Senior Life Unannounced Rate Increase-Normal/Abnormal?

[Newby]

Legacy says all of their 200+ caskets are 18 gauge steel. Same quality that most funeral homes use.

The least expensive caskets at funeral homes are 20 guage and then 18 guage is next and is more popular. (metal is measured like wire where higher numbers are thinner and lower numbers are thicker.)

But when you get into more expensive caskets at funeral homes they are 16 guage, stainless steel, copper, bronze or solid hardwood.

 

[theinsuranceman]

The funeral home dose not advance ant money ro legacy. The cost for casket. Urn, etc. has already been paid through the $4 per month.

Legacy has to be a cash cow. If you elect not to pay for Legacy, SL collects the "$4" per month from the agent through reduced 1st year and 0 renewal commissions.
If a person does choose Legachy and drops the policy after three years, that is $144 Legac y keeps.
If a person keeps the plan 10 years and the family does not use it, Legacy gets to keep the $480 plus interest.
I would bet there is a small percentage that makes use of the plan. In that case, assuming a 10 year old policy Legacy would pay out the wholesale cost of the casket, etc. Which would be nowhere near thec$3500 stated benefit.
One question I have not seen addressed is does the agent actually get paid on the Legacy fees?

$4 per month doesn't generate much commissions for an agent.....lol. However, the improved persistency more than compensates for whatever small amount $4 per month would generate.

Some people out there will pay on a policy for several years, the policy has been lost, and when death happens the family never files a claim with the carrier. The carrier gets to keep all those premiums! (I personally don't understand why some families don't check bank drafts on statements, or see the monthly premium due bill come in, etc.).

 

[theinsuranceman]

The least expensive caskets at funeral homes are 20 guage and then 18 guage is next and is more popular. (metal is measured like wire where higher numbers are thinner and lower numbers are thicker.)

But when you get into more expensive caskets at funeral homes they are 16 guage, stainless steel, copper, bronze or solid hardwood.

Thanks for the lesson. Rouse are you paying attention or sleeping? lol

 

[Newby]

Remember, Ms. Jones picks out the casket she likes way before she passes. There's a record of which casket she likes. I'm thinking that if the funeral director tries to undercut Legacy on the price of their casket ($1500) most families will say something like "we don't want to change anything. This is the casket momma picked too be buried in from Legacy and that's the casket we're going to use".

Now if the funeral director has a casket in house that matched what momma picked then he may get the casket sale. Legacy has over 200 caskets to pick from. I've seen caskets that are blue, red, white, etc. that I've never seen anywhere else. I don't know of any funeral homes that carry an inventory of over 200 caskets in house.

Even if the funeral home makes the casket sale, Legacy is also in the family's corner price negotiating with the funeral home, sharing prices of neighboring funeral homes, etc.

And Ms. Jones, while living, enjoyed discounts on hearing aids, free annual hearing exam, discounts on diabetic socks and diabetic shoes, 24 hour telemedicine. These savings right here more than subsidize the $4 monthly membership fee. She's getting way more than $4 of value each month.

BUT WAIT....THERE'S MORE!

Ms. Jones can pick any 4 family members and they are added to her $4 monthly membership for free. So Ms. Jones mother, who is 97 and too old to buy insurance, all of a sudden gets her casket, vault, and monument locked into place for $2950 where as at the local funeral home these 3 items would be $7000-$8000. So now that her 97 year old mother can save $4000-$5000 on her funeral...why that's like she just got a free $5000 policy with immediate coverage.....even though she's in a nursing home with alzheimer's.

Anything could happen. There are no absolutes. But I know if YOU or I was the funeral director meeting with the family at the time of making the arrangements, we are not going to lose a casket sale to anyone. But not every funeral director is good at what they do. So some will.

Most modern funeral homes do not inventory caskets any more. They use catalogs or computer programs to select them. Believe me Batesville offers around 400 plus customization. and they have several competitors with hundreds more. There is way TOO much selection for most people. The big advantage of Batesville is overnight delivery. The delivery system is a huge part of the casket cost.

I think Legacy is a good tool for offering something a little different than other FE companies. If it helps sell the insurance policy it has done it's job.

 

[titeye]

One question I have not seen addressed is does the agent actually get paid on the Legacy fees?

This question has been addressed and answered numerous times, by me specifically. The agent does not get paid on the Legacy fee. Quite the opposite. He is penalyzed and commission on the life insurance sale is reduced significantly! Of course, they will phrase it much differently so it's easier for the agent to swallow.

 

[titeye]

BUT WAIT....THERE'S MORE!

Tooooo funny! hahahahahah....
Nice touch, Greg. lol

 

[Newby]

Thanks for the lesson. Rouse are you paying attention or sleeping? lol

Here's a nugget for your presentation.
18 gauge metal means that if you stacked 18 sheets of that metal on top of each other it would equal 1-inch.
That's why 20 gauge is thinner (20 sheets = 1inch)
And 16 gauge is thicker (16 sheets = 1- inch)

 

[titeye]

Legacy says all of their 200+ caskets are 18 gauge steel. Same quality that most funeral homes use.

You bring up an interesting point. Newby says Batesvilles sells 18 guage steel caskets, and suggests that perhaps Legacy's 18 guage steel caskets are knockoffs imported from China, and therefore, not of the same quality. I'm not certain whether any of that matters when putting money into the ground, but is there any truth to that, Greg, or are you saying 18 guage is 18 guage, regardless of where it's manufactured?

 

[theinsuranceman]

You bring up an interesting point. Newby says Batesvilles sells 18 guage steel caskets, and suggests that perhaps Legacy's 18 guage steel caskets are knockoffs imported from China, and therefore, not of the same quality. I'm not certain whether any of that matters when putting money into the ground, but is there any truth to that, Greg, or are you saying 18 guage is 18 guage, regardless of where it's manufactured?

18 gauge steel is the same no matter where it's manufactured. That's about all I know about it.

I'm guessing that those cheap $300 caskets are made out of a different gauge steel, or maybe made out of some type of wood material?

 

[Lawsonhj1]

It's not just the steel it's handles, exterior finish, interior the whole casket. If someone wants to purchase just based on casket gauge plenty of online retailers have cheap prices with more transparency it is still difficult for me to see the benefit of membership.

If I think of Legacy as a tool as Newby suggested doesn't matter if I buy into it if someone else likes that tool in their box I can at least wrap my head around it now.