Inflation impacts the funeral industry
According to the National Funeral Directors Association, a traditional burial of a loved one is costing more than $8,000.
Which is an increase of 5.8% over the last two years.
“Inflation may have caused the price of a casket to increase but anytime you have a specialized service and you require attention immediately, there is a cost that comes with that, but it hasn’t risen astronomically. It has just risen slightly with the cost of living and inflation itself,” said Mark Roth, the funeral director at Thomas Family Funeral Home.
Having employees 24 hours a day, 365 days a year definitely comes at a cost.
“The cost of steel, so the price of a casket or the cost of wood, rising the cost of casket then would rise and it is passed on to the consumers so that is a negative,” said Roth.
But there is a positive aspect that can come out of it.
“As people see inflation rise, they are more careful with their choices. And I think that then leads to better communication with the funeral director that says we have this much money. Whether it is an insurance policy or another entity maybe mom left them some money to pay for things. A CD whatever their mode of payment is,” said Roth.
There are also ways to preplan and prepay for funeral costs, but inflation plays a role in that as well.
“if you put $5,000 away for your funeral and it grows to $5,500 and the cost of the funeral is $6,000 then there is a shortfall to that,” Roth added.
The family of the client is then left responsible for paying the difference.
Roth says it all depends on the inflation rate at the time.
Thomas Family Funeral Home has been around for around 100 years and they are here for you in the hard times, even during inflation.
Tomado de: www.kxnet.com