The Rising Cost of Cremation
Tracy Lee • April 13, 2020
Why is the price of cremation on the rise?
Cremations offer service choices with a unique pricing structure based on their included services. It is estimated that a funeral director invests an average of 58 hours to accomplish a traditional funeral. He or she also utilizes support staff to accomplish the filing of necessary permits, insurance policies, and arrangement details. In comparison, the average time spent to accomplish a direct cremation by a funeral director is less than five hours. In other words, the funeral director’s involvement and time are scantily utilized to accomplish final disposition when services are excluded.
The line title reflective of service fees is listed as “Professional Services of Funeral Director and Staff” on the General Price List (GPL) as controlled by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). In the case of partial services such as immediate burials or direct cremations, this line title is listed as “Proportionate Share of Professional Services of Funeral Director and Staff.” As indicated, in these cases, the surviving family is only utilizing a portion of the funeral director's time and funeral home’s assets, and are, therefore, only charged a reflective portion of that fee.
This logic indicates that the pricing of cremation should remain low, however, current trends suggest otherwise. To understand why cremation costs are rising, one must look deeper into the structuring of death care cost of goods. In particular, one must dissect and understand the “Professional Services of Funeral Director and Staff” line fee and the role government regulation plays in affecting the price of doing business. To explain this charge, I will separate it into two different categories. The first category will explain what the charge encompasses and how it applies to a survivor’s service regardless of the service chosen. The second category will address obsolete government regulations that affect the cost of operations.
The line title “Professional Services of Funeral Director and Staff” is misleading. It is a “word for word” required term, as dictated by the FTC in their official publication “Complying with the Funeral Rule” (FTC, June 2004, page 7). The line title indicates that this charge is for the professional services of the funeral director and staff. Unless one reads the additional allowable print accompanying the line title, one does not realize that this particular charge also includes operations overhead for the funeral home that has not been included elsewhere on the GPL. In this case, this fee may be non-declinable. Operations overhead for a funeral home can suddenly add a hefty fee to one’s final bill.
What exactly is operations overhead and how does it contribute to the cost of goods for a funeral home? Operations overhead is the total sum of costs a funeral home sustains to perform and provide services to its clients. For example, when a funeral director is assigned to a survivor’s case, his labor fees are obviously associated with the service costs for the funeral home's bottom line.
Additionally, the funeral home has other overhead expenses that must be deducted from your charges before they realize a profit. There are secretaries, receptionists, housekeepers, lawn keepers, fleet keepers, vehicle purchase and lease contracts, vehicle maintenance, vehicle insurance, vehicle drivers, heavy lawn equipment, furnishings, essential equipment, office equipment, utilities, gasoline, mortgages, business insurance, employee insurance (health and unemployment), taxes (state, federal, and employee), accounting, legal, building maintenance, community involvement, charitable giving, advertising, professional licensing fees, continuing education fees, and a host of other items included under the ineptly named line item title. At the end of the day, the funeral home must cover these expenses to remain a viable business and continue providing final disposition services to its clients. The FTC allows the inclusion of these expenses in the “Professional Services of Funeral Director and Staff” line title, and, therefore, the funeral home divides the total sum of these fees and charges a proportionate share to each of its clients. Until recently, the bulk of this fee has been carried by those utilizing time within the walls of the funeral home. As these numbers are now decreasing, we see an effectual shift in the allotment of these expenses.
One may wonder, “If one only desires a direct cremation, why does one need a large funeral home and its huge overhead expenses to accomplish that wish?” That is a very good question. The answer is the second part of the expensive cost of goods equation; government regulation. I am a licensed funeral director in the state of Texas, so I will use Texas’ regulations for the answer.
Have you ever been to one of those restaurants where there is no restaurant at all? These establishments are convenient for people who are always in a hurry. Their food is fast and inexpensive. You just drive up, order, pay, grab your food, and drive out. The absence of a huge building with a large staff keeps their overhead down. Keeping their overhead down allows them to keep their prices down. It would be wonderful if that were the case in funeral service, but it is not. A funeral establishment must maintain a large building, a large staff, and tons of service-based equipment, even if their clientele and general populous trends are non-service based.
In the state of Texas, a funeral director must work out of and attach his licenses to an established and licensed funeral home.
A Texas funeral home must meet the following criteria.
