What is a General Price List?

Since 1984, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has enforced the provisions of the “Funeral Industry Practices” law — usually referred to as the “Funeral Rule” — which governs the sale of funeral goods or services in the United States. The rule specifies the type of information and disclosures that funeral providers must provide to consumers in order to protect the latter from unscrupulous business practices. One of the key provisions of the Funeral Rule is that every consumer must receive a General Price List when talking about or buying funeral goods or services from a funeral provider.

This article explains the six key disclosures that every General Price List (GPL) must contain, and when you should expect to receive a GPL if you are discussing or purchasing funeral goods or services.

What is a General Price List?

A General Price List (GPL) is an itemized list prepared by a funeral provider that contains identifying information about the business; itemized costs for the particular goods and services offered by the funeral provider; and six specific disclosures required by the FTC Funeral Rule. The intent of a GPL is to “enable consumers to comparison shop and to purchase, on an itemized basis, only the goods and services they want.”

Identifying Information

According to the FTC, every GPL should be printed or typewritten, and must include the following identifying information:

• The name, address and telephone number of the funeral provider’s business.

• If relevant, the name, address and telephone number of the funeral provider’s branch locations.

• The caption or title “General Price List.”

• The date (month, day and year) when the GPL went into effect. (Funeral providers may change/update their costs for goods or services at will/as needed, so these dates will vary by provider.)

Six Required GPL Disclosures

After listing the identifying information on the GPL, funeral providers must include the following six disclosures. The FTC Funeral Rule specifies the exact wording for each of these disclosures, and funeral providers may not edit, modify or paraphrase this language on their GPLs. (Note: The rule does allow funeral providers to reference their specific state laws governing the sale of funeral goods or services on their GPLs, if applicable and where relevant, but every GPL must still include the exact FTC wording.)

Disclosure 1: Right of Selection
As a funeral consumer, you have the right to select and purchase only the funeral goods or services you want to buy. Per the FTC, the following text must appear on a GPL: The goods and services shown below are those we can provide to our customers. You may choose only the items you desire.[*] If legal or other requirements mean you must buy any items you did not specifically ask for, we will explain the reason in writing on the statement we provide describing the funeral goods and services you selected.

Because many funeral homes do not build the cost of their overhead into the prices of their goods and/or services, these providers may recover those costs as a separate non-declinable fee. This charge is generally called the “basic services fee” or “non-declinable services fee” although you will often see it listed on a GPL as “Basic Services of Funeral Director and Staff.” When a funeral provider recovers its overhead as a separate non-declinable fee, the business must insert the following sentence in the “[*]” shown above, per the FTC: However, any funeral arrangements you select will include a charge for our basic services and overhead.

Disclosure 2: Embalming
The next disclosure mandated by the Funeral Rule addresses a misperception held by many consumers — namely, that the law requires the embalming of a deceased body. Embalming is (usually) not required by law, and is definitely not required when a consumer selects immediate burial, direct cremation, or when a family desires a closed-casket funeral without a formal wake/visitation and the funeral provider can refrigerate the deceased. Otherwise, local or state laws might require embalming for certain services, such as when a formal open-casket wake/visitation is desired, or when burial will not occur within a specified period. (Check your local/state laws.)

Regardless, unless local or state laws do not