Wholesale Caskets?

[theinsuranceman]

$1,000 free shipping mostly.
Gemini Monarch Blue Casket - Metal Casket

Sounds like a good deal.

 

[DonP]

Newby what does the avg funeral charge for a casket? So When a Beneficiary goes to the funeral home and says "My mother died today and we want to bury her" . Do you ask the funeral home for a total price with a breakdown for each item?Then when they give you a price of $10k and their charging $3k for the casket do you then say deduct the $3k we have are own and it'll be here tommorrow?

 

[Newby]

Newby what does the avg funeral charge for a casket? So When a Beneficiary goes to the funeral home and says "My mother died today and we want to bury her" . Do you ask the funeral home for a total price with a breakdown for each item?Then when they give you a price of $10k and their charging $3k for the casket do you then say deduct the $3k we have are own and it'll be here tomorrow?

No. That casket that I put the link to is available at most funeral homes with a brand name and a good supply system for $1495 to $1795. And it would be manufactured in the USA. Which whether or not you think that makes it a better casket it definitely makes it a more expensive casket.

Unless a family is asking you to get involved (which they rarely do) why would you? It can only go downhill. You can SAY you have a casket that will be there tomorrow but you don't KNOW that it will until it shows up. You have no control over it. And it's going to be delivered by a common freight carrier not a casket delivery truck/van so you have MORE risk of damage or delays.

And then there is the other part. Most funeral homes have two or three chapels and family gathering rooms. But they are never the same size and quality. I can promise you that unless your funeral happens to fall on a day when there is only one family being served it will be an easy decision as to which family gets 1st class and which one gets coach.

 

[shonceman]

No. That casket that I put the link to is available at most funeral homes with a brand name and a good supply system for $1495 to $1795. And it would be manufactured in the USA. Which whether or not you think that makes it a better casket it definitely makes it a more expensive casket.

Unless a family is asking you to get involved (which they rarely do) why would you? It can only go downhill. You can SAY you have a casket that will be there tomorrow but you don't KNOW that it will until it shows up. You have no control over it. And it's going to be delivered by a common freight carrier not a casket delivery truck/van so you have MORE risk of damage or delays.

And then there is the other part. Most funeral homes have two or three chapels and family gathering rooms. But they are never the same size and quality. I can promise you that unless your funeral happens to fall on a day when there is only one family being served it will be an easy decision as to which family gets 1st class and which one gets coach.

We’ve got a place here in Dallas called “The Casket Store”. They supposedly have much lower prices than going to the funeral home. They must sell plenty of caskets and other merchandise, because they’ve been operating in that same location for at least as many years as I’ve been in Texas. I’ve told many clients about them, but as far as I know, I’ve never had a clent’s family use them. When they use a FE policy to pay for the funeral, it’s just simpler for them to let the funeral director handle the whole thing.

At the same time, I know a couple funeral homes in town that offer a pretty good at-need package price. If a family uses one of those homes there’s no point in trying to get a cheaper deal on the casket. Sure, they might pay less for the casket, but then they’re paying for the rest on an itemized basis instead of package pricing. That cheap casket could actually end up being more expensive by losing the package discount.

 

[theinsuranceman]

The good thing about Legacy Assurance is they also have a negotiation service. They get a price list of the funeral prices from funeral homes within about a 50 mile radius within an hour or 2. They share this info with the family.

If the family prefers a funeral home and that funeral home is not the cheapest then Legacy Assurance will negotiate the price with that funeral home and see if that funeral home will match the price of the cheapest funeral. From my info the funeral home will match that cheaper price, thus saving the family even more $$$.

This also helps prevent funeral homes from charging higher prices for their other services since the funeral home is not getting the profit from selling the casket. If death occurs on the weekend the family can still reach Legacy Assurance.

 

[shonceman]

The good thing about Legacy Assurance is they also have a negotiation service. They get a price list of the funeral prices from funeral homes within about a 50 mile radius within an hour or 2. They share this info with the family.

If the family prefers a funeral home and that funeral home is not the cheapest then Legacy Assurance will negotiate the price with that funeral home and see if that funeral home will match the price of the cheapest funeral. From my info the funeral home will match that cheaper price, thus saving the family even more $$$.

This also helps prevent funeral homes from charging higher prices for their other services since the funeral home is not getting the profit from selling the casket. If death occurs on the weekend the family can still reach Legacy Assurance.

