Preneed Growth Rate Increase from National Guardian Life Insurance Company

Madison, Wis. (September 15, 2025) – National Guardian Life Insurance Company (NGL) is pleased to implement a variety of growth rate increases on new Preneed policies, effective September 8, 2025.

“At NGL, our dedication to partners is rooted in collaboration, innovation and a focus on creating long-term growth,” says Cameron Black, Senior Vice President, Preneed Sales and Business Development, for NGL. “As a mutual carrier, we believe our success is also your success. With product growth rate increases across all our preneed insurance offerings, we are delivering sustainable results and reinforcing our commitment that positions all of us for continued growth today and tomorrow.”

Increasing the growth rate on its products allows NGL’s partner agents to offer customers even more competitive products that can better meet their preplanning goals. As a longtime leader in the insurance industry, NGL is dedicated to serving policyholders and partners by offering high-quality products that are also among the safest and most stable in the industry.

Specializing in a suite of insurance products, NGL prides itself delivering on its promises across generations with collaboration and compassion. For our partners we provide a competitive funeral prefunding portfolio, superior customer service, marketing materials and more.

About NGL

Established in 1909 National Guardian Life Insurance Company (NGL) is an insurance company headquartered in Madison, Wis. Licensed to do business in 49 states and the District of Columbia, NGL markets preneed and individual life and annuities, as well as group markets products. Information about NGL can be found at www.nglic.com; Facebook: Facebook.com/NGLIC and LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/national-guardian-life-insurance-company.

National Guardian Life Insurance Company is not affiliated with The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America a/k/a The Guardian or Guardian Life.

CANA Releases 2025 Annual Cremation Statistics Report: Shows National Cremation Rate Growth Slowing

WHEELING, IL— The Cremation Association of North America (CANA) continues its commitment to providing accurate and comprehensive cremation statistics to the death care industry and consumers. With over 25 years of data collection from state and provincial vital statistics departments, CANA’s cremation statistics are widely regarded as the most reliable and current in the field. The latest reports for 2025 have been released, featuring final 2023 cremation data, newly released 2024 data, and projections to 2029 and 2034. 

CANA’s research shows that the national cremation rate has grown steadily and predictably for the last 50 years, indicating that neither the recession nor the pandemic have influenced the growth rate on a national level. After decades of rapid growth in the United States, CANA can confirm that the national growth rate is slowing after reaching 61.8% in 2024. It is a common statistical occurrence for the growth rate to slow once it hits 80%. 

SLOWER, BUT STEADY GROWTH IN CREMATION NATIONALLY  

CANA’s 2025 Annual Statistics Report shows that the annual cremation growth rate is slowing overall. This supports the association’s observation over the past few years that the US is entering a “deceleration” period of cremation. The US is 15 years behind Canada, where the cremation rate surpassed 76.7% in 2024.  

By 2033, CANA research predicts the cremation rate in all states will reach or exceed 50%, with the national rate surpassing 70%. In 2025, there are only six states where the cremation rate has not yet reached 50%; six states and four provinces have already surpassed 80%. After adding a new color to the popular “heat” maps of cremation rates to highlight the individual states and provinces with cremation rates above 80%, CANA has now retired the color that indicated states where the cremation rate had not reached 30%. 

“These cremation statistics can be applied to a range of business decisions, helping you to weigh your options in a number of ways,” said CANA President Ryan Wiseman, co-owner of Porter Funeral Homes in Kansas City, KS, and Lenexa, KS, and the Cremation Society of Kansas and Missouri, which has four locations around the Kansas City area. “I can speak from personal experience about the value and practical application for this information when you’re looking for help to guide the choices you make on behalf of your business. The CANA statistics were fundamental in helping us make the decision to open our Cremation Society location 20 years ago. Based on the data in CANA’s annual report, we were able to project what the future was to bring and estimate what families would be looking for when a loved one would die.” 

OTHER FORMS OF DISPOSITION 

CANA tracks data on all forms of disposition, including the newest forms of cremation – alkaline hydrolysis (AH, also known as water cremation) and natural organic reduction (NOR, also known as human composting). Practitioners, consumers and media outlets often ask about the effect of new forms of disposition on the cremation rate, but CANA’s estimated data shows that AH and NOR processes remain a negligible factor at this point. They account for 0.3% in states where the methods are practiced and 0.1% nationally. AH and NOR are not currently affecting the cremation rates at the state, provincial or national levels. 

