It was less than three weeks ago, on May 4, when listeners of Carriage Services earnings call got an idea that something was going to be decided in the way that the company handled their preneed business.  In that call, of which you can read the transcript here, Vice-Chairman, President and Chief Operating Officer of Carriage Services Carlos Quezada made this statement:

 

“Now to the news, that are sure to pick your interest. As communicated on our last call, we have been working tirelessly on our new pre-arranged funeral strategy, and I am delighted to announce that it came down to the wire with two finalists. As a result, we are ready to make the final evaluation and we will announce the new partnership that will work alongside us and bring this vision to fruition, before the end of this month.

With this new partnership, we’re going to revolutionize the way we serve and protect families through the power of preplanning, while also creating substantial financial value for our shareholders. The possibilities are endless and we cannot wait to share more information. So stay tuned for updates, as we embark on this new exciting journey.”

The answer to that preamble came last week when, in this press release, Carriage Services announced what they call a “landmark national agreement” with National Guardian Life Insurance Company (NGL) and Precoa.  The press release goes on to say, “This strategic partnership will deliver exceptional pre-arranged funeral services and offerings across the Carriage Services platform, empowering families with unparalleled peace of mind and an elevated customer experience.”

 

Carriage Services President Quezada is quoted in the press release with this statement, “By combining the expertise and heritage of NGL, the innovative and industry-leading preneed solutions of Precoa and the customer-centric approach of Carriage Services, we are elevating our pre-arranged funeral offering across all Carriage locations and ensuring families receive personalized support and peace of mind as they plan for their end-of-life celebration. In addition, this transformative partnership will enable Carriage to reach new audiences, forge deeper customer relationships and to grow market share, ultimately creating value for our shareholders.”

 

According to the press release, Carriage Services operates 173 funeral homes in 26 states and 32 cemeteries in 11 states.

 

Disclaimer — The author of this article for Funeral Director Daily is a shareholder of Carriage Services.

 

Funeral Director Daily take:  I’ve always been of the opinion that Preneed is a necessary “life-blood” of growing funeral establishments.  From my point of view it serves so many purposes not the least which are building market share and enabling a solid cash-flow foundation for a growing business.  Our funeral home invested heavily in it and were never disappointed with the results that investment brought us.

 

In addition, I think that Preneed is more important than ever in today’s death care world because it can also blunt the growing trend of other less traditional disposition, celebration, and memorialization methods by having future death care clientele make their decisions years ahead of time.  Back in the days when the options were burial or cremation, church services, and cemetery interment were the likely choices and the funeral home had a great chance to earn revenue from those choices.

 

In today’s world of natural organic reduction, alkaline hydrolysis, and more niche products that is not always the case.  It’s just a pretty simple fact if you can get people to make their decisions and those include a more traditional bent then it is probable that those revenue sources, say for instance for services, will stay with the funeral home rather than go to an event planner.

 

In my opinion, the earlier that you can meet with a preneed client, the better chance you have to enlighten them on how the funeral home can help them with whatever wishes that they may have.  If that is the case there is then the great ability to build revenue sources on top of the disposition method.

 

Having the discussion with the potential death care clients about their needs and wants and then formulation of a plan with those clients on how your funeral home can provide such will be a key to keeping those revenues in house.

 

I think that seeing these types of strategies such as Carriage Services is employing is proof that the large players in the death care business understand this ramification of preneed urgency as good as anyone. . . and they want to attempt to secure future clientele for their services before one of the niche players, or a competitor, does.

 

More news from the world of Death Care:

• Abby Choi’s face to be recreated using 3D printing technology to allow grieving family a chance to mourn.  Singapore Today
• “Body restoration’ of Abby Choi likely to be more complicated than expected, experts say, as Hong Kong columbarium takes the job.  South China Morning Post
• “The person becomes a commodity”:  Funeral directors seek law to regulate body brokers.  WTOP News (MD)
• APSU student researcher digs deep into cemetery’s waste environmental impact.  Clarkesville Now (TN)
• Composting, water cremation, and shrouds – why sustainable burials are on the rise.  9 News – Sydney (Australia)
• Stark Memorial helps pioneer new form of human remains.  Salem News (OH)

 

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