There\u2019s the matter of the deceased\u2019s body and how it will be handled, but also funeral arrangements and ceremonial planning to honor the life of the person we\u2019re grieving.<\/p>\n
Funeral planning requires people to make multiple decisions while experiencing difficult and intense emotions. Making matters even more challenging, funeral arrangements are financially taxing.<\/p>\n
In America, the funeral industry is essentially unavoidable after someone close to us dies. Because the funeral industry is ubiquitous and homogenous \u2014 offering the same services, same processes and procedures for after-death care \u2014 we rarely question it. But there\u2019s a lot about the funeral industry you may not know.<\/p>\n
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In the U.S., funeral homes are a $20 billion dollar annual industry<\/a>. Most funeral homes are privately owned, and increasingly, more funeral homes are owned by large corporations.<\/p>\n Service Corporation International<\/a>, the largest death-care corporation in the country, owns and operates more than 1,400 locations<\/a> in North America and brought in more than $4 billion in revenue in 2023<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cFamilies are hurting. They are not only losing someone meaningful in their lives, their losses are compounded by the soaring costs in burials and cremations,\u201d says Evermore founder Joyal Mulheron. \u201cThe funeral industry is well-funded, made only more profitable by our nation\u2019s concurrent mortality epidemics \u2014 just look at their revenue statements.\u201d<\/p>\n According to Statista<\/a>, there are nearly 19,000 funeral homes in the U.S., yet there remains a surprising lack of competition in the industry. In the past several decades, larger funeral service companies, and in some cases, private equity firms<\/a>, have bought up smaller, family-run businesses that were well-known and trusted in their communities.<\/p>\n The result has been a growing monopoly on the industry by fewer wealthy \u2014 and powerful \u2014 businesses. The industry\u2019s consolidation was the central storyline for the 2023 hit The Burial,<\/em><\/a> starring Tommy Lee Jones<\/a> and Jamie Foxx<\/a> and directed by Maggie Betts.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The funeral industry is primarily regulated by the Funeral Rule<\/a>. Introduced in 1984 by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Funeral Rule was established to prevent vulnerable families from being exploited by licensed funeral homes after the FTC found widespread deceptive practices that limited consumers\u2019 ability to make informed decisions. Today, if funeral homes violate the Rule, they may be subject to penalties of more than $51,000 per violation<\/a>.<\/p>\n While this seems like a strong deterrent, the FTC granted the funeral industry a \u201csweetheart deal\u201d more than 25 years, according to the Wall Street Journal<\/a> (WSJ). When funeral homes are found to be in violation of the Funeral Rule, they can opt to participate in the Funeral Rule Offenders Program<\/a> (FROP), a training program run by the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA)<\/a>, which is the industry\u2019s largest trade association and lobbying group. The offending funeral homes who enroll in the program become members of the association.<\/p>\n Essentially, the organization that lobbies lawmakers for fewer industry regulations is the same entity responsible for \u201cpolicing\u201d and penalizing offending businesses. NFDA conceals violations from American consumers and according to some experts, \u201cit\u2019s essentially a hush-money business.\u201d However, the WSJ secured a list of 538 funeral homes that violated the Funeral Rule and publicly reported them earlier this year<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In October 2022, the FTC revealed that more than 60 percent of funeral homes have little to no pricing information on their websites<\/a>. This leaves consumers in a particularly vulnerable position.<\/p>\n \u201cImagine losing your child and then having to negotiate where their body goes and how much you\u2019ll pay for it, all within hours,\u201d says Mulheron. \u201cWhen our own daughter was terminally ill, I called several funeral homes in hopes of identifying one where she could be taken once she died. Several told me they would \u2018cut me a deal\u2019 if she died soon. One facility, more than an hour away from our home, said, \u2018We charge our flat rate for children of $400.\u2019 We need more people like this leading the industry, not private equity brokers.\u201d<\/p>\n Funeral costs for a single death event are significant, especially for families who struggle to cover the ongoing costs of housing, food, and medical care. According to a 2023 NFDA survey, the average cost of a funeral with a viewing and burial is nearly $8,300<\/a>. A funeral with cremation costs only about $2,000 less.<\/p>\n These costs don\u2019t take into account the costs of the cemetery, monument, marker, or other miscellaneous expenses, such as flowers. According to the Funeral Alliance Association, these added expenses often increase the total cost of full funeral services by $2,000 or $3,000<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Following the WSJ\u2019s release of the 538 funeral homes that violated federal law, a second WSJ article featured several stories of individuals who tried to act responsibly by paying for their own funerals<\/a> in advance of dying. In some cases, their families ended up paying twice or more than the initial contracted amount. Whether it is lost paperwork, industry consolidation, \u201cthe fine print,\u201d or something else entirely, it\u2019s best to plan for the funeral but not pre-pay, then share your desires widely with family and friends.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In 2020, Congress passed a bill reimbursing some families for funeral expenses and only if they lost a loved one to COVID-19<\/a> (i.e., if your loved one died from overdose, homicide, or suicide, for example, you do not qualify for reimbursement). As of today, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (or FEMA), responsible for managing taxpayer reimbursement dollars for funeral expenses, has distributed $2.8 billion to 438,000 approved applications, with an average award of $6,400<\/a>.<\/p>\n Fortunately, the federal government is beginning to act. The FTC has initiated a regulatory process<\/a> indicating it will reissue the Funeral Rule. Evermore submitted comments to the FTC<\/a> and is continuing to follow along. However, this process can take years and there is no indication on when the FTC might act. There is reason to believe that the industry will sue the FTC when it does act, further delaying price transparency.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n It\u2019s time for the funeral industry to join the digital age by sharing prices online. If we, as a nation, focus on closing down children\u2019s lemonade stands<\/a> for operating without permits, we can easily protect consumers from the funeral industry\u2019s bad actors. After all, as Benjamin Franklin said, \u201cnothing is certain except death and taxes.\u201d<\/p>\n —<\/p>\n2. The funeral industry is poorly regulated.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
3. With no price transparency requirements for the funeral industry, consumers are highly vulnerable to overpaying.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
4. Plan your funeral, but don\u2019t prepay! <\/strong><\/h3>\n
5. Rather than regulate, your hard-working tax dollars are being used to reimburse funeral expenses.<\/strong><\/h3>\n