ABOUT CANA RESEARCH 

The Cremation Association of North America (CANA) publishes the Annual Cremation Statistics Report and other research to illuminate trends in the profession. This research is often used by the media to shape their articles and by CANA’s members to guide their future business plans. Derived from six data models, CANA publishes projections with accuracy, leaning conservative, to deliver reliable information to the leaders of the profession. 

In addition to the Annual Statistics Report, CANA will be conducting several other research projects to provide insights into cremation arrangement practices, modern cremation practices, and consumer awareness and preference for traditional and emerging disposition methods. The association remains committed to gathering accurate and comprehensive cremation statistics to serve the needs of the death care industry and consumers. 

CANA research is available exclusively for members of the association. For more information on CANA’s statistics, visit www.cremationassociation.org/IndustryStatistics. 

CANA Members can read the full report in The Cremationist or log in to www.cremationassociation.org/CremationistMagazine. 

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About CANA 

Founded in 1913, the Cremation Association of North America (CANA) is an international organization of over 3,700 members, composed of funeral homes, cemeteries, crematories, industry suppliers, and consultants. CANA members believe that cremation is preparation for memorialization. 

The percentage rate of cremation disposition for all deaths in the United States continues to rise, but the Cremation Association of North America (CANA) says in a recent press release that that rate is “decelerating” in its growth.  It is, however, a common statistical occurrence for growth rates to slow once the percentage hits a certain level.

CANA’s press release makes this comment:

“CANA’s research shows that the national cremation rate has grown steadily and predictably for the last 50 years, indicating that neither the recession nor the pandemic have influenced the growth rate on a national level. After decades of rapid growth in the United States, CANA can confirm that the national growth rate is slowing after reaching 61.8% in 2024.” 

The organization of over 3,700 funeral home, cemetery, crematory, industry supplier, and consultant members says that their newly released 2024 data “supports the association’s observation over the past few years that the US is entering a  “deceleration” period of cremation.  (CANA also suggests that) The U.S. is 15 years behind Canada, where the cremation rate surpassed 76.7% in 2024.”

CANA also predicts that by 2033 the cremation rate in all states will reach or exceed 50% and that the United States national rate will surpass 70%.

Finally, CANA points out that the new disposition methods of alkaline hydrolysis and natural organic reduction seem to be playing only a very small role in the overall picture as it pertains to the percentage of cremation dispositions.  The organization points out that presently those forms of disposition total only 0.3% of all dispositions in states where both methods are legally practiced.

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

Funeral Director Daily take:  The CANA annual statistics are very valuable in a Death Care provider’s planning.  There were approximately 3.09 million U.S. deaths in 2024.  At least one source believes that there will be about 3.87 million U.S. deaths in 2040.  That’s about 780,000 more deaths annually than today.  What perecentage of those deaths are cremations, earth burials, alkaline hydrolysis, and natural organic reduction makes a big difference to those in those businesses.

For instance if the cremation percentage rate rises it might mean that certain suppliers decide to enter the cremation manufacturing industry.  On the other hand, depending on whether the cremation rate gets to 70 or 80% might make a big difference to those in the casket industry.  The combination of decelerating rates of cremation percentages coupled with more deaths might give a leeway for casket industry unit status quo rather than lower numbers of units sold annually.

CANA has generally been “right on” with their predictions. . . . . Make sure that you brainstorm about what differing rates of cremation might mean to your business.

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“A servant’s attitude guided by Christ leads to a significant life”

If you ask my opinion, American borrowers have been somewhat spoiled by the low interest rates that we had had for almost the last ten years.  This article will tell you that from 2015 until into 2022 we never had Prime lending rates higher than 5.5% — and most of the that time period they were lower than 5%.  That contrasts with the incremental rate increases put in place until last month all the way up to an 8.5% Prime borrowing rate from 2022 into 2024.