I can see where that would be helpful, and why it would give your clients an extra sense of security to know they’ll have an advocate when the time comes. But, while I’m not likely to go and negotiate (although I have done that), I certainly coach my beneficiaries through the process. If they already have a funeral home in mind, I go over what to expect, and how to negotiate a fair total price. When they don’t have a favorite funeral home, I direct them to a home where I know they’ll be treated well, both on price and service, based on reputation and experience.

I’m not saying that Legacy doesn’t provide a useful service. I’m just saying that a good agent can be pretty useful himself at the time of need without relying on a third party service

(BTW - Any of us can do price comparisons for free here:
Compare Funeral Homes | Parting)

 

[Life Hawk]

I can see where that would be helpful, and why it would give your clients an extra sense of security to know they’ll have an advocate when the time comes. But, while I’m not likely to go and negotiate (although I have done that), I certainly coach my beneficiaries through the process. If they already have a funeral home in mind, I go over what to expect, and how to negotiate a fair total price. When they don’t have a favorite funeral home, I direct them to a home where I know they’ll be treated well, both on price and service, based on reputation and experience.

I’m not saying that Legacy doesn’t provide a useful service. I’m just saying that a good agent can be pretty useful himself at the time of need without relying on a third party service

(BTW - Any of us can do price comparisons for free here:
Compare Funeral Homes | Parting)

About 3 weeks ago I was dealing with my 2nd passing of the year. Met client cold knocking while following up a lead. Made 2 GI sales same home, husband and wife. She passed within 2 months of receiving full coverage for an already small face. When the husband called I could tell by his tone he was very lost and anxious. I stepped in and made several calls for him including the county clerk and the state. I was able to locate a very low cost cremation service a few towns from their home that works with folks on limited incomes. I did this mostly through 3 way calling so that I could keep him in the loop. He was one of those spouses who just lets the wife take care of everything and really knew nothing.

Pause...

Just took a phone call before I posted this response and now I have my 4th death of the year.

It's gonna be a long day.

 

[shonceman]

About 3 weeks ago I was dealing with my 2nd passing of the year. Met client cold knocking while following up a lead. Made 2 GI sales same home, husband and wife. She passed within 2 months of receiving full coverage for an already small face. When the husband called I could tell by his tone he was very lost and anxious. I stepped in and made several calls for him including the county clerk and the state. I was able to locate a very low cost cremation service a few towns from their home that works with folks on limited incomes. I did this mostly through 3 way calling so that I could keep him in the loop. He was one of those spouses who just lets the wife take care of everything and really knew nothing.

Pause...

Just took a phone call before I posted this response and now I have my 4th death of the year.

It's gonna be a long day.

You’re one of the good guys! This is where we earn our money. It’s what separates the insurance agents from the policy peddlers.

 

[Life Hawk]

You’re one of the good guys! This is where we earn our money. It’s what separates the insurance agents from the policy peddlers.

Thanks @shonceman I consider that a real compliment coming from you.

Just as an update, I received a call today from a spouse who just lost her husband to a stroke. That's 2 this week. He falls in at under 2yrs so this is going to be a tough one. His wife is lost in the weeds so it looks like I will need to do some hand holding. I'm getting good a that... not something I want to be too good at though.

On another side of the issue, it was a trans policy. I called them and had an interesting conversation with the rep. I asked if she was staying busy. I noted that the change in the application at the beginning of the year might have created issues. Her response was priceless. She mentioned how much easier it was for them and how much they liked it!!!

I asked who she was talking about. She said the office, I mentioned agents were not so thrilled. Oh she says, yeah we heard the agents hate it she said half smiling.


Do these people have a clue... I wonder if she knows how she gets paid!

Working hard to keep them from receiving any of my new business.

 

[shonceman]

Thanks @shonceman I consider that a real compliment coming from you.

Just as an update, I received a call today from a spouse who just lost her husband to a stroke. That's 2 this week. He falls in at under 2yrs so this is going to be a tough one. His wife is lost in the weeds so it looks like I will need to do some hand holding. I'm getting good a that... not something I want to be too good at though.

On another side of the issue, it was a trans policy. I called them and had an interesting conversation with the rep. I asked if she was staying busy. I noted that the change in the application at the beginning of the year might have created issues. Her response was priceless. She mentioned how much easier it was for them and how much they liked it!!!

I asked who she was talking about. She said the office, I mentioned agents were not so thrilled. Oh she says, yeah we heard the agents hate it she said half smiling.


Do these people have a clue... I wonder if she knows how she gets paid!

Working hard to keep them from receiving any of my new business.

I don’t have any problems with Trans to complain about. I also don’t have any policies with them. I also don’t have a contract with them. I haven’t found that to be a problem.