A New Year is almost here and with it comes the renewed expectations of all things better and new. Anticipation runs high among funeral home owners at this time of year. Most keep their fingers crossed and hope that 2015 will bring with it an increase in the number of death calls, improved accounts receivable, higher profit margins and increased pre-need sales. While more pre-need sales can be viewed as a positive step forward, they can also bring trepidation at the thought of future funding shortfalls. It doesn’t need to be this way.

  There are concrete steps you can implement today, which will help minimize your pre-need shortfall risk tomorrow. Spreading your prearranged funeral funding contracts out over a variety of different pre-need insurance companies is perhaps the single most important rule you can follow. The age of one size fits all is done. Just because one particular pre-need insurance company best fit your needs five years ago, doesn’t mean they are right for you today. There are a lot of good, solidly performing companies out there today. Take a good hard look at all of them. Compare all their product features and benefits against each other. Beware of the soothsayers! A number of pre-need insurance companies have come and gone in this industry over the past 25 years. If a company tells you that they offer the highest policy growth, lowest premium rates, highest commissions, best incentives, free trips, best casket protection, free marketing programs, etc.…RUN! The reality is no pre-need insurance company can offer you the very best in every single category, age band and possible situation and remain profitable. Eventually the bottom falls out and you are the one left holding the bag. Ever had insurance companies lower your family’s pre-need policy growth rate to next to nothing?

  If you diversify your pre-need insurance carriers, your pre-need block of business performance should fluctuate less because shortfalls from some companies are offset by gains in others. Therefore, you should have less risk than if you put all your money in one company. Think about the advice your own Financial Investor gives you. Aren’t you told to diversity your financial portfolio?

  Today’s economic investment environment is the same for everyone…lousy! Therefore you must think and act differently than you have in the past. Diversification also makes sense because no single pre-need insurance company’s products, rates, commissions, and policy growth performs the very best in all age bands, circumstances and environments. For example, in a diversified portfolio, a decline in policy growth with one company may be offset by higher commissions from another. One particular carrier may offer you terrific single payment rates, while another may be better with multi-payment plans. Don’t forget the early pay-off options. They differ between companies and can impact the overall success of your program. Not everyone can afford to pay you in full for their funeral plan today. Their money is presently tied up in one way or another. However, they will have access to that money in about six to nine months. Why wait to get them started on their pre-paid funeral prearrangement plan? Get them started today with a low cost monthly payment plan and then pay off the remaining balance when their funds become free to do so. If you deal with an insurance company that has a liberal early payoff plan, it makes this transition so much simpler and smoother for everyone.

  Keep in mind that a diversified strategy does not eliminate all risk or guarantee total success. It does offer a way for you to earn potentially higher overall financial returns over time without exposing you to the greater risk of the changes and mood swings of dealing with just one company. My advice for your pre-need program in 2015? “Don’t put all your eggs in just one basket.”