1. Obtain and pay for a professional establishment license
2. Maintain a licensed and registered funeral director in charge
3. Meet fire, building, health and safety codes for municipalities and state
4. Locate in a fixed place that is not tax-exempt
Include facilities in which funeral service may be conducted for a minimum of 10 people (totally not needed for non-service cremations)
5. Have access to rolling stock consisting of at least one motor hearse (totally not needed for non-service cremations)
6. Include a preparation room containing the facilities, equipment, and supplies required for the provision of adequate embalming of decedents (totally not needed for non-service cremations)
7. Include other facilities as necessary to comply with the sanitary codes of the state and municipality (again, totally not needed for non-service cremations)
8. A display room containing sufficient merchandise to permit reasonable selection (totally not needed for non-service cremations), including at least five adults caskets (again, totally not needed for non-service cremations)
9. Sufficient licensed personnel to conduct business (that would be the funeral director).
As you can see, several of these requirements for a licensed funeral home are unnecessary for accomplishing non-service based options such as direct cremation. Without having to provide these unnecessary items, a funeral director could substantially lower his pricing.
These unnecessary requirements cause a rise in the cost of good as produced by the funeral home. As funeral homes find their caseloads tilting toward cremations, they are faced with the outrageous expense of providing oversized facilities, equipment, and staffs required by state and federal regulations that are obsolete. Even if they were to scrub their investments into these facilities, the same requirements exist for new facilities, and therefore, so do the same expenses.
As consumers, we are now faced with the reality of government overreach in the funeral profession. Rather than allow the market to determine what a business offers its clientele, the government stepped in and insisted that every funeral home, offer every option, to every consumer. This across the board offer guarantee to every consumer, imposed by regulation rather than market trend adjustment, has now forced upon them the expense of that operation. Now the consumer is faced with the consequences of such folly. In order to obtain and maintain regulated service options and equipment that do not generate cash flow, the costs of salable funeral goods are beginning to adjust to market trends.
That is why cremation prices are rising.
The past two weeks have been difficult for me. I have suffered the loss of a dear friend and have served families that have suffered great losses. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unwarranted loss, stress, and heartache to so many people this year. Not only have we lost loved ones, but we have lost our economy, our comfort, and our security as Americans. Everywhere I look, it seems that people are rude and uncaring toward each other when what we need is love. I wish we could be kind to each other, considerate to each other, and help each other through our difficulties rather than burning cities, burning businesses, and tearing apart what makes up great, our Union. Americans are the most blessed people in the world. We live in a time of convenience and wealth. Why is it then that we can’t add kindness and respect to our society? Why must there be murders and brutal attacks on innocent people walking down the street? I work with families every day who would give all that they have for just one more moment with their loved one to say, “I’m sorry” or “I love you.” Time is so precious, but even more precious is the way that we treat others. For if we treat others with contempt, we will reap the bitter reward of hatred. Hate eats a person from the inside out, and no matter how hard a hateful person tries to find happiness, it will never come to them. I know this because I see it every day. A hateful heart has no room for happiness. Happiness only comes to those who love. Love is like light. Light is the only thing that is stronger than the dark. If you have a completely dark room and you strike a match, the light from that match will push the darkness away and light up the room. Conversely, if you have a room filled with light and you cup your hands to create a spot of darkness. As soon as you open your hands, the dark is gone. Light overpowers it just as love overpowers hate. Love is the only thing that is stronger than hate. If you strike an ember of love in the heart of someone full of hate, love will grow and overtake their hatred. In my profession, love is very important. I see all too often those who have pushed love aside thinking that they were winning an argument or for some other ridiculous reason. What I see when this happens is that at the end of life, those who were foolish and let hatred get the best of them suffer the most. They remain miserable for the rest of their lives. Don’t be one of these people. Don’t let hatred get the best of you. And most assuredly, let us not allow hatred to overtake our country. I don’t want to live in a world filled with hatred and discontent. I want happiness and love for all. I especially want love in your life when you suffer loss because believe me, when the grim reaper knocks, it’s too late to cry for one more moment to say, “I’m sorry” or “I love you.” At that moment, the weight of hatred crushes every hope you ever had to make amends, to accomplish happiness, or to right any wrong you may have perpetrated. It’s too late and you are the person who will suffer the consequences of your vicious actions. You are