Preneed: A Pandora's Box of Problems
CNN underscored recently posted a good article about final expense life insurance. Death care clients have been contacting us more frequently about this type of policy, and we will share some of their issues.
Funeral homes are backing away from the conventional life insurance policy for some of the same reasons. Large life insurance companies…
In our next post on cemetery preneed, we want to revisit a post from June 2012 (Cemetery Preneed Challenges: bucket accounting). As discussed in that post, the cemetery prearrangement differs from its funeral counterpart because the cemetery can deliver property and merchandise prior to the purchaser’s death. When establishing a preneed program, a…
While preserving traditional burials should be a cemetery’s top preneed priority, a priority should also be placed on the surviving lot owner that is opting for cremation. The Wirthlin studies that we’ve been referencing in prior posts suggest that most grave spaces sold by cemeteries during the past 20 years will never be used. One…
In continuing with our last post about a cemetery preneed pivot, the cemetery operator seeking to improve its burial revenues can initiate a preneed program that first focuses on its existing lot owners. To efficiently market to existing lot owners, the cemetery should use a questionnaire to reach out and learn the owners’ current…
Almost thirty years ago, associations representing funeral homes, casket suppliers, vault makers, monument builders and life insurers joined together to form the Funeral and Memorialization Information Council (FAMIC). These industries were concerned about the future impact of cremation on the traditional funeral and burial. FAMIC used Wirthlin Worldwide to conduct research studies every…
Missouri’s proposed preneed records rule includes a provision that would require funeral homes to document the payment of excess funds:
(3) Records showing payments made to the state of Missouri or to any other person including the amounts paid, the dates paid and the name of the person paid; and…
The next section of Missouri’s seller records rule proposal seeks the following documents:
For all fulfilled preneed contracts:
(2) Documentation showing payment to the provider by the seller including the name of the person or entity to whom payments were made, the date and amount of each payment, and a description of payment to the…
The Memorial Business Journal’s July 10th story on the NFDA 2014 consumer survey included a commentator’s suggestion that preneed funding has declined because so few options are offered the consumer. The story’s commentators interpreted the decline in preneed funding as reflecting fewer consumers being motivated by price guarantees, and those that might be, need…
President Obama used his State of the Union address to unveil a new type of retirement account dubbed “MyRA”. Recognizing that Americans are woefully unprepared for their retirement years, the President believes the MyRA offers individuals a safe option to induce them to begin saving for those golden years. A CNBC report provides an explanation…
Over the past few years, preneed trust administrators have been wondering whether a Section 685 qualified funeral trust could look to each individual trust’s income and apply the lower tax rates for long term capital gains and qualified dividends. The issue has taken on more relevance as preneed trusts look to diversify out of …