Preneed: A Pandora's Box of Problems
Here in the Midwest, the death care industry is just beginning to experience the increase in preneed reporting and oversight. Some funeral directors are already frustrated with the new requirements, and are biding the time to when they can vent towards the preneed regulator.
Over the past 4 years, state agencies in Illinois, Kansas and…
The licenses required to sell or service preneed in Missouri must be renewed annually, with the deadline for filing the required paperwork falling on October 31st. Technically, these licenses expire on Halloween unless the State Board staff has renewed them by that date. But, it is human nature to procrastinate, and many licensees wait until…
As discussed in prior posts, the Missouri preneed audit process begins with a notice to the preneed seller for the production of documents and data. After a review is made of the documents, data and the annual reports filed with the State Board, an on-site examination is scheduled with the seller. Most Missouri preneed sellers…
The examination of a Missouri preneed seller begins with a request that certain documents be submitted to the State Board within 3 weeks. The purpose for the document production is to allow the examiner to perform a desk audit of the seller’s operable documents before an on-site visit is made. From those documents the examiner…
The new era of preneed exams and audits got off to a slow start in Missouri, but now there are indications the process is picking up speed. The first notices of preneed financial examinations went out to sellers last January, and some are now going through on-site examinations. A second wave of examination notices has gone out, and the State Board has begun preparations for…
Preneed scandals in Illinois, Missouri, Texas, and California have state regulators moving to implement new audit procedures. But with new laws passed in the wake of NPS and state master trust problems, the frequency and scope of the future audit could change dramatically. It is no secret that the scope of the preneed audit in…
As reported previously in the blog, the State of Nebraska began to implement a preneed contract database in 2010 when master trusts were requested to provide individual contract data in an electronic format. The request was expanded to all preneed sellers in 2011.
Kansas Secretary of State sought legislation in 2010 for the authority to…
The Missouri State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors staff has some new faces, and in contrast to most rookies, these newcomers are playing pivotal roles in developing examination procedures for the state’s preneed funeral sellers. The Division of Professional Registration chose personnel with prior auditing experience, but as these ‘rookies’ are learning, there is…
A breakdown in communications between the CFDA and the Cemetery and Funeral Bureau has resulted in the California Attorney General filing a lawsuit that can be appropriately described as vitriolic. The “California lawsuit” could provide some valuable ‘what to avoid” lessons for regulators in other states.
In an unusual move, the Bureau went…
For most Illinois funeral homes, March 15th is the due date for the filing of their preneed data with the Comptroller’s office. For those funeral homes that bolted from the IFDA after the master trust melt down, this has been an extremely frustrating process. The majority of funeral homes must file on line, with supporting…