The past two years interest rates have been rising causing your payments for everything from automobiles to credit card balances to be higher. . . simply because of that rate.  If you had a loan for your home or on your business that was an “adjustable rate” loan then you have seen your payments rise as that interest rate has risen.  For some people that has caused immeasurable problems with cash-flow — be it a business’ cash-flow or their personal expense cash-flow.

We’ve reached a point where the Federal Reserve Board now believes it is in the country’s best interests to begin lowering the rate (called the Federal Funds Rate) that they borrow money to banks at.  Lowering that rate in turn results in commercial banks being able to lower their rates to consumers and businesses and yet keep the “spread” that they need between the rates they pay to savers and the rates they collect from borrowers.

That “spread” is essential to banks because they have to be in a position that what they collect from borrowers is more than they pay to savers.  And, that “spread”, as well as some other fee income banks collect, is how banks pay their own business expenses and, hopefully, generate profits.

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

If you are in business, rates coming down may give you some opportunity.  Let’s just say you have a $500,000 interest only monthly payment set up for your funeral home business operations.  At 8.5%, the latest Prime rate before the recent rate cut, you would pay interest totalling $42,500 per year for that financing help.  The Prime rate is at 8.0% now, but within the next 6 months there are those who think it will come down to about 7% or less. . . At 7% that adjustable rate interest only payment would be only $35,000 annually.  . so you are saving $7,500 annually by the rates moving down.. . .That’s good for your business!!

It appears that we are in a rate-cutting environment now, and could be for some time.  My suggestion would be to watch as those rates come down and if you find a rate that you are comfortable with, then lock in with a “fixed-rate” loan.  Doing so takes some of the risk out of your operations.

Quite frankly, it’s what some of the big companies do.  We reported on Service Corporation International (SCI) selling 8-year bonds at 5.75% bonds earlier this month.  In essence that gives SCI capital at a fixed cost of 5.75% paid off over the next 8 years.  Here’s the article on that decision.

The “Flip Side” of paying interest —  For banks to have money to lend, they have to have money in the first place.  And, they do that by offering savings rates to those that want to deposit money in the bank to save, or deposit for other purposes like checking accounts.  The “flip side” of interest rates coming down is that those savers, many times retired people, will see less income because of the rate drops.

I had a discussion with the pastor of my church this Spring about an upcoming fund drive appeal that the church was embarking on.  My point was, as it looked like the Federal Reserve Board would eventually lower rates, to see the retired people in our church first. . . . while their saving rates were still historically high. . . .

For instance, our last fund appeal was in 2018 and a one-year certificate of deposit was at 0.6% at our local bank.  That meant that if a retired couple had $100,000 invested in that Certificate of Deposit they would receive $600 annually in interest from the bank.  This past Spring (2024) I was able to take out Certificates of Deposit at a 5.3% rate. . . which would mean someone with that same $100,000 invested would receive $5,300 in interest instead of that $600  —  $4,700 more annually than in 2018.

The thought process that I had was that “momentum” is a big thing.  Now that we are in a Federal Reserve rate cutting environment, retirees will see their next Certificate of Deposit potentially paying less interest and may feel the need to “tighten up” their expenses and make less of a commitment to the church project.

On the other hand, I felt it was probably best to wait, on the church appeal, to see young families and those with credit financing needs — homes, cars, education — when rates started going down they might see momentum with lower payents and they may see room to breath again from the high cost of credit.  If they caught that “momentum” then maybe their gifts would be larger.

What does this mean for your funeral home?  Let’s look at Preneed. —   If I was operating a funeral home in this coming rate-cutting environment, I would probably put more of my resources than normal into Preneed development and sales.  As interest rates come down, it might be a little easier to convince older adults that preneed would be a good investment. . . especially considering that they may not be able to get the same “relative high” rate of interest from their bank when renewing a Certificate of Deposit. . . It’s just a thought I have.

One final thought, and selling point, about preneed at this time.  Preneed companies are like banks and have to be competitive to get client accounts.  As interest rates fall, as aniticpated over the next year or so, preneed insurance companies are likely to lower their “guaranteed growth rate” as well.  Another good selling point may be to tell potential preneed clients that they are catching a higher growth rate than might be expected in the future. . . That’s just another thought I have.

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“A servant’s attitude guided by Christ leads to a significant life”