Understanding preneed vs. at-need funeral arrangements can help funeral directors leverage their fixed costs and boost their bottom line. When families are debating on how to plan a funeral, at-need vs. preneed insurance plans will greatly determine their funeral experience.
To improve your funeral home’s at-need to preneed ratios, there are a few steps you can take to actively engage the community. By building upon your existing marketing plan, you can improve your at-need to preneed ratio.
Quick Links:
- What is At-Need Funeral Planning?
- What is Preneed Funeral Planning?
- What Are the Average Funeral Costs?
- Improving Your At-Need to Preneed Ratio
- Get Assistance from an Insurance Partner
What is At-Need Funeral Planning?
An at-need funeral plan, also known as an immediate need funeral plan, is formed after someone has passed. The loved ones of the deceased handle all at-need funeral planning at the time of need. At-need funerals are stressful for the surviving family members; they are dealing with both the grief and the potentially sudden financial burden.
What is Preneed Funeral Planning? Top Benefits
Before someone passes away, they may select their preneed funeral plans. Individuals may select their preneed funeral insurance and plans when they start estate planning. Preneed funeral plans allow seniors to take charge of their memorial planning and encourage more personalized touches.
In short, pre-planning a funeral can help prevent mistakes and ensure the deceased’s wishes are carried out. There are multiple benefits of preneed funeral planning that you can share with families.
Beat Inflation and Lock Into Existing Prices
Pre-planning a funeral reduces the financial strain on family members. With inflation rising, beginning to pre-plan a funeral allows for seniors to pay at more affordable rates than they may in the next few years. They can begin making payments now so their family has little to no financial burden to bear. As a funeral director, this means additional fixed income for your funeral home.
Additional Payment Plans and Methods
There are additional payment methods and plans in place with preneed insurance. This can help reduce the burden on your family members even further. If insurance does not cover 100% of the costs, then there will be very little for the surviving family to worry about, and it will be much more manageable with these additional payment plan options.
Reduced Stress on Family Members
Pre-planning a funeral can also reduce overall stress on surviving family members. Pre-planning a funeral means the family does not have to ever worry about if they are doing the right thing. Many times, families ask if their loved one would have been happy with the decisions made for their memorial. With a preneed plan in place, this question never needs to be asked.
Facilitate Important Discussions
Preneed insurance plans also help families have important discussions with their loved ones, rather than after they are deceased. Many families don’t discuss final wishes, so a preneed plan can help families emotionally prepare for what will be a difficult time.
What Are the Average Funeral Costs?
The average funeral costs in 2021 is $7,848 in the United States with burial. Funeral prices decrease to $6,970 if opting for cremation.
According to the National Funeral Directors Association (NDFA), this funeral cost breakdown includes:
- Basic services fees
- Transferring remains to the funeral home
- Embalming and preparing the body
- Use of facilities and staff for viewing and the ceremony
- A hearse or service car
- Printed materials
- Burial casket or urn and cremation materials
Preneed insurance plans allow individuals to lock into your current prices. This way, they can give their family some peace of mind upon their passing when it comes to funeral expenses. When dealing with at-need funerals, loved ones may need additional help with funeral costs.
Improving Your At-Need to Preneed Ratio
As a funeral director, improving your at-need to preneed ratio can provide many benefits to your funeral home – mainly in the form of revenue. Even if a family opts for at-need services instead of preneed, your preneed marketing campaigns can help boost your overall brand awareness.
When implementing and effectively marketing preneed programs, you can expect to see your at-need to preneed ratio increase anywhere from 40 and 60%. This is especially beneficial for funeral homes that work primarily off of fixed costs. There are a few methods you can use to improve your at-need to preneed ratio.
Engage With Your Local Senior Community
Engaging with your community can help educate seniors about all of their funeral planning options. Getting involved with senior centers, AARP events, and other senior programs helps build community and foster relationships.
This, in turn, helps build your brand awareness and authority, which means seniors will have your funeral home at top of mind when they begin their end of life planning. You’ll be a trusted, known resource in the community.
Elevate Your Existing Advertising
If your print marketing efforts already include at-need, consider incorporating preneed services into your brochures and packages. Perks of preneed insurance that you can emphasize are independence and control over their end of life planning and reducing the costs their family will have to pay.
Remember that online spaces aren’t just limited to Gen Z and millennials, either. Of people aged 50 and older, three in four say they rely on technology to stay connected. Seventy-four percent are active on social media, and 89 percent actively use email. Social media and email marketing can be a powerful tool in marketing preneed services and supplying education.
Remember Your Audience
Your approach for marketing your preneed services should vary from your at-need options. When you’re marketing your at-need programs, you are targeting family members. They are often grieving and confused with terminology you may use every day.
When marketing your pre-planning services, you’re targeting seniors directly. Preneed insurance provides many benefits, so lean in those benefits to highlight how it can help seniors and their families.
In both instances, it’s important that you are there to provide support for seniors and their families. Be prepared to answer a lot of questions in a way that strengthens your case for preplanning without dismissing any concerns they might have.
Get Assistance From an Insurance Partner
At ELCO Mutual, our preneed insurance team is here to help you improve your preneed vs. at need ratio. If you’re looking for an insurance partner to help boost your marketing efforts and build community trust and awareness, get in touch with our team today.
