Preneed: A Pandora's Box of Problems
The class action lawsuit brought against the NPS affiliates on Friday, June 20th reflects the despair that some funeral directors are experiencing over the situation. Although litigation to recover assets from the Cassity Empire was inevitable, this lawsuit has flaws that need to be corrected through an organized effort brought by the states’ regulators.
Funeral…
On June 11th, Senator Delbert Scott met with a number of death care industry members and regulators to begin mapping out the direction for preneed reform in Missouri. From that meeting, it was decided that the state’s death care regulators would form review committees that would facilitate a dialog on the issues, and…
In what may prove to be a lengthy legal proceeding, Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon filed suit against Forever Network, Inc., an affiliate of National Prearranged Services (NPS). While the suit may duplicate the injunctions effected by the Agreed Order obtained by the Texas Department of Insurance, consumers should take comfort by the fact Mr. Nixon has begun taking action.
While it…
Funeral directors will attempt to leverage the Funeral Service Insider’s report about the NPS contributions to state politicians, but they should do so with caution.
The story does not paint the entire picture of NPS’ efforts to influence the politics that controlled Missouri’s preneed industry. The amount attributed to the Missouri efforts ($168,000) seems low. Granted it…
As news of the NPS meltdown began to leak last month, several proposals to reform Missouri’s preneed law were hastily drafted. Not knowing the extent of NPS’ problems, some reform advocates felt the need to strike while the iron was hot.
Even as the legislative session ended on May 16th, it was not clear whether…
Yesterday, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch ran an article that examined the history of NPS, and raised some of the questions that need to be explored in depth in the months to come. The system failed in several states, for both consumers and funeral homes. While most funeral homes will try to make good on the…
The Missouri preneed industry faces a long and stormy summer.
The Missouri legislature seems to be listening to regulators’ requests for much needed authorities for examinations, audits and rulemaking. A draft bill providing emergency powers to the Division of Professional Registration has emerged as legislation that may be signed into law before the current session ends…
On Wednesday, April 30th, the Missouri Department of Insurance fired off the first salvo in the legal proceedings to recover funds from Lincoln Memorial Life Insurance Company. In an effort to prepare those affected by the NPS meltdown, the Missouri State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors and the Division of Professional Registration have…
With two reform bills (HB 2469 and HB 2594) already introduced into the legislature, and two substitute proposals in the works, Missouri legislators and regulators are committed to fixing a law that allowed NPS to exploit consumers and funeral homes. However, consumers and the death care industry are both having difficulty analyzing the specifics of…
While Missouri has had a right of sepulcher law for five years, there has been disagreement whether the law allowed an individual to override the preferences of his/her next-of-kin. The ambiguities of the original law left funeral directors in a quandary about following the instructions of designated agents. This led to confusion for many Missourians who thought…