I have a retired Lutheran clergy friend who, when we were both working, was not hesitant to tell families that “Death should be inconvenient”.  That sentence usually came during an arrangement conference when families struggled to try to fit in a funeral or memorial service between grandchildren’s youth sports events, family vacations, and holidays.

It usually came at a time when a family members said something like “The timing of grandpa’s death is just inconvenient for us at this time. . . We loved grandpa, but it’s just inconvenient”.

The pastor wasn’t trying to be “glib’ with his comment.  We both believed that the “inconvenience” that needed to be figured into the plans showed a sense of “humanity” first thinking.  We believed, and still do, that the “inconvenience” of the situation also shows the importance of the situation as it revolved around a human life being lived, lost, and celebrated.

This “inconvenience” revolved around when a visitation, funeral, or burial might take place.  In the days of traditional casketed burial it was generally accepted that the services should take place within a week or ten days as the outside limit of time.  That’s when sporting events, family vacations, college studies, and the like entered into the situation and contemplation.

That introduction leads me to an article that I recently read in Funeral Service Times which is published in Great Britain.   The article pertained to the growth of funeral preneed plan operator Golden Charter and some of the reasons that they believe the 60% growth spurt of the company’s “Direct Cremation” offerings has occured.

While the company believes that their product answers the consumers demand for “simple, dignified, and affordable end-of-life care”, they also believe that growth of Direct Cremation is not all about price or a wish to forego a ceremony, but that a Direct Cremation offers the flexibility to plan a separate event at a “convenient” time and place.

Here’s what Sorya Kousourou, Chief Customer officer at Golden Charter, said of that situation, “We’re seeing a clear and growing interest in direct cremation as more people become aware of the simplicity and practicality it offers. Over the past five years, the number of customers choosing this type of plan has more than doubled.”

What’s made Golden Charter preneed plans popular according to the Funeral Service Times article (which is behind a paywall) is Golden Charter “. . has upgraded its direct cremation plan to cover all cremation costs, with no hidden charges for families, and locked in today’s price to protect against inflation.  Families will also benefit from 24/7 support and the option to personalise arrangements through Golden Charter’s nationwide network of over 2,900 local funeral directors.”

According to the Golden Charter website, which you can access here, the guaranteed one-time cost for a preneed account is US$ 2,537.  That website will also let you see what is included in that cost and what is not included.

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

Funeral Director Daily take:  I’m a firm believer that Direct Cremation came to North America as the “low cost alternative to the funeral”.   Today I’m not so sure that is the only reason why families choose the option.  Certainly, it is a big part of the reasoning, however, I do think the “convenience” of Direct Cremation also plays a very big part in the decision by many families.

I take a look at American society today and see “convenience” decisions everywhere.  The convenience of home product delivery through Amazon, the convenience of home education through online learning, the convenience of home dinner through DoorDash, the convenience of watching television “on demand” through streaming options, the convenience of ready-to-eat pizza slices, burgers, salads, sandwiches, and the like at Casey’s convenience stores.

I look at those “convenience” options and continue to see them growing in today’s society.  As a matter of fact, I’m a disciple of Peter Lynch when it comes to investing  —  investing not necessarily on the analytics of companies but on the trends one sees.  That has actually led me to invest in Amazon, DoorDash, Casey’s,and online learning company Stride over the years and those decisions all paid off.  I get that same kind of “convenience” trend feeling for Death Care at this time.

It’s unfortunate, but I see many North American families making sure that death is convenient by choosing Direct Cremation. . . . And, I think that continuity and growth of Direct Cremation will cause some real challenges for those in the high fixed-cost traditional funeral home business.

Disclaimer:  The author of this article for Funeral Director Daily is a stockholder of DoorDash and Stride.

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The other day I came across this article from Today’s Will & Probate publication of Great Britain.  The title of the article is “Regulation profoundly changing the dynamics of the funeral plan market“.

I think it portends continuing interest and expansion in funeral home preneed sales.  I also believe that some of the indications of the British market are noticeable in the United States market as well.  One of the items of interest to me in the article was that with British preneed market coming under more regulation on the funeral side, it appears that British clientele is now moving more to a “defined” death care services product for insurance than what they term an “Over 50’s Plan” of basic insurance that could cover funeral expenses.

The British article makes this comment, “Clients looking to secure their end-of-life arrangements may increasingly turn to funeral plans (including direct cremation) as a regulated, transparent, and practical solution. Advisers and will writers would do well to ensure clients understand the difference between a funeral plan (and the increasing variety of them) and a life insurance policy, particularly where funeral cost certainty, and ensuring funeral wishes are known, is a priority.” (Emphasis by Funeral Director Daily)

The point of that quote, in my opinion, is that preneed clientele is more and more looking for funeral and/or cremation cost certainty and are moving into those types of plans instead of simply purchasing an insurance plan, known in Great Britain as an “Over 50’s Plan” or in North America as a “Final Expense” plan which does not guarantee that funeral home payment certainty but allows for death benefits to be paid to a person or estate for distribution of final expenses, which would include funeral/cremation/cemetery costs.

It’s very difficult to get accurate numbers of the North American preneed market because most of the numbers include what many of us would refer to as “Final Expense” insurance and not necessarily “Preneed” insurance as sold by death care providers to explicity pay for the costs associated with funeral/cremation/cemetery expenses.

In either case it appears that the numbers are growing and if, like in Great Britain, clients increasingly want “price certainty” about funeral/cremation/cemetery expenses, then I would suggest that a market share shift between “Final Expense” and “Preneed” would favor a higher market share going to the Preneed side of the ledger as appears to be happening in Great Britain according to this graphic from the Today’s Wills & Probate article.

This October 2024 press release from the Life Insurance Council indicates that Preneed insurance grew by 8% year over year.

According to one report that I read, a potential increase in numbers of Preneed policies written is being driven by the following factors:

• Inflation Protection: A major driver for preneed insurance is the desire to mitigate rising funeral costs.
• Peace of Mind: Preneed planning provides peace of mind for both individuals and their families by pre-arranging and funding funeral arrangements.
• Demographic Shifts: An aging population and increasing awareness of end-of-life planning contribute to market growth.
• Multi-Pay Growth: The popularity of multi-pay options makes preneed insurance more accessible to a wider range of consumers. 

Funeral Director Daily take:  Prior to writing this article I had a couple of discussions with Preneed people.  In one discussion with a preneed sales counselor I learned that their market population had not really grown in the last decade but that they were doing double the sales volume as a result of not only more aggessive sales tactics but a growing consumer interest in the product.

Another friend I talked to who oversees a large multi-state distribution area of preneed told me, that in spite of growing cremation popularity,  the average face value of the policies written by his group continues to grow.  My take on that is that is one of the best ways of challenging the lowering of the “Average Revenue per Case” dilemma that some funeral homes are worrying about.

In both of these visits, I think it shows a positive trend for preneed and how it can help a funeral home grow market share and average revenue per call.  If you are not aggressively marketing preneed. . . . you should be.

Finally, couple those thoughts with what seems to be an improving consumer attitude for pre-death choices and cost certainty and include the expected increase in number of Americans over the age of 65 moving into the future and I look at the future of Preneed as very good.

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