Preneed
The state of Colorado is in the news often these days. Demographers tell us that in many ways it appears to be a bellwether of things to come in the United States. It is growing by leaps and bounds, the diversity of the people is rapidly expanding to resemble what America’s diverse population will eventually…
Read MoreI think even those of us who grew up in the world before smart phones and the internet understand that funeral homes can gain in their marketing efforts by being actively involved in the social media world. However, common sense dictates that marketing dollars should be spread around. . .even to the point of doing…
Read MoreScott Turnbull is an Australian funeral director who has worked in that occupation for the past 25 years. In an article that you can read here from the Australian Financial Review Turnbull states that while some weddings take over a year to plan, funerals are generally planned and executed in one week or less and…
Read MoreLast October we brought you a story about an Austin, Texas, funeral home where the Texas Department of Banking (TDB) had opened an investigation. You can read about that story concerning the Austin-Peel and Son Funeral Home here. The investigation was opened because the TDB had reason to believe that the funeral home had illegally…
Read MoreSometimes if you listen to some of the younger self-proclaimed death care industry experts, you would think that funeral service is only about getting your brand name on social media. And sometimes I’ve been accused of being a little old fashioned in my thinking about how to build a brand in the death care industry.…
Read MoreLast week we examined the 3rd quarter financial results for Service Corporation International. When we did that we noticed, and told our readers, about the success that their preneed funeral services seemed to be having. We actually told readers to compare what they are doing in their own businesses to SCI to make sure that…
Read MoreThere are some interesting things happening in the financial world in Australia. Lately there has been quite a bit of publicity from the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation, and Financial Services industry about the financing of funerals while still living. My guess is that a lot of this has reached the public…
Read MoreIn an article and investigative video story that you can read and see here, an Austin, Texas based funeral home has been accused by the Texas Department of Banking of illegally collecting over half a million dollars of prepaid funeral payments from consumers. Illegal because the owner was not licensed to sell prepaid funeral plans.…
Read MoreA press release from A.M. Best that you can read here has revised the outlook to negative from stable for Funeral Directors Life Insurance Company of Abilene, Texas. The rating change also states that the negative outlook reflects the company’s “ERM” or enterprise risk management. The release also maintains that the company’s metrics “reflect the…
Read MoreIn two different articles that you can find here and here, the Life Insurance Council (LIC) reported on the results of their study of 2017 Preneed activity. The study found mixed results in that annual premiums for preneed life insurance was $1.3 billion – down 3% from 2016. The study also found that multi-pay policies…
Read More
