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The Funeral Arrangements
By Michael D Johnson, Sr.
All funeral homes in the United States are governed by
the Federal Trade Commission Rule. Copies of both the
1984 rule and the newly revised rule (effective July 19,
1994)
The rule spells out what information must be provided to
the consumer and in what form. It specifies how items
are to be broken down on the arrangement contract and
contains certain disclosure statements that the funeral
director must make on that form. The rule is designed to
do two things: make it easier for the consumer to
comparison shop funeral homes for price, and, having
selected one, make funeral arrangements while being
presented with no deceptive pricing information. The
information and prices, relevant to the family's
decisions regarding the goods and services wanted, are
transferred by the funeral director to the arrangement
contract. That agreement is then signed by both parties
and a copy is given to the consumer. It is now a binding
contract of what the bereaved have purchased and attests
that the funeral home is in compliance with the rule.
The rule governs not only the arrangement contract, but
a General Price List and Outer Burial Container Price
List. These items must be made available to a consumer
who comes to the funeral home in person, and copies must
be available for him to take. These lists must also be
prominently displayed when arrangements are being made.
This gives the consumer the opportunity to price shop in
advance of the time of need. Funeral directors are also
required to give pricing information over the phone. A
word of caution to the consumer: I would never answer
the question "What does a funeral cost?" when asked over
the phone.
A funeral director cannot answer such a vague question
and hope to be accurate. He can tell consumers the total
for an immediate cremation. He can also give the cost of
each component item. But until the funeral director
actually makes a complete arrangement for a funeral, he
cannot include every necessary item and give an accurate
price. If a potential client were to receive an answer
to the question, "What does a funeral cost?" any quoted
figure would probably be a "low ball" to get the family
in his door.
The services or merchandise are broken down and
explained, and finally, a price range is given. The
average prices are taken from the "1990 Survey of
Funeral Home Operations" conducted by the National
Funeral Directors Association, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The
regions of the country, ranked from most expensive to
least, are as follows: most expensive: 1. New England,
2. Middle Atlantic, 3. East North Central, 4. West North
Central, 5. East South Central, 6. Pacific, 7. South
Atlantic, 8. West South Central, and least expensive: 9.
Mountain.
No matter how many synonyms we create "arrangements and
supervision" is the funeral home's charge for the
professional staff overhead. This figure never declines:
when families make arrangements for a funeral, they
automatically incur this charge. For a description of
what the funeral director does to earn this money,
Because it does not decline there is no leeway for the
consumer to save money here, with two exceptions:
immediate cremation and immediate burial. Both require
less professional supervision, i.e., less charges. There
are provisions for additional charges to be tacked on
for nonlocal necessities. If families are traveling to a
cemetery outside the local area, they will be charged
more because the funeral director has to take them there
and see to the interment. The same is true if he chases
down a death certificate or hires additional men not on
the payroll. (Price range = $700 to $890)
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