“Many of the channels that have helped to build the register into the huge consumer phenomenon it is today have changed – not least of all the death registration process itself. Many registrars are now producing their own material and do not wish to use third parties. Add to this the 46.7 per cent of UK deaths that are now being referred to coroners, and we recognised some time ago that relying on registrars and funeral directors alone was going to be short-lived.”

The REaD Group’s chief executive, Mark Roy, added: “Account closures are the ultimate data source of death notifications – they are fast, accurate and fully verified. The Bereavement Register has been able to maintain its integrity by ensuring that all registrations continue be fully opted-in, while at the same time improving the speed and robustness of our data delivery. 

“I am greatly indebted to the management and staff at itc Legal Services and the financial institutions they represent, without whose collective support The Bereavement Register would not have reached this important milestone.”

itc Legal Services’ chief executive Martin Trees said: “This agreement will add value both to our clients and to the financial services companies we work with. itc Legal Services is delighted to continue and deepen our relationship with The Bereavement Register.”

Roy added: “The Bereavement Register approaches its tenth anniversary in 2010. We’re continuing to free consumers from the scourge of unwanted junk mail addressed to the deceased as well as empowering marketers to make informed choices about how best to protect their brand image.’”