Ten Companies controlling the Funeral Industry-Your Funeral Guy

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There has been an article on Ten Companies Controlling the Funeral Industry. What is interesting in the article are the Newcomers Wall Mart and Amazon .com These companies have only entered the funeral industry in the last several  of years. This is an indication of traditional Funeral industry decline and the desire of folks to pay less in funeral cost.

Here is a summary of the funeral business from the Article

The death industry is a tale of two economies. A relatively few large companies, most of them publicly traded, control most of the businesses that sells caskets and granite for memorials. The rest of the death industry is made up of many modest businesses. Most of the 19,500 funeral homes in the country are small operations, often owned by the same families for generations. There are more than 120,000 cemeteries and many of these belong to families, nonprofits, and religious institutions.

via 247wallst.com

Here is al ist of the ten companies in the report.

Hillenbrand Inc-HI

Service Corporation International (SCI)

Walmart

Carriage Services Inc (CSV)

1-800 Flowers.com (FLWS)

Rock of Ages Corp(ROAC)

Stewart Enterprises(STEI)

Matthews International(MATW)

Amazon.com (AMZN)

Stone Mor Partners(Ston Mor)

Funeral Industry| Funeral News| Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy

 

 

 

 

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Many ways to save on Funeral with cremation-YourFuneralGuy

There are many ways that a cremation can save you money on a funeral. if You Choose  cremation you can rest Financially when you arrive at the mortuary. It is the most expensive part of a funeral. If that expense goes away it leaves room for more choices for memorial services, funeral video,  web casting and extended Celebration(s) of Life. It also leaves more for creativity in funeral personalization and funeral cost.

Even so, she said many consumers often use the savings from the cremation to buy other arrangements for their loved ones.

“They may make reductions in other areas to allow for flowers, video tributes and similar types of things,” she said. “If they do not have a casket burial, they may have some funds to allow for other memorial items.”

Stephen Gehlert, executive director of the Ohio Funeral Directors Association, agrees. “It’s all about what an individual chooses,” he said. “A funeral director’s job is to make sure you are comfortable with your decisions.”

via www.daytondailynews.com

Funeral industry | Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy funeral Director Illinois and Virginia

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Recession and Funeral Cost gains Media attention|Your Funeral Guy

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Recession and Funeral Cost are gaining attention -the attention of the Media. Today there was an interesting article in the Huffington Post On this subject.

Snippet:

In the past few recessionary years, most of us have gotten used to closely watching our expenses for everything from child rearing to college to retirement funding. Another important area where comparison shopping makes sense is funerals. Yes, funerals.

While it may not make for typical water cooler chatter, dying in America is expensive and the costs are often borne by grieving family members who are in no mood to haggle. Just as life insurance is meant to benefit family members of the deceased, planning funeral arrangements in advance can save survivors time and a significant amount of money.

via www.huffingtonpost.com

There have been other important articles on this subject in the New York Times and MSN  Money Central.

The Basic ways to save money on a Funeral are:

1. Shop around(Comparison Shopping)

2. Purchase your Casket on the Internet.

3. Choose cremation.

Funeral Industry| Funeral News Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy

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A Call for Funeral Industry Change:Deregulation of the States-Your Funeral Guy

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Funeral Industry change- needs to happen. And it can Through Deregulation. But It is not Federal deregulation. It is deregulation of the states. Consumer funeral cost will then be reasonable.

The case of Louisiana Catholic  monks has brought this issue to the nation’s attention. Catholics Monks in Louisiana are not allowed under  the law to make a living selling pine boxes(coffins, Caskets) because in that State Louisiana,  Only Funeral Directors can sell caskets in that state . The Monks have shown wisdom in suing the state of Louisiana, in an effort to break the funeral and casket cartel in that state.

In some states it is state law that trumps the “Funeral Rule“.  Deregulation of the Funeral  is quite simple The Funeral Rule Needs to trump State Law.

In the mid 2oth century this was not possible. 1st There was no funeral rule. Second most funerals did not include interstate commerce. Everything was handled by the local funeral home. Some would argue that is still the case. It is not the what happens.  In many funerals today interstate commerce is involved. Deceased Folks(dead bodies) are often transferred from State to State. Cremated Remains are also moved across the country freely.

We can freely use the interstate commerce clause to argue funeral industry state deregulation (or funeral rule preeminence=Federal regulation of the industry),

Funeral Directors and Funeral Homes, crematories etc still need to be licensed to prevent abuse(Psst.. Maybe) But that is where state law should end.The funeral rule needs to be the law of the land in every state. Funeral Director protections need to be eliminated.

Today we can argue for the preeminence of the funeral rule.

Funeral Industry|Funeral News|Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy

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CDTV Episode7:ConnectingDirectors.com getting into Your Funeral Wallet|YourFuneralGuy.

Significant Admissions  were made at ConnectingDirectors.com In CDTV Episode 7-

In this interview the webmaster with Connecting Directors.com admits he is not a funeral guy but a tech guy. The website  claims to be an expert site for  funeral directiors but the webmaster behind the curtain is a  Techie not a funeral director.

ConnectingDirectors.com

Perhaps that is why copying  and pasting the information and articles from others on the web  is how articles are presented.

In episode 7 the webmaster interviews  a VP From  Tributes.com about technology obituaries, memorials etc on the internet.

Tributes.com is one of the more expensive sites for memorials and obituaries on the internet. Lower Cost options are not mentioned and certainly not the free alternatives.. It is all part of an assault on the funeral consumer to find news things to charge you for at the funeral. Embracing the high end funeral options will not bring you in under the average cost of a funeral and take money out of your funeral wallet.

WARNING: THE FUNERAL INDUSTRY IS CHANGING, IN ECONOMIC TROUBLE  AND FUNERAL DIRECTORS NEED TO FIND NEW WAYS TO CHARGE YOU TO SURVIVE.

Funeral Industry|Funeral Blog By Your Funeral Guy

NFDA Confirms it:Folks spending less on Funerals, Caskets-YourFuneralGuy

The sale of traditional funerfal goods and services are in decline says the National Funeral Directors Association

The  National Funeral Directors Association is stating that The Lower Cost Funeral and the  Lower Cost Casket are king. Consumers are spending less on Funeral  Goods and Services, specifically caskets. Cremation is on the rise. Folks are moving away from traditional caskets(Batesville,York Aurora). In fact  NOT focusing on lower cost caskets was  one reason for  the leading casket maker Batesville Casket Company Revenue decline in 2009.

If anything, the fiscal constraints families are experiencing have taught people to be more selective or cautious with the money they have, especially with regard to such things as funeral expenses, said Daniel Biggins, spokesman for the NFDA.

“I think the economy has forced people to be better consumers,” Biggins said.

via www.ivpressonline.com

The  Funeral Industry is having  a hard time accepting this. Your funeral Guy got the boot at a Funeral Industry Site for saying  comments like “ye old traditional funeral world is dissipating” and suggesting low cost funeral homes as a business model.

Your Funeral  Guy began advocating  the low cost funeral in 2006, published a ground breaking book on the subject in 2008 and became a recognized Authority on Consumer Funeral Cost and Funeral News  in 2009.

Hillenbrand CEO(HI) Said Stage For Companies 09 Revenue Decline-YourFuneralGuy

The recession made 2009 the year of the Lower cost Funeral and Lower Cost Casket

The CEO of Batesville Casket Company parent Hillenbrand Inc(HI) set  the stage for funeral revenue decline at Batesville. IN a comment made on an Investor call Kenneth Camp stated.

It is not our intention to be the lowest-price provider out there. Funeral directors make more money selling caskets than they do buying them.
And when we have caskets that families can select from and see high value in, they’re better off financially.”

via cincinnati.bizjournals.com

In 2009 Families were not better off financially with higher price caskets.

As it turns out 2009 was the year of the Lower Cost Funeral and the LOW COST CASKET.

Report after report in 2009 showed cremation was on the rise. Newspapers carried stories about how people generally were purchasing lower cost funeral options.

The leading Casket company was significant Funeral News in 2009.

Funeral Industry|Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy.

Stewart Enterprises Financial Report |more Funeral Industry Decline-Your Funeral Guy

Stewart Enterprises INC has posted a 4th Quarter Revenue decline. Cutting of Salaries and expenses in the fourth quarter enabled the company to show a profit.

Fragile Economy is contributing to a Funeral Industry Decline

Revenues declined to $124.1 million from $130.36 million in the prior year quarter.

via www.rttnews.com

This another indication of funeral industry decline. Salaries and expenses cannot be cut forever. The Traditional Funeral Industry is on the brink.  It is an indication that  consumers are paying less for funerals, an are able to negotiate a  lower cost funeral.

Stewart Enterprises is the second largest funeral corporation in America. It’s financial reports, along with the largest corporation Service Corporation International can be taken as a measurement of the Funeral Industry.

Funeral Industry|Funeral Blog-Your Funeral Guy

Funeral Industry|Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy

Another Funeral Scandal Indictment(NPS)-YourFuneralGuy

National Prearranged Services pulled off their frauds with Life Insurance policies.

The National Prearranged Services Scam, will cost between 600 million and 1.6 billion dollars according to different estimates. It is by far the largest funeral Scam in the nations history.The indictments will continue finding their way to the founding Cassidy Family(owners). This preneed insurance  scandal went on for decades.

The tragedy here is three fold. 1)Funeral directors have to complete paperwork to get paid for these contracts from State Assurance Guaranty Agencies. Sometimes the reimbursement is not complete. 2)This is a massive taxpayer expense to pay on these contracts. These Costs get passed on to the consumer and the cost of traditional Funerals is raised.

And (3) The distrust of Funeral Directors and the Funeral Industry multiplies exponentially.

From St. Louis:

In August, NPS chief financial officer and director Randall Sutton, 63, of Chesterfield, was indicted on mail fraud, money laundering, and wire fraud charges.

Thursday, Sharon Nekol Province, 65 of Ballwin, was charged in a superseding indictment with five felony counts of mail fraud.

Province was president and office manager of NPS and held a position with an affiliated company.

NPS marketed the prepaid contracts as a way for consumers to ensure that they would not burden heirs with the cost of their funerals. The price they paid for a contract was used to fund a life insurance policy that would pay the actual funeral costs. But the indictment says that company executives and others knew as far back as 1998 that the anticipated costs were exceeding the anticipated insurance income by $98 million.

via www.stltoday.com

Funeral Industry|Funeral blog by Your Funeral Guy.

National Funeral Directors Association “ALLIED MEMBERS”-Your Funeral Guy.

Breaking News: National Funeral Directors Association ANNOUNCES  “ALLIED MEMBERS”-National Funeral Directors Association Expands Industry Control |The National Funeral Directors Association announced THE NEXT STEP (attempt) in expanding  control and influence across the entire funeral industry.  This  is an attempt at keeping the Traditional Industry alive and keeping consumers paying HIGH FUNERAL EXPENSES.

National Funeral Directors Association announces Allied Members

Many posts have been made here about the Funeral Industry Dying, and preneed being dead,

By taking this action they can charge more dues,  have more members, and increase their influence. Good for them, Yes.

BAD news for the American Consumer-Funeral Costs and Corruption will continue to Rise. They will have more money to Fight the Funeral Rule, the  Bereaved Consumers Protection Act and the”Funeral Bill of Rights “

Snippet From: NFDA “ALLIED MEMBERS”

“Any business or individual not otherwise eligible for membership in NFDA who is involved in a
field allied to the funeral profession may apply to become an Allied Member by making written
application to the Secretary of NFDA. If the Executive Board, after conducting its due diligence,
determines in its sole discretion that the applicant supports the funeral profession and NFDA, it
may grant the applicant the privilege of becoming an Allied Member.”

Funeral Industry|Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy

Source: Your Funeral Guy’s eight years of experience with the NFDA, his copyrighted book, including years of research on the National Funeral Directors Association.

More Explanation from an information site on the the National  Funeral Directors Association.