February 2017

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Page A20 FEBRUARY 2017 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS S ec t i on A
By MaryAnne Scheuble
Designing
Woman
CONTEST
ALERT:
and the Winner IS…
In the course of our lives, examples of excellence and
amazing achievements not only cause us to pause and take
note, but also inspire us. We create awards for and cele-
brate those who successfully challenge the way things are
and who seek to improve standard performance.
The Guinness Book of World Records, for example, is
known around the world as an “Achievement Encyclope-
dia” of sorts. One could be immortalized in that book and
forever be a part of history. Or, one’s record could be bro-
ken the next day. While I wouldn’t want to be known for
1) hot dog speed-eating, or 2) the fastest mile on a pogo
stick while juggling three balls, or 3) most tattooed senior
citizen, each one marks a pinnacle.
On the more serious side, the Olympics honor athlet-
ic prowess; Rhodes scholarships are presented annually to
academically exceptional students to further education;
JD Powers bestows business and marketing awards based
on consumer response and satisfaction each year. As an ex-
Pinnacle Awards presented by American Society of Furni-
ture Designers:
• Best Student Award –Medius Chair – all wood sculptural design
• Best Home Entertainment – Venue Console - mid-century
modern
• Best Lighting Design – Brass Universe Chandelier – echoes Al-
exander Caulder’s work
• Best Collection – Criteria Dining Set – classic yet sleek
It is important – whatever the industry - to acknowledge excel-
lence and innovation as well as to honor those who strive to achieve
outstanding performance. Superlative performance serves by exam-
ple to raise the bar for all. Everyone who tries will be a winner.
MaryAnne Scheuble, graduate of Wheeling Jesuit University,
is the Hekman furniture specialist to the memorial industry. Her
design experience began in the fabric industry which served as
a great basis for the transition to Interior Decorator with Ethan
Allen in Pittsburgh, PA. After 5 years in the education field, she
began her career with Cressy Memorial Group. For more than
10 years she has worked with funeral and cemetery business
owners, managers and marketing directors as well as interior
decorators. Her credits include presenter at ICCFA, two-time
speaker at OFDA, author of articles for The Independent, ICCFA
Magazine, and regular columnist for Funeral Home & Cemetery
News. A proud mother of two sons who are best friends, she
currently resides Mishawaka, IN. Contact MaryAnne by email at
or call 866-763-0485.
ample, in 2016 SCI received the
President’s Award in recognition
of its commitment to excellence
in customer satisfaction.
The interesting thing about
exceptional ideas or actions
is that once introduced, they
cause ripples of change. In the
design world, an interesting or
successful design seen this year
will be copied and altered and
adapted for years to come. The
Coco Channel suit has been
echoed in women’s designs
since its inception in 1921.
2. Note if a decorating challenge was addressed i.e.
converted storage area; architectural dilemma –
low ceiling or narrow space, etc.
3. Add a few sentences to explain what’s unique,
beautiful, comforting about the space.
4. Include visitor comments, if possible. (We’ll
take your word for it!)
Send email with photos by MARCH31 to:The De-
signing Woman – ,
with the subject line: Entry – Best Conversation Area.
The prize is a HowardMillerWingate Gallery Clock
(625-566) plus featured story in this newspaper!
Winner will be announced in May issue. (HINT:
Submit an entry before you put down this periodical
or you may become distracted.)
Frank Lloyd Wright’s inno-
vative corner windows for
Fallingwater built in 1939,
can now be found even in
modest buildings through-
out the U.S.
The following are current
award-winning designs for
decor. Look for modified
versions or variations on a
theme to appear at your fa-
vorite retailer over the next
2-10 years.
Medius Chair
Venue Console
Brass Universe Chandelier
Criteria Collection
Wingate 49” Gallery Clock
So, who offers de-
sign awards to me-
morial industry
businesses for their
well-designed or cre-
atively-worked spac-
es? Having set foot
inside hundreds of
locations, I can attest
that there are indus-
try professionals who
work hard to create
and maintain attractive facilities. I have toured through beauti-
fully memorable funeral homes and cemetery offices. Their busi-
nesses are designed to welcome, comfort and assure the bereaved
they will receive exceptional professional services.
Until now, however, there have been no Interior Design Awards
for memorial industry businesses.
You could join the ranks of “winners” by submitting an en-
try for the first Memorial Industry INTERIOR DESIGN
AWARD for Best Conversation Area.
