Posts Tagged ‘national prearranged services’

Home Funeral Movement|SCI in Colorado Lower cost Funeral License Fight

Colorado: Home Funerals, SCI, fight over licensing of Funeral Directors.

Colorado: Home Funerals, SCI, fight over licensing of Funeral Directors.

Colorado Licensing of funeral directors and Crematory operators as well as Home Funerals have been in the news lately. These stories are  happening both in the Colorado Media  and the New York Times.

In Colorado the State may past a licensing law for funeral directors. The waters on this are turning to blood. SCI (Service Corporation International)and Lisa Carlson are pulling strings behind the scenes. View on the Web

Are licenses needed for funeral directors? Colorado has not had them since 1982. There actually seems to be less problems, and less scandals than other parts of the country.

This does not compute. Licenses are supposed to keep people honest. This does not seem to be the case of late.

1.19 States- National Prearranged Services Scandal |2008.|-1Billion Dollars+.

2. Illinois- IFDA Preneed Trust Scandal|2008-2009|-59 Million dollars+.

3. Mississipi-|2008|Hundreds of Thousands in Preneed Theft

4 Virginia-|2009| Payment for Thousand s of funeral in doubt due to the VFDA sponsored Shenedoah Life.

5.Virginia|2009| Veteran Corpse abuse of Veterans Headed to Arlington National Cemetery by NYSE:SCI.

MORE: Legs cut off a corpse, NFDA Secretary in on IFDA Scandal,cremation of wrong body, list goes on.

AVOID SCANDAL:CHECKUP ON YOUR FUNERAL DIRECTOR|Have a lower cost funeral.

Lower cost funeral guy Your Funeral Guy|RBrianBurkhardt



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Tuesday, April 21st, 2009

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Posted in IFDA, IFDA Preneed Trust, Illinois, Lisa Carlson, funeral, funeral director, home funeral, illinois funeral directors association, new york times, preneed, prepay, your funeral guy | No Comments »

admission ILLINOIS FUNERAL DIRECTORS ASSOCIATION 2ND LAWSUIT-Lower Cost Funeral Guy.

On Friday I received an E-Mail from Duane Marsh Exec. Director of the Illinois Funeral Directors Association. He was mentioned in Press Reports this past week. In the E-mail to members he admitted to the second lawsuit reported in the press and urged IFDA members to wait out the outcome before leaving the IFDA. Here is the E-Mail.

IFDA E-News Bulletin
Feb 6, 2009

Hi Robert!

In this issue, you’ll read:
Executive Director’s Message: Where Do We Go From Here?

by Duane Marsh

“Many of you know that a lawsuit was filed by six funeral directors seeking damages regarding the Trust. Over the next several months information will be gathered and the courts will evaluate the facts and make a ruling. These findings will end the speculation of the past several months.

My question, though, as the new Executive Director, is where do we go from here?…………..As I have talked with funeral directors across the state, I have come to realize that some are contemplating their membership renewals. My only hope is that you, as I, have realized that a statewide association of funeral directors is necessary if we are to deal with the complexity our industry has faced and will face. I have a vision and want the chance to deliver on that vision.

Funeral Cost hangs in the balance

Funeral Cost hangs in the balance

Now one may ask what does this little e-mail have to do with my funeral cost and a Lower Cost Funeral.

The losses last year between the National Prearranged Services Scandal (NPS) and the IFDA Scandal  come to over 1.6 Billion Dollars. That is above 10% of the amount of money that  the Funeral Industry does in 1yr.

The funeral industry is a 15 Billion dollar a year business according to industry experts. Reasonably the ONLY way to overcome that loss is to raise the average cost of a funeral.Illinois was hit by both scandals. There needs to be radical change.

Funeral Industry blog by Your Funeral Guy-Lower Cost Funeral Guy


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Sunday, February 8th, 2009

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Posted in IFDA, Nps, average funeral prices, blog, funeral, funeral cost, funeral director, funeral industry, funerals, lawsuit, preneed, your funeral guy | No Comments »

Not a Lower Cost Funeral: IFDA Lawsuits

Every Funeral Dollar is Important

Every Funeral Dollar is Important

The Illinois Funeral Directors lawsuit matters because Your Funeral Money Matters. Every funeral dollar is important as is Your Loved One. This is brought home to the consumer by looking at preneed trusts as a tool to handle your funeral cost. In Illinois there are now two lawsuits against the Illinois Funeral Directors Association around  their trust fund.

One lawsuit is from last November and another one is from January 2009. One is a consumer protection lawsuit that is seeking to become a class action suit and another is a lawsuit by six funeral homes in Illinois. The comptroller’s office in  of the State of Illinois states that funeral homes have to honor their contract with Consumers.

When Funeral Money is  mismanaged by Funeral Industry companies or Funeral Homes your funeral costs rise.  Cost goes up for the consumer and providers because funeral directors have to make up for their losses.