the person who will have no friends, no love, and who will die alone; miserable because of your hatred and terrible deeds. I know because I see it in so many people who thought they could just make a statement, a judgment, or an action and not suffer the consequences. In the end, it’s the hateful people who suffer the consequences. They die alone without love or support. Their needs are not met and they writhe in misery. I lost a dear friend this past week. He was kind, loving, and good. He made the world a better place, and he made my life happier through his actions of kindness toward me. I wish everyone alive could have known my friend. Christ died to make man holy, and my friend John took up his offer. John was a holy man. He lived his life serving others, teaching others, and helping anyone who needed help. He was filled with love and he shared his love with those who needed it. If we could all be like John, the world would be an amazingly happy and beautiful place. John is gone and I feel the weight of his loss deeply in my soul. He leaves a legacy of service to our nation, service to Christ, and service to anyone who needed it. He was a good man, a great man, and now he is gone. I will have the honor of directing his memorial service in a few days. The church will be bursting as those who John served make their way there to express their sorrow and love for him. I will be one of those people. John’s legacy will continue in his absence because he ignited goodness, love, and service in the hearts of those about him. May we all understand and embrace John’s mission in life to serve and love our fellow beings. Doing so will bring us the greatest rewards. It will fill our lives with the greatest gifts on earth; joy, happiness, and love. This is my prayer for you, for our nation, and for the world during this time of uncertainty and discontent. Thank you, John, for being my friend, and my God bless you as you arrive home, never to suffer more, the pains of the world nor heartaches of men. Godspeed.
I received a first call late last night and was therefore at the hospital when I ran into an acquaintance of mine. As we spoke, she told me that her father had recently died. She began to cry and I offered to send over a set of my grief books (Mourning Light I, II, & III) to her office the following morning. I wrote her a sympathy card and delivered the books about 15 minutes ago. She had not yet arrived at her office, so I left the books and card with her secretary. The following is the note I wrote in the sympathy card. I thought I would share it, in hopes that it might help others who mourn as well. Dear Friend, February will be the 2nd anniversary of my grandson’s death. It is said that “Death is Final”; that is untrue. The pain and loneliness remain in my soul, and it feels as though I held his lifeless body, yesterday, in my arms. That day broke me; it almost killed me. Had I not had the love and support of my husband and children, I don’t think my sanity would have remained with me. The pain continues to crush my soul with anguish. There are 4 things that have helped me survive the debilitating pain of losing my grandson, and I wanted to share them with you in hopes that you might find peace in them as well. Prayer Prayer was, and continues to be, my saving grace. Without the love and promise of Christ’s redeeming grace, peace would remain unobtainable. Recounting my Experience Sharing my story out loud made it real. It took away my fear. It gave me power over the chaos of pain. Information As a certified grief counselor, knowing what to expect and whether it was normal or abnormal helped keep my worries at bay. The books that I have sent over are filled with information, plainly and simply written, to help you understand and identify the symptoms of grief, as well as recovery’s signs and secrets. Journaling Writing down my anguishes, thoughts, pains, worries, and fears helped me to let them go. I was able to organize myself, and it gave me hope for my future. I am sorry for the dreadful sorrow in your heart, and the pain that infiltrates your daily existence. I understand that breathing feels unnatural, it takes effort to continue on, and that peace eludes you. I wish that death did not exist, but it is a reality that the both of us know all too well; one that we must endure. I believe that families are forever, that we are all God’s children, and that we will reunite with our loved ones across the veil as we too, one day, experience death. Until that day arrives, however, I pray that you and I will live our lives as emissaries of Christ, basking in his grace, and recipients of his glory. I hope that as you suffer the loss of your daddy that you will feel comfortable in reaching out to others, and that you might call me should you need assistance. The pain of grief should never be carried nor suffered in silence, nor alone. Reach out and allow those who love and care for you to lighten your burdens. Life will never be as it once was, but it will improve as you share priceless moments of peace with those who remain by your side. I hold you in high esteem, and pray that Christ’s promise will grace your soul. With Deepest Regards, Tracy Lee My name is Tracy Renee Lee. I am a Certified Grief Counselor (GC-C), Funeral Director (FDIC), published author, syndicated columnist, and co-founder of the “Mikey Joe Children’s Memorial” and Heaven Sent, Corp. I write books, weekly bereavement articles, and Grief BRIEFs related to understanding and coping with grief. I am the American Funeral Director of the Year Runner-Up and recipient of the BBB’s Integrity Award. It is my life's work to comfort the bereaved and help them live on, as well as educate adults in the needs of surviving children.