|
ICFA Responds to Good Housekeeping Article
On January 3, 2002, the ICFA sent the following letter to the editor of Good Housekeeping in response to an article on prefinancing funeral arrangements.
Letter to the Editor
Good Housekeeping Magazine
Hearst Communications, Inc.
959 Eighth Avenue
New York City, NY 10019
Re: Lisa Goff on Burial Plans, January 2002 Issue
Dear Editor:
Lisa Goff's brief piece on "Burial Plans" in the January 2002 issue of Good Housekeeping mixed apples with oranges in advising readers on whether to prepay for their funerals. Initially, Ms. Goff describes a monthly installment payment plan whereby some or all of the funds are deposited into a trust to assure the seller's performance. But then she warns of "some policyholders...paying more in premiums" that suggests an insurance policy-type of funding, and not the use of trusts. We suspect your readers will be confused.
Finally, Ms. Goff recites the conventional wisdom that it is somehow "better" to save money on your own rather than prepay funeral plans in advance of needing them. Unfortunately, experience has shown than many people must use their savings accounts to pay for the expenses of the final illness not covered by insurance, leaving little or nothing left for the funeral. We are concerned that Ms. Goff sacrificed useful information for the sake of brevity and we would welcome the opportunity to work with her to provide a more detailed review of the many choices available to consumers.
Very truly yours,
Robert M. Fells
External Chief Operating Officer
and General Counsel
*********************************************************************************************
|
