Funeral Professionals are among the most organized, detail oriented people in the world. They constantly make sure that everything is “just right” for every family they serve. The paperwork related to a funeral service is meticulously gone over again and again to ensure everything is absolutely correct. Obituary notices are scrutinized for punctuation and spelling. Death certificates are painstakingly reviewed to ensure every single letter, word and spacing is precise. Nothing is left to chance. Everything must be right, the first time around.
    This attention to detail is drilled into every funeral director’s head throughout their Mortuary School experience, apprenticeship and beyond. It must be flawlessly correct every single time – period!
    Why then, do so many funeral directors not take this mindset into their pre-need insurance agreements? As the Vice President of Marketing for a major pre-need insurance and funeral trust company, I have lost count of the number of funeral goods and services contracts and/or insurance application forms that are routinely submitted for issuing with a multitude of the same errors, mistakes and oversights. This situation is not just limited to my company. It’s pervasive across all pre-need insurance companies.
    Here are some of the most common mistakes:

• Missing, partial or illegible information is submitted
• Insurance replacement question(s) are not answered
• Insurance plan type and payment plan are not clearly marked
• Irrevocable Assignment is not properly completed and/or signed by policy owner and funeral home representative.
• Power of Attorney, Guardianship, Conservatorship copies are not submitted with contract
• Health questions are not answered
• Wrong forms are submitted
• Beneficiary section is not properly filled out
• Insurance agent did not sign all the submitted paperwork in all the appropriate areas
• Age listed does not correspond with the birth date provided
• Social Security Number of the insured is missing

    Today’s pre-need funeral contract becomes tomorrow’s at-need funeral service. Don’t your families deserve the extra time it takes to review all your pre-need paperwork with the same attention to detail you provide in an at-need situation? Of course they do.
    I would appeal to you to please take a few extra minutes to review all your pre-need insurance paperwork, before you leave your meeting with the family, to make sure that every single area has been properly dealt with. The little extra time it takes, will make the issuing of your policy (and subsequent commission payment) go that much smoother and faster.

    Thank you to everyone who has been e-mailing me your thoughts, suggestions and ideas for the development of “The World’s Greatest First Call Sheet”. I have heard from Funeral Directors from almost every state. (Except Hawaii, Alaska, Oregon and Wyoming) I have already received some really good ideas. I need to hear from YOU! Layout, design and printing of the first call sheet pads will take place in December 2015. They will be ready to freely distribute to anyone who requests a pad or two or three in January 2016. Send your thoughts to me at cpkuhnen@gmail.com.