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How Funeral Home Directors Can Offset the High Cost of Dying

Posted by Maria Shayna Tzouvelekis | Fri, Dec 11, 2015 @ 10:00 AM

Chances are, most Americans can't afford to die — die and have a proper burial, that is. The cost of a decent funeral is skyrocketing. The National Funeral Directors Association compared prices for funeral processions and services from 2004 to 2014 and discovered that the previous cost of $6,580 for a viewing, burial and often required funeral vault is now $8,508.

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Itemized fees include $700 for embalming, $420 for utilizing the facilities and staff for the funeral, $318 for renting a hearse, and we haven’t even addressed the cost of a cemetery plot or mausoleum where prices are generally a function of the local real estate market. For example, in Santa Rosa, California, burial plots may cost $1500 – $5500 depending on the location. Finally, grass-level headstones start at $200 while single upright monuments are $1500 and up.

What does this dramatic increase in cost mean for the families of the recently departed?

For those not having the nearly $9,000 needed for modest funeral expenses or even the $2,000 for non-declinable basic services, this steep price may turn away some in their time of need. The opportunity to honor deceased loved ones at visitations and funerals enables survivors to publicly acknowledge their loss and begin the grieving process.

One relevant question that funeral directors and associates should be asking themselves is: "How can I ease the financial burden that grief stricken families are incurring while maintaining my funeral home’s code of ethics when selling our services?" 

According to the Funeral One blog, having an ethics program is a crucial component of operating a funeral home. The need for ethics programs is further underlined by the California Funeral Directors Association (CFDA) which recommends that directors "extend any assistance necessary in offering service in individual cases of actual hardship."

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Some directors may not want to focus on ethics when sales are down. Nevertheless, it is important to consider the needs of grieving families who will be approaching at their time of greatest sorrow when business is tanking as well as when it is booming. 

While each funeral home’s code of ethics may differ, the CFDA commits themselves to performing services respectfully and honestly, being fair in all deals as well as conducting services to meet religious and other personal needs of the bereaved.

The CFDA doesn’t omit the importance of making a profit and neither should you; they want you to “encourage the advancement of all facets of funeral service.”

How can funeral home directors ease this financial burden and stimulate sales? Be a problem solver.

The goal, of course, is to stimulate sales growth while addressing the surviving family members’ financial concerns.

CrossCheck can provide your Funeral Home with Multiple Check to ease the financial burden on families that may otherwise turn away or be turned away. Not only does Multiple Check allow survivors to afford the most necessary services for their decedent, but it may enable them to purchase the additional services that they truly desire for their loved ones.

With Multiple Check, families write 2-4 checks to be deposited by your funeral home over an agreed upon period of time as dictated by your service agreement with CrossCheck. There is no credit check, it is not financing and the best part is, all payments to your funeral home are guaranteed. Click below to learn more.

 

 

Topics: Funeral Homes

Written by Maria Shayna Tzouvelekis

Maria Shayna Tzouvelekis is an Inbound Marketer at CrossCheck in Petaluma, CA.