It was only a couple of short months ago that Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed a new bill into law which allowed for less regulation in the preneed insurance business in that state.  Proponents had argued that unless there was more freedom in how preneed companies controlled their growth rates more and more companies would pull out of the state because of the difficulty to become profitable.  At that time Funeral Director Daily published this article about the Michigan situation and remedy for it.

 

We just learned the other day that in that short period of time preneed insurance provider Wellabe has made arrangements to make their products available in Michigan.  Wellabe also announced that 25-year industry veteran Doug Stolt will be leading their expansion into Michigan.  If you are a consumer preneed provider and want to learn more about offering Wellabe products you can click here to learn about the Wellabe and their upcoming Michigan expansion.

 

We also learned in December that Homesteaders Life Company would be increasing growth rates on preneed policies as was mentioned in this December press release.  Here’s a short part of that release announcing this initiative, “. . . (Homesteaders) has announced a growth rate increase of an average of 60 basis points for all new business and an increase of six basis points for most in-force policies. These growth rate increases are in addition to the 30-basis-point increase that took effect in March of 2023 and are among the highest from any nationally ranked preneed provider.”

 

In that press release Homesteaders President, CEO, and Board Chair Steve Shaffer made these comments, “We know that increasing growth rates and paying competitive commissions is incredibly important to help ensure our funeral home customers’ success. . ” 

 

The press release commented that the growth increases will take effect on January 15, 2024.

 

Finally, we bring you Episode 34 from Funeral Directors Life production of “FD Talks”.  This episode recaps on some of the lessons learned and discussed on previous FD Talks podcasts and is entitled, “2023 Recap:  7 Key Funeral Home Lessons to Remember”.

 

Funeral Directors Life “teaser” on the podcast says this about it, “Hear from funeral experts on how to prepare for another year of caring for families by meeting your community’s needs, using a digital marketing strategy, growing as a funeral professional, and more”.

 

To access the podcast click here.

 

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