By Thomas A. Parmalee
Before it inked a pact with Express Funeral Funding to make insurance assignment funding available at all its funeral homes, Carriage Services was probably like most other big death-care companies.
Some locations offered an insurance assignment option, and others did not.
But that’s all changing under the national partnership with the nation’s largest privately held insurance assignment funding company, according to Steve Metzger, president of Carriage Services.
“Most families don’t think about it, and they are not aware of it,” he said. “And to some extent, many funeral homes are not thinking about it. But we feel it is important; it provides some options and offers families flexibility.”
Every family is different, and their circumstances are different, too, Metzger said. “Financial situations are going to vary. So, we think it is important to make sure we present as many options for them to consider as possible.”
It’s not a revenue maker or anything the funeral home gets paid a fee for, but it is the right thing to do, Metzger said.
“We want to make sure families have flexibility and options,” he said.
After the deal was announced, Carlos Quezada, the CEO of Carriage Services, said, “We are excited to expand our partnership with Express Funeral Funding across all our businesses. EFF is a company that shares our commitment to quality and creating premier experiences for all families.” He added, “This partnership will not only broaden our product offerings, but also strengthen our focus on delivering class-leading solutions to the families we serve every day.”
The Right Partner
Picking the right national partner in such a critical process was key, Metzger said, noting that funding delays can complicate funeral arrangements for families.
Likewise, if there are customer service issues with an insurance assignment provider, it can hurt the brand that the funeral home has worked so diligently to elevate, he said.
“You are introducing another party into the equation at a difficult time,” Metzger said. “You want to be sure they are getting first-class treatment and service.”
The point is, as far as a family is concerned, a third-party service provider that you use to carry out such an important function is an extension of the funeral home, Metzger said.
“I think first and foremost, most families are not aware this is an option for them,” Metzger said. “It is up to us and Express Funeral Funding as our partner to make this simple and straightforward.”
The process itself is not complicated, Metzger emphasized.
“If you have a life insurance policy vehicle, it is there to help you fund your arrangements if you so choose,” he said. “It can take the pressure off – especially if there are other financial considerations – so you can fund funeral arrangements. It is as simple as that.”
Stated simply, an insurance assignment is when the family brings in a life insurance policy to assist in paying for a funeral.
While a family is under no obligation to use an insurance policy to pay for a funeral, many of them find this to be convenient. In these cases, they must bring in their insurance policy information, including the name of the company and the policy number. It also helps to know the death benefit amount, the beneficiary, and if any loans have been made against the policy.
When done right, the entire process can be explained to families in 30 to 60 seconds, Metzger said.
“Our experience is that it is a 24-hour process to get claims submitted and funds assigned through Express Funeral Funding,” he said. “Sometimes, it may be a little longer depending on the company on the other side.”
If the process takes longer than 72 hours, that’s very rare, he said.
“One of the great things about Express Funeral Funding is you can get real time updates from various life insurance companies on the claims process,” Metzger said. “So, you know how quickly your claim is tracking.”
Carriage Services has been fortunate to have previously worked with Express Funeral Funding for many of its claims, Metzger said. It has also worked with some other providers as well, he said.
“The only time there has been a delay is if there are questions surrounding a policy or a challenge with a particular life insurance company,” he said. “Express Funeral Funding has done a really good job of being an intermediary with us to push the process along, and if there is a unique circumstance attached to the policy for whatever reason, they have gotten us that information quickly. There has been communication along the way whenever those experiences have happened.”
There was a formal process in determining which insurance assignment provider Carriage would work with on a national basis, Metzger said.
“We wanted to make sure we were picking the best partner,” he said.
The major change that will come as a result is breadth – the option will be broadly available at all Carriage locations, Metzger said. Previously, it was available at less than half of its locations, he said.
“We are in the process of going through the introduction at all our funeral homes that are not currently using Express Funeral Funding,” he said. “We are focusing on how to best present it to the family, so it is simple and straightforward.”
The primary goal with the initiative is to make sure customers have a great experience, Metzger said.
“Over time, it feeds our long-term goal of providing the best experience in the profession,” he said.
But there could be other benefits that tie into market share and profitability, including the fact that some families may have money left over from a life insurance policy and think about making prearrangements with remaining funds.
“We can see very small policies, where some of the funds can be used to partially pay for services … but even for those, it helps families to be able to make a partial payment,” he said. “Others are multi-million-dollar policies.”
Those policies can be used to pay for an at-need funeral service as well as prearrangements and even cemetery estates to serve as a special place to honor the entire family, he said.
“For us, this is all about helping families realize what their options are,” Metzger said.
Within the next 60 days, all Carriage Services locations will offer an insurance assignment funding option through Express Funeral Funding, Metzger expects.
“My hope is that all our peers would also take a look at this, regardless of who their partner is,” Metzger said. “Sometimes, we lose sight of the fact that this is an expensive service and product we sell. While we know what the prices look like, it is often their first introduction, and it is usually a shock.”
When you can help a family realize that there are tools they can take advantage of to honor a loved one the way they would like to do so, rather than just in the fashion they think they can afford, it can lift a heavy burden, he said.
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