December 2000
The Director - Features
The Next Step
NFDA promotes its newly adopted Model Consumer Protection Guidelines for State Preneed Funeral Statutes
NFDA is urging members of Congress, consumer groups, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and state funeral directors associations to lobby state legislatures and regulatory agencies to adopt model guidelines for protecting consumers who purchase preneed contracts. The NFDA-proposed guidelines are intended to ensure that consumers who purchase preneed contracts make informed decisions, deal with ethical and licensed preneed sellers and agents, and have the right to cancel preneed funeral contracts or transfer preneed funding from one funeral service provider to another.
The Next Step, written by Kelly Smith, NFDA's public relations manager, explains NFDA's proposed preneed guidelines. The guidelines were distributed to congressional staff members, the FTC, representatives of consumer groups and the trade and consumer media in November 2000. They also will be distributed to members of Congress after the House and Senate leaders are elected and the committee members are appointed, which is expected to happen in late winter or early spring of 2001. The article includes highlights of statements in the guidelines in regards to preneed consumer contract disclosures, licensing of preneed sellers and agents, and solicitation of preneed consumers.
