As I write this month’s column, I am sitting in a hotel room in Seymour, IN on my way to attend the Indiana Funeral Directors Association state convention in Indianapolis. I just spent the last several days in Murfreesboro, TN at the Tennessee Funeral Directors Association state convention. I also attended state funeral director association conventions in Ohio, Wisconsin and Iowa.

  The large number of pre-need insurance companies that were exhibiting at these conventions stood out to me. I have been in this profession since 1986 and can’t remember seeing so many exhibiting pre-need insurance companies. Not to mention the number of independent third party pre-need marketers that were also exhibiting. It was staggering! All the usual national pre-need insurance companies were represented along with some established regional players. I even saw a new entrant into the pre-need insurance market in attendance. There were so many pre-need insurance and other closely related companies, that I almost forgot I was attending a funeral directors convention. It looked and felt more like an insurance convention.

  So, with all these companies exhibiting in state after state after state; what were the differences between them that really stood out to me? What made their particular “brand” so much better than all the others? Why should I use their pre-need insurance products and not somebody else’s? As I walked the various convention aisles, and visited each of the pre-need insurance exhibit booths, I was sure I’d find my answer. After all, wouldn’t each company highlight on their display booth, the features and benefits of “their company’s products and services” compared to the marketplace? I started to take notes and began to compare one company against the next. What I quickly discovered both shocked and greatly disappointed me!

  All the pre-need insurance company’s looked alike. They may have used different language and color schemes, but the message was all the same, all vanilla. Here are a few of the features and benefits they all claim they provide funeral homes: fast, friendly and responsive customer service; pre-need insurance products that are the best in the industry; unequaled marketing services; speedy, hassle free claims service…get your check now; competitive policy growth; high commissions; child, grandchild and great grandchild protection plan and customer relationship management system.

  If I didn’t know better, I would think that all the pre-need insurance companies got together and jointly agreed on what their talking points would be and all did it.

  As I reflected further, it dawned on me that, since 2008, we have had ever declining interest rates; extremely low 10 year treasury yields and an overall economy in severe distress. Given there are only 100 pennies in a dollar and nobody’s pennies are earning anything these days; there genuinely may not be much difference between them. They will all try to convince you they are not all alike. Some will pay you higher commissions and lower policy growth with the pennies they have; while others will do the exact opposite. Some try for a balanced approach, while others make up for their losses on the backs of the consumers by charging outrageously high premium rates. At the end of the day, it’s all how they shuffle those 100 pennies around on the table.

  Some companies try to impress you with how “stable and secure” your family’s money is when it is placed with them. They point out their high A.M. Best rating and how many total assets they have accumulated. Although these things can be indicators of a company’s overall strength, they do not tell the whole story. The real story lies in how they have invested and handled their assets and expenses since 2008. How good are they at managing their/your money? How good are they at keeping their expenses in check? It’s time to start digging a little deeper and asking the really tough, but necessary, questions of your present pre-need insurance carrier.

  I will be outlining in next month’s column areas of any insurance company’s balance sheet that you need to be paying very careful attention to. These crucial areas will give you insight, behind the curtain, and let you see what’s really going on with your future income.