Funeral Insurance

Will preneed methods change?

By Funeral Director Daily / May 7, 2021 /

As many times happens with me, I learn something from a  news item or items and then try to convert that knowledge to the funeral industry and try to figure out if or how what I’ve learned will translate to our profession. So was the case this week when I saw some public relations for…

Assurant looks to make changes. . .including divesting Global Preneed division

By Funeral Director Daily / November 2, 2020 /

Last week Assurant, the large financial conglomerate with operations in 21 countries, announced that they would acquire mobile device software as a service (SaaS) business HYLA.  You can read about that in this Associated Press release. In conjunction with that announcement, Assurant also made other announcements including a strategy to divest themselves of what they…

Life expectancy, funeral choice, and the effects on revenue

By Funeral Director Daily / October 21, 2020 /

Yesterday Funeral Director Daily published an article about cemeteries and in that article we made the assertion that the COVID experience of 2020 will probably have some type of long-term effect on funerals going forward.  That statement was made mostly in reference to what has happened with funeral attendance due to the social distancing practices…

Afternoon Edition: Smith Family Funeral Homes acquires insurance company

By Funeral Director Daily / October 12, 2020 /

Smith Family Funeral Homes of North Little Rock, Arkansas announced last week that they have acquired American Home Life Insurance Company, also of North Little Rock.  Interestingly enough, American Home Life Insurance Company was founded by the grandfather of Smith Family Funeral Homes current President Jeff Smith. Smith was quoted in this article from Arkansas…

Selling preneed. . . . positively

By Funeral Director Daily / October 7, 2020 /

Ask ten different consumers and you will get ten different opinions on “insurance”.  Especially, life insurance.  Some think it is necessary, some think it is a waste of time, some love the peace of mind it can bring, some will say let my survivors deal with the money after my death. You get the idea.…

Come together . . . . .The Domani Group and Homesteaders Life Company

By Funeral Director Daily / September 24, 2020 /

The other day we received a press release announcing that “The Domani Group joins forces with Homesteaders Life Company”.  In that release, which you can read here, it announced “The Domani Group, a leader in preneed and aftercare solutions for funeral homes, is pleased to announce it is joining forces with Homesteaders Life Company.”   This…

Know your responsibilities with live streaming

By Funeral Director Daily / September 17, 2020 /

Every once in a while I read an article and I think to myself, “Wow, that should never have happened”.  However, if I’m honest with myself, I can see how that did happen and usually think about what my mom used to say, “If not for the grace of God, there go I”, because it…

Assurant Global Preneed division reports slight revenue increase, less operating income

By Funeral Director Daily / August 7, 2020 /

Assurant defines itself as “a leading global provider of lifestyle and housing solutions that support, protect and connect major consumer purchases”.  The company released its 2nd Quarter 2020 results on Tuesday, August 4, and in doing so reported a Net Income of $173.5 million, which is up 24 percent from the same period in 2019. …

Financial Literacy . . . . the need to teach it.

By Funeral Director Daily / July 24, 2020 /

When it comes to “Financial Literacy” I consider myself one of the lucky ones who had a father who insisted that his children learn about how to manage whatever income it was that you made.  My dad was a business man, and in our house growing up, not only were we expected to learn the…

The savings rate and what it can do for preneed and cemetery sales

By Funeral Director Daily / June 1, 2020 /

It’s not even noon on Sunday yet and I’ve had a pretty good day already.  Minnesota has allowed churches to open at 25% of capacity so my wife and I attended church today, albeit wearing masks and sitting far from anybody else, for the first time since mid-March.  Also, singing was banned for just instrumental…