Yeah man. Thirty years ago, $1500 could buy you a sweet, used Cutlass Supreme or Caprice Classic.
Inflation for Funeral Costs
- Thread starter Jack B
- Start date
Yeah man. Thirty years ago, $1500 could buy you a sweet, used Cutlass Supreme or Caprice Classic.
Todd, having been around when there were $500 funerals, I can tell you people were really shocked when they eventually reached $1000. That $50 per year increase didn't seem reasonable to them at all.
- 16,876
Todd, having been around when there were $500 funerals, I can tell you people were really shocked when they eventually reached $1000. That $50 per year increase didn't seem reasonable to them at all.
I can send you reciepts from when a complete funeral with hardwood casket and a horse drawn funeral coach was $7.50.
That $1 per increase was not taken lightly.
Contrary to what all of you think, that really was before my time.
- 15,041
I very well know the rule of 72. Look back over the history of funeral increases and you'll probably find that you couldn't begin to use the rule of 72 to calculate the rate increases. Won't fit this scenario...sorry.
Okay, for those of you who continue to disagree with me (not saying that you're wrong or that I'm right), go back in time when it was actually doubling every 10 years (just a starting point). Find the rates of inflation for those years. Continue to apply the rates of inflation since that time and see what the costs of funerals would actually be if they followed inflation rates.
Hell, I've been doing this for right at 20 years now and I promise the funeral rates have not doubled twice! If they had you would probably be looking at about $24-30K average right now. They haven't even doubled once.
Over the past 20 years the rate of inflation has averaged 3.22%. That makes rates double about every 20 years. Has the cost of funerals kept up with this inflation? NO!
- 2,038
Lots of good info..
Wonder how many of you actually bring up the inflation/future costs discussion in a presentation.. I've heard both sides, some that do every time, and others that never do. I have mixed feelings. I can understand the value of informing them it will likely be more expensive than today's costs. Slightly larger policies and doing them a service!
But at the same time, a major point of life insurance is to protect the unexpected (the untimely death that would not be affordable), so painting a vision of a predicted future distracts from that. Also it's probably a challenge to keep these things simple to understand for this market. Annuity market is another story!
Wonder how many of you actually bring up the inflation/future costs discussion in a presentation.. I've heard both sides, some that do every time, and others that never do. I have mixed feelings. I can understand the value of informing them it will likely be more expensive than today's costs. Slightly larger policies and doing them a service!
But at the same time, a major point of life insurance is to protect the unexpected (the untimely death that would not be affordable), so painting a vision of a predicted future distracts from that. Also it's probably a challenge to keep these things simple to understand for this market. Annuity market is another story!
I very well know the rule of 72. Look back over the history of funeral increases and you'll probably find that you couldn't begin to use the rule of 72 to calculate the rate increases. Won't fit this scenario...sorry.
Okay, for those of you who continue to disagree with me (not saying that you're wrong or that I'm right), go back in time when it was actually doubling every 10 years (just a starting point). Find the rates of inflation for those years. Continue to apply the rates of inflation since that time and see what the costs of funerals would actually be if they followed inflation rates.
Hell, I've been doing this for right at 20 years now and I promise the funeral rates have not doubled twice! If they had you would probably be looking at about $24-30K average right now. They haven't even doubled once.
Over the past 20 years the rate of inflation has averaged 3.22%. That makes rates double about every 20 years. Has the cost of funerals kept up with this inflation? NO!
Check out the nfda website. I think you're wrong bases on info from there. It says from 1980 to 1989 funerals increased 89.4%.
Here is an interesting site.. Funeral cost have not doubled in the last 10 years. Increased by 280%
http://www.in2013dollars.com/Funeral-expenses/price-inflation/2007-to-2017?amount=1000
Went up 90% over the last 20 years.
http://www.in2013dollars.com/Funeral-expenses/price-inflation/1997-to-2017?amount=1000
http://www.in2013dollars.com/Funeral-expenses/price-inflation/2007-to-2017?amount=1000
Went up 90% over the last 20 years.
http://www.in2013dollars.com/Funeral-expenses/price-inflation/1997-to-2017?amount=1000
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- 16,876
I've been selling funeral for 20 years now. It's definitely regional on pricing. But in my town we sold a standard funeral all day long for $5,500 in 1997. That same funeral sells for $9500 today.
Funeral inflation has been low during that time partially because of increased competition (price advertising) and also the internal competition from direct burial and direct cremation.
Funeral inflation has been low during that time partially because of increased competition (price advertising) and also the internal competition from direct burial and direct cremation.
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