Preneed: A Pandora's Box of Problems
John Duggan has a point, and that’s what concerns regulators in Illinois, Missouri and Texas. Who will be blamed when the consumer does not get the benefit of their preneed contract?
While the overwhelming majority of NPS’ preneed contracts will be honored by the funeral home named in the contract as the “provider”, it…
The Missouri Senate Committee assigned the task of preneed funeral reform posted a substitute bill to the Legislature’s website on February 6th: SCS SB1. For those who participated in the Chapter 436 Working Group meetings last summer, this bill may seem vaguely familiar. During those meetings, the Division of Professional Registration circulated a 41-page…
In terms of the toxic NPS fallout, Texas ranks a close second to Missouri. In response, the Texas Department of Banking has released a legislative proposal aimed at closing what it perceives are the loopholes in Chapter 154 of the Texas Finance Code.
To facilitate discussion of the issues with death care operators, insurance companies and fiduciaries…
The IFDA master trust turned a new page today, and for participating funeral homes, the first step in a long recovery process. With the appointment of Merrill Lynch Bank & Trust as a temporary trustee, the association begins the process of looking for a permanent trustee. The appointment also coincides with the trust’s accounts being…
Part of the bad rap against preneed stems from the salesman who is prepared to say anything to close the sale. While, reputable companies build safeguards into their programs to check this behavior, there will be individuals who are prepared to bend the rules. Who should be held accountable when the agent intentionally violates the…
Dear Donna,
Once the liquidation plan is finalized, and the procedures for paying claims are implemented, could we please revisit the issue of the Missouri installment contracts?
Yes, you have been patient and polite regarding my inquiries. But, until this past Monday, I did not know how significant an issue these contracts were. If…
Concurrent with the hearing held on her Liquidation Plan, the Special Deputy Receiver posted a financial report to the Lincoln Memorial Life/NPS website. As with most financial statements, explanatory notes at the end of the report provide some insights to the failed NPS empire. While prior documents have disclosed that the companies have a deficient of…
While the completion of the document may have felt like a birthing process to the staff of Missouri’s Division of Professional Registration, the Chapter 436 Working Group Recommendations more accurately reflects an industry position paper that has yet to be completed. Faced with a deadline imposed by the Missouri legislature, the Division ‘finalized’ the Recommendations in an…
While approval of the SDR’s Liquidation Plan is imperative to providing funds for NPS contracts that are being serviced, and will be serviced during the next few years, funeral directors and consumers are raising valid questions about the Plan. For the consumer who purchased a trust-funded contract from NPS on installments, the Plan fails to…
So why is it so tough to provide preneed portability? Because the transaction has been defined by state law as a contract between a consumer and a death care company, and federal regulators tend to agree. When the issue has arisen in the context of federal preemption, the interests of the state regulator have prevailed…