Price and Compliance Survey of Funeral Homes and Crematories in Guilford and Forsyth Counties

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1 Price and Compliance Survey of Funeral Homes and Crematories in Guilford and Forsyth Counties Conducted by Funeral Consumers Alliance of the Piedmont May, 2013

2 Use This Survey To Save Money In Planning Funeral Expenses The Funeral Rule In the 1980s there was a consumer movement in opposition to many practices in the funeral industry. An outgrowth of this movement was action by the Federal Trade Commission which imposed a regulation known as The Funeral Rule which requires every funeral provider to prepare something referred to as a General Price List (GPL) and to make such list available to anyone who asks, the idea being that consumers can obtain GPLs and use them to compare prices and to save money. Our chapter has made use of the Funeral Rule by collecting GPLs from the funeral providers in two Piedmont counties and tabulating some of the required cost items which are required to be included. Unfortunately, even with such a tabulated list it is not always easy to know in advance the total cost of a funeral since there can be many choices of options to consider. With this in mind we have prepared some guidelines in using our survey results, starting with two of the most straightforward items. Direct Cremation Direct cremation is an increasingly popular choice as a funeral arrangement. Fortunately, the Funeral Rule makes price shopping for a cremation fairly easy but with a couple of things to watch for. An annoying loophole in the Funeral Rule is that the GPL price for a cremation need not include the actual cost of the cremation itself. We have noted places on our price list where this is an issue. Fortunately many funeral homes do not utilize this loophole and provide an all inclusive price for a cremation. A further issue to take into account when arranging a cremation is that the remains must be enclosed in some sort of container for the cremation process and a funeral home would love to sell a casket for this purpose. Fortunately they are not allowed to require this. The Funeral Rule requires that for direct cremations one price be listed with the container provided by the consumer and one price with an alternative container,something inexpensive typically made of fiberboard or composite materials, provided by the funeral home. The container prices, when correctly listed, usually range around $100 - $200. The least expensive is $20 (Cremation Services and Memorial). The most expensive are Heritage, $345; Hinnant, $355 and Johnson s Home of Memory, $350. The material is usually described as fiberboard but many price lists include a list of additional choices at higher prices. Some places put the fiberboard container at the bottom of a long list of more expensive choices. Some GPLs are unclear as to the material. Davis At Floral Gardens provides a Transporter Blue Alternative Container. While this provision of the Funeral Rule is very explicit and seems easy to follow, many funeral providers fail to follow the rule. J. C. Green make no provision for a customer provided container. Russell Funeral Home lists a higher price when no container is provided than when they provide one. Other places with serious rule violations on this issue are Douthit, Gilmore, Hargett, Peoples and Woodard. Immediate Burial As an aid for consumers who do not want cremation and prefer a simple, no frills burial the Funeral Rule requires the provision of an immediate burial. Typically the body is picked up at the place of death and transported directly to the cemetery. This is for a fixed price which is all inclusive with two caveats. The cost of a casket is not included. It is required that there be a price with no casket, allowing the consumer to provide a casket. In addition to a casket it may be required by a cemetery to provide a grave liner called a vault. There is more about caskets and vaults below.

