Pre Need/Final Expense 101

[arnguy]

Does anyone know if Indiana requires a funeral directors license? What steps are involved, like schooling, ce, E&O, how often due you have to renew? Thanks for your answers in advance.

Newby (Scott) is da man in Indiana for pre-need and FE. Contact him!

 

[Newby]

Does anyone know if Indiana requires a funeral directors license? What steps are involved, like schooling, ce, E&O, how often due you have to renew? Thanks for your answers in advance.

Not at this time. An insurance license and a contract with a licensed funeral home are all you need in Indiana. You will have to be trained by the funeral home because the funeral industry oversite is only slightly less then CMS.

What part of Indiana? I have funeral home connections all over the state.

 

[vanquishV12]

Scott,

Any connections in Oregon?

Not at this time. An insurance license and a contract with a licensed funeral home are all you need in Indiana. You will have to be trained by the funeral home because the funeral industry oversite is only slightly less then CMS.

What part of Indiana? I have funeral home connections all over the state.

 

[Newby]

Scott,

Any connections in Oregon?

No. If you want to get into Preneed there I would contact the field reps in your state for the main companies (Homesteaders, ForeThought, NGL.) they will have connections with funeral homes that are looking.

 

[transmedicalservices]

I believe agents should be able to accommodate their clients in any way possible because this is just great customer service. Clients like it when you help them and trying to get them to buy anything.

 

[RonRoberts]

Scott, what makes the difference in a person selling preneed from earning $50K-$80K if the funeral home is providing all the leads?

Is it that some funeral homes may be in areas that have more of a customer base to draw from, which in turn gives you the potential for a greater number of leads? Or, is it that some funeral homes pay better in commissions?

I ask this because I like the idea of working for a funeral home that that is going to pay me $50K-$80K (I am more interested in a minimum of $80K - $120K), an option for benefits, and leads.

Preneed appeals to ages 50 to 100+ and usually they would be $70,000 to very wealthy.

It pays different than FE. It's based on age and face amount not annual premium. There are no renewals at all. But on ages 51 to 75 it pays about the same as if you got the 1st year and all 10 years of renewals all at once. From 75 to 85 it just pays OK. Above 85 you make very little. Ages 0 to 50 it pays just a little better than a great 1st year FE contract but no renewals.

Most people selling Preneed make between $50,000 to $80,000 per year but have zero lead cost. Some also get full benefits. Some of us are independent and make more but pay for everything ourselves.

 

[Newby]

Scott, what makes the difference in a person selling preneed from earning $50K-$80K if the funeral home is providing all the leads?

Is it that some funeral homes may be in areas that have more of a customer base to draw from, which in turn gives you the potential for a greater number of leads? Or, is it that some funeral homes pay better in commissions?

I ask this because I like the idea of working for a funeral home that that is going to pay me $50K-$80K (I am more interested in a minimum of $80K - $120K), an option for benefits, and leads.

It's a mixture of all sorts of things.

1. What clientele does the funeral home serve. If it's a discount priced funeral home the client base is more FE mindset than Preneed. You want a median to upper end client base and a minimum of 125 cases (deaths) per year per Preneed agent.

2. Commission levels. Although I was making the lowest commission % I've ever seen my first 4 years in Preneed and still made great income because we had a highly sellable product, very nice funeral homes that did 1,100 cases per year and great training and management. It was the perfect situation to learn in so DON'T just go after commission if you are new.

3. How hard and how smart the agent will work.
At that initial funeral home I sold around $1,000,000 very consistently each year. There were 8 other agents there that sold very consistent numbers year after year also. Some sold $400,000 every year. Some sold $900,000. But everyone was very consistent each year and we all had the exact same opportunity. So it came down to how you worked.

I recruited a lady who had worked for me at a previous business who was extremely type A and sold like her life depended on it. She sold between 1.25 million up to 2 million each year. She was one of the highest performers in the entire industry all 4 years that she stayed. She drove herself nuts and burnt out by the 4th year.

I got a $150 bonus for referring her when she got hired. If I would have waited a year later, (after SCI bought the funeral homes) I would have gotten 1% commission of her total face amount sales for as long as we each worked there. That would have been a $20,000 recruiting bonus for me the year that she sold 2 million. I actually brought several good performers on for them when I was there and should have turned into a full time recruiter now that I think about that potential.

Preneed is a great place to be if everything is right for it.

 

[xrac]

Newby you would be a good recruiter.

 

[Mark]

Newby you would be a good recruiter.

I don't think he wants to deal with debit balances and crooked agents.

 

[Newby]

I don't think he wants to deal with debit balances and crooked agents.

Yes. Two things have learned through experience. I don't want to be a residential landlord ever again. And I don't want to recruit random agents.

It's too enjoyable working for yourself to become a babysitter again.