Helpful hints of what to look out for when accepting a policy

Being paid for the funeral services from life insurance assignments is a common practice amongst all funeral homes and making sure you are paid quickly and accurately is the concern of many. The information below will help funeral directors better understand the type of questions you should be asking.

1. When families contact you, make sure that they bring a copy of the policy and beneficiary form. Don’t just get the insurance company name and policy number.
2. Find out, up front, who is listed as the beneficiary and whether that person is still living. Having this information at the beginning of the relationship will make it easier to process claims and to get your funeral funding help sooner.
3. Make sure you are dealing with the next surviving heir. Family situations can be complicated and the death of a loved one makes it even more so. For example, a daughter may be handling the arrangements but the beneficiary is actually an estranged ex-spouse.
4. Find out when the policy was issued. If a policy is less than two years old, most funeral funding companies will not accept it. With such a new policy, the insurance company has the right to contest it and if they decide to deny payment, this leaves you holding the bag. Additionally, many will not take accident policies.
5. Your funeral funding company should be your partner. Once you get the policy, send it to your funeral funding company. They can quickly tell you if there are any problems or red flags.

Michelle Ellis has 20+ years’ of funeral funding experience and is a funeral funding industry expert. She is happy to answer any questions you have regardless if your funeral home works with Elite Funeral funding. Michelle Ellis can be reached at (888) 265-1892.