3 When planning a funeral more complicated than a direct cremation or immediate burial the necessarily complicated arrangements can make the controlling of costs difficult. With this in mind we include a more detailed description of the many items on the overall price list table. Basic Services Basic services charges, sometimes referred to as non-declinable charges, include the cost for planning the funeral, securing the necessary permits, preparing the notices, and coordinating the cemetery or crematory arrangements. It may also include overhead costs. The accompanying spreadsheet shows that this charge, excluding crematories, ranges from a low of $895 (Memorial) to a high of $3940 (Davis At Floral Garden). Since the kind of services that are provided are constant from one provider to another, the difference in charge is likely due to the differences in salaries and the cost of upkeep of the premises. This charge is included in direct cremation and immediate burial prices but will be included as an itemized cost in any other arrangement. Embalming Contrary to popular belief embalming is not required by law for a traditional funeral and the Funeral Rule requires a standard disclaimer to this effect. Embalming may be necessary if there is a lengthy delay before the funeral or the body is to be transferred a significant distance such as being flown to another city. More Considerations The cost for embalming ranges from a low of $345 (Memorial) high of $1095 (Hanes Lineberry and Sechrest). While it would be unexpected to find the same charge for embalming from each of our respondents, it is curious to see such a wide variation from one to another. Embalming is a standardized procedure involving the removal of body fluids and replacement with embalming fluid, the real cost of which is impossible to ascertain from the figures. Transportation Transportation costs include such things as transfer (picking up the body from the place of death and delivering it to the funeral home), use of the hearse (carrying the casket from the funeral home to the cemetery), and a limousine or family car (to accompany the hearse). The costs for transfer are based on service within a defined distance from the funeral home and range from a low of $125 (Memorial and Phillips) to a high of $541 (Davis At Floral Garden). The defined distances varies typically in a radius of 20 to 75 miles with varying mileage charges imposed beyond that. The costs for the use of the hearse vary from a low of $90 (Memorial) to a high of $496 (Vogler). The use of the limousine or family car ranges from a low of $95 (Lambeth-Troxler) to a high of $325 (Douthit). Caskets Caskets and vaults (see next) often constitute the most expensive itemized costs at the funeral home with the exception of some basic services charges and in 1994 the Federal Trade Commission made it clear that consumers were free to provide their own caskets or alternative containers if they chose not to purchase them from the funeral home. Although caskets were available on the retail market well before that time and some may prefer to make their own caskets there has been a dramatic increase in both online availability of caskets and offers from large marketers like Costco and Wal-Mart. There is evidence on record that the mark-up on caskets is often in the range of percent, a figure making careful shopping attractive. The Funeral Rule requires each funeral provider to list both a minimum and a maximum casket price. We have included on our spreadsheet only the minimum. The cost of a casket depends upon a variety of factors that are not reflected in the price ranges on the typical GPL. The minimum prices listed on our spreadsheet only give some indication of what might be available, keeping in mind that materials, manufacturer, and quality may vary from one to another. Also, it was impossible to determine from some of the GPLs whether the lowest-priced casket was really a casket or if it might better be described as an alternative container of the type that might be used for cremation. With that caveat, the least expensive casket offered was $395

4 (Russell). Community offers no casket for less than $1975. Vaults Vaults, also knows as outer burial containers, are designed to encase the casket and protect the gravesite from sinking as the casket begins to deteriorate and the earth starts to settle. Like caskets, vaults come in varying materials and designs. Since cemeteries sometimes require the use of a vault to make it easier and safer to care for the grounds, some will make available less expensive grave liners (wood or concrete) than the vaults typically sold at the funeral home. As with caskets, the Funeral Rule requires minimum and maximum prices, we list the minimum. Also as was the case with caskets (above), it is impossible to compare prices without knowing about the manufacture and composition of the merchandise. The least expensive vault was $195 (Perry J. Brown) while several establishments have a minimum vault price near $1500. Acknowledgments The previous survey done by our chapter was carried out by Holly Stevens. This work is dedicated to her memory. We received much assistance from Josh Slocum, Executive Director, Funeral Consumers Alliance. Thanks also to Dr. Gere B. Fulton, President of the Funeral Consumers Alliance of South Carolina Board of Directors. In particular, parts of this document were adapted from his Funeral Pricing Practices for the Greater Columbia Area. Recommended Sources of Further Information Complying With the Funeral Rule, Federal Trade Commission, June (2004). FTC Facts for Consumers, Paying Final Respects: Your Rights When Buying Funeral Goods & Services, Federal Trade Commission, May (2007). Funerals: A Consumer Guide, Federal Trade Commission (undated). All of the above may be obtained from the FTC website at consumer/shop/funeral.shtm The Funeral Director s Guide to Consumer-Friendly General Price Lists, Funeral Consumers Alliance, Inc., (2007). Slocum, Josh and Lisa Carlson, Final Rights: Reclaiming the American Way of Death, Hinesburg, VT: Upper Access, Inc. (2011). Preceding two items available at Harris, Mark, Grave Matters: A Journey Through the Modern Funeral Industry to a Natural Way of Burial, New York: Scribner (2007). Contact For more information, please contact Joseph Gruendler, Survey Coordinator, Funeral Consumers Alliance Of The Piedmont PO Box Greensboro, NC

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