To enter:
1. Submit photo(s) of seating area which accommodates two or
more people. Visitation rooms, hospitality spaces, arrange-
ment areas or any common space qualify.
Show us what sets your
business apart. Beautiful
décor honors your guests
and visually assures them
that your overall goal is
to provide the best care
possible – in every way.
And the winner is –
YOU!
“What do I need to know
to market the business
I just acquired?”
| 1-888-655-1566
For answers to questions like this, ask about Market Research from MKJ Marketing.
Potholes and Pitfalls: Hazards of Accepting Life Insurance
Assignments
loans that will be deducted from the final amount of life
insurance coverage? Were there any premiums due on the
policy on the date of death of the insured? If so, how much,
and for what premium periods? What is the net amount
payable under the life insurance policy after deducting out-
standing loans and premiums due? Who is the primary ben-
eficiary, and what is the relationship of the beneficiary to the
insured? Are there contingent beneficiaries, and, if so, what
are their names and relationships to the insured?
The insurance company representative has verified that all is
in order, the funeral director proceeds with the funeral, files
the life insurance claim with a certified death certificate, and
Murphy’s Law kicks in!
In a follow-up call to the life insurance company, the funeral
director is advised that the funds for the funeral assignment
were mailed to the beneficiary and have already cleared the
insurance company’s bank account. The funeral director is
advised that the insurance company accepts funeral home life
insurance assignments “as a courtesy to the funeral home”,
and has no obligation to send the funds to the funeral home.
Upon calling the beneficiary, the funeral director is advised
that the insurance proceeds intended for the funeral assign-
ment have been spent already; that the beneficiary has no
means to reimburse the funeral home the funds, and that the
funeral home can feel free to sue the beneficiary for the funds.
The funeral home is the loser.
The next funeral director calls the life insurance compa-
ny, and is told one of the following: The life insurance policy
lapsed and was reinstated in the two years next preceding the
insured’s death, making it “contestable”. In investigating the in-
sured’s reinstatement application, it was determined that the
insured failed to disclose some “health conditions”, so the policy
is void and the insurance company will only refund some pre-
miums paid, plus interest. Or one of the following occurs: the
beneficiary granted a prior assignment to an out-of-state funer-
al home that shipped the body to her funeral home, and the
prior assignment was paid, rather than her assignment; there
was an outstanding loan on the policy not disclosed during ver-
ification, so the check for the assignment will be less than the
amount assigned; there were premiums due on the insured’s
date of death that are being deducted from the funeral home’s
check; the person who signed the assignment was not the des-
ignated beneficiary, as confirmed during verification, and the
minor children of the insured are the beneficiaries, so those in-
surance benefits cannot be assigned to the funeral home to sat-
isfy the funeral contract; or there was a second beneficiary not
disclosed during verification who refuses to assign to the funer-
al home, so only half of the amount of the original assignment
will be paid to the funeral home. The list goes on!
Efforts to collect funds from life insurance companies in cir-
cumstances similar to the above are usually unsuccessful, be-
cause the life insurance company asserts that there is no con-
tractual relationship between the funeral home and the life
insurance company.
Thus, losses due to the acceptance of life insurance assign-
ments occur, for many different reasons. The only vehicle
through which the funeral home owner can insulate her-
self from such losses is to factor life insurance assignments
through a financially strong and reputable non-recourse
life insurance factoring company. Unfortunately, among
the dozens of such companies operating in the United States
today, only a few offer non-recourse funding of life insur-
ance assignments. Almost all offer only full recourse fund-
ing, holding funeral home owners fully liable for its losses due
to insurance company or other errors, including negligence
on the part of the life insurance factoring company’s employ-
ees and staff in verifying, processing and collecting on life in-
surance assignments. Working through full recourse factoring
companies, the hazards of accepting life insurance assignments
all apply, full of potholes and pitfalls!
Danny Smith is Director of Business Development for North
Carolina Mutual Financial, LLC, a nationwide life insurance
factoring company and a wholly owned subsidiary of North Caro-
lina Mutual Life Insurance Company. He is recognized by his peers
as a leader in the life insurance factoring industry, and has been
involved in over 100,000 life insurance claims during the span of
his nearly 20-year career. Danny can be reached by phone at (757)
714-7156, or by email at
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FUNERAL HOME &
CEMETERY NEWS