How Many Death Claims Do You Help With/Get Per Year?

[FreeAgent007]

I understand. I do not go to the extent of researching funeral homes. Not my lane. I will drive out and do that paperwork. I've driven hours to service clients. But I am not recommending anyone I do not know or have control over. As I mentioned earlier I write Life Insurance not just FE and my Final Expense is not the 'Typical' FE client so they typically are very capable of handling the details.

I applaud your commitment to service. Just make sure you do not service yourself into the poor house.

Just a small aside, 1 helper does not a team make. Clients don't care if you have "a Team". They want you.

Yeah researching would basically compromise of getting pricing lists from 3 homes and I have a pre-made guide to just make sure the family understands their options like direct cremation through a crematory vs full funeral (to save money) etc, advanced funding if needed or use a 3rd party for a casket. That's as far as I go...just making sure they have someone in their corner to know their rights and options if they decide to use them.

 

[FreeAgent007]

I probably get a lot more death claims than I'm aware of if the deceased wasn't a debit client. Like @WinoBlues said, most of the companies just don't tell you anymore. I get several calls from beneficiaries, but no more than a couple dozen per year. Most just carry the policy to the funeral home.

I generally don't recommend funeral homes, either. But if the family asks me, I will recommend they try to find a locally owned, family funeral home and avoid the corporate homes. Also, if they're scrambling for $ for whatever reason (like a lapsed policy or a contestable claim), I'll tell them about a lower priced home in their area.

I used to sometimes go with the family to advocate for them during arrangements, but found that the funeral directors often seemed to perceive me as a threat, which tended to make the process more difficult. I honestly don't have time to do that anymore, either. So, nowadays I just try to coach the beneficiaries about what to expect at the funeral home and the claims process. If they don't need the policy to pay for the funeral, I insist on helping them with the paperwork. Then, I keep them updated on the claim, especially when contestable, until it's finalized and payment is made.

That's helpful - that's basically what I'm trying to do. Not so much recommending a funeral home per se, but just getting them 3 options and coaching them if they want it on how to work with their financial situation. I didn't know how many claims experienced agents get a year but I figured it would be less than 50 a year where I actually had to do any calls or helping the family. That's not much time per year to have to spend on it...in exchange for the value of being able to tell them about how I can help in the sales call with them. Sounds like that lines up with what you're saying.

Curious - when you say 'paperwork' - do you mean just filling out the death claim to the insurance company? How does that work for you - are you telling them to get a death certificate first from the funeral home, and you're taking all their info and submitting it to the company?

 

[jdeasy]

I generally download claim forms and send them to the funeral home or to the beneficiary. Whichever they prefer. I tell them they can send them back to me and I will forward to the company for them. Funeral homes usually send it themselves. Although a couple send to me. Most all beneficiaries send to me.

Most funeral homes appreciate the help because other agents are not. Some seem to think it's an annoyance.

Every beneficiary seems to appreciate it. Some even request the check be sent to me because they trust I will get it to them.

There's not an outline to do every case. Whatever help they need I do what I can to help.

Sometimes that help is just staying out of the way.

 

[shonceman]

Curious - when you say 'paperwork' - do you mean just filling out the death claim to the insurance company? How does that work for you - are you telling them to get a death certificate first from the funeral home, and you're taking all their info and submitting it to the company?

I need to have a death certificate first. I ask them to call me when they get it. Then I meet with them and fill out the claimant statements, etc. Sometimes there's an item or two in the packet that needs to be notarized. I fill those out as far as I can, then ask them to call me after they get them notarized. Once we have it all together, I send them by priority mail to the company.

I don't have to handle the paperwork end very often. My clientele is generally lower income, and rarely have cash to pay for the funeral. So they usually take the policy to the funeral director, who handles the claim from there. Usually I'm helping with contestable claims because the funeral home won't accept assignment on a policy that's under two years from issue date.