In 2008 there were two major fund losses in 2009, NPS or National Prearranged Services (300-500 Million Loss) and the IFDA 59 million Loss.

Sadly folks are still purchasing policies from the IFDA preneed trust. This according to current IFDA President James Bosma.

”

IFDA E-News Bulletin
Jan 30, 2009

Hi Robert!

In this issue, you’ll read:
President’s Message: It’s a New Year


by Jim Bosma”

“On another front, the new IFDA Trust is doing really well. The Trust is enjoying great activity from deposits and its performance in November and December was positive – even with the dismal economic performance of the nation’s economy. That’s more good news.”

Why are people still buying Illinois Funeral Director Association Preneed Trust policies?

If some one for undisclosed reasons lost 59 million in a fund. Would you put one more dollar of your money in the fund?

Maybe it is because folks do not know the dangers involved with preneed funds.

Please do not put $1 in preneed

Please do not put $1 in preneed

Please do not put your dollars in preneed funds, do a low cost funeral instead.——-Your Funeral Guy

Sources-E-Mail from the President of the IFDA.and

Galesburg.com Articles.

Article1:

“Funeral Home Lawsuit alleges Ponzi Scheme”

Article2:

“Customers Sue over Funeral Home Investments”

Article3 :”Funeral Homes required to cover Preneed Contracts”

ponzi tidbits graphic from POnzi Website.


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Wednesday, February 4th, 2009

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Posted in IFDA, IFDA Preneed Trust, blog, funeral, funeral cost, funeral industry, illinois funeral directors association, lower cost funeral, pre need, preneed, your funeral guy | No Comments »

Preneed is Not Lower Cost Funeral Friendly

Why Did he spend money on Preneed? We needed it.

Why Did he spend money on Preneed? We needed it.

Preneed  more often than not is  a “bait” and switch situation. It really does not lower your funeral cost and does not help your Funeral Expenses. It raises them. Would’nt it be better to put  the money in a bank account of your own rather than the funeral director’s? No Rest in Peace with Preneed in the funeral industry.

Recently a new group of preneed folks were hired in California.. Preneed sales people were hired out of Baskin Robbins. Snippet:

“that the lack of respect of the former Baskin Robbins management -what they believed were playful joking remarks to described their career switch as moving “from one freezer to another” which they all too often used to describe their career transition from ice cream freezers to the mortuary freezers.” This happened in Whittier, California.

In 2oo8 the lack of respect turned into huge financial deficits causing many traditional funeral funeral directors to raise their prices.

Simply put these Scandals put a squeeze on  funeral profits:

In Illinpis there was the IFDA Preneed Trust Managment  Debacle 40 Million.

In Missouti there was the National Prearranged Trust theft 300-500 Million. This affected many other States.

In Colorado there was the Neptune Society bait and switch preneed scandal of 2 million+.

Last  but not Least Stewart Enterprises (2nd Largest Funeral Corporation) received a cease and desist order for lying to the Securities and Exchange 0n December 29th. Commission (SEC) about preneed.

Preneed Scandals Cost Funeral Homes money because they pickup the tab in the aftermath. In most cases the loss of these funds pressure funeral industry people to raise  your fee. This raises the average cost of a funeral.

Blog By Your Funeral Guy, author,


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Monday, January 5th, 2009

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Posted in IFDA, IFDA Preneed Trust, funeral cost, illinois funeral directors association, lower cost funeral, rest in peace | No Comments »

No Lower Cost Funeral here: Are Illinois Funeral Consumers whipsawed?

No Lower Cost Funeral here: Illinois Funeral Homes and consumers Whipsawed!

The Preneed Scandals with the Illinois Funeral Directors Association and the National Prearranged Services (NPS) have caused Illinois Funeral Directors to be whipsawed.

This has happened to hundreds of Funeral Homes across the state. From the IFDA itself on Merrill Lynch take over as trustee of the IFDA Preneed Trust.

“We are hopeful that a plan can be fashioned to restore earnings to funeral directors over the long term.”–Earnings from the IFDA Preneed Trust have proven a great loss to funeral directors in the State of Illinois.

With the new valuation “mark to market” in the Merrill Lynch agreement. The loss of preneed commissions to funeral directors is quite high.  You can be quite sure that the cost in traditional funerals is being passed on to  Illinois consumers.

The funeral homes in Illinois who went with  NPS/Lincoln definetly were whipsawed as well. The funeral home owners here are receiving no commissions from these folks and may be a good portion of the folks funerals as well. This according to a preneed lawyer. It is more than obvious that these costs also go to the consumer looking for a lower cost funeral.

Have Illinois funeral purchasers been whipsawed by these scandals? It appears so.

Blog Presented by Your Funeral Guy, Author, Funeral director


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Monday, December 15th, 2008

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Posted in IFDA, IFDA Preneed Trust, Merrill Lynch, funeral cost, funeral director, funeral directors blog, illinois funeral directors association, lower cost funeral, your funeral guy | 2 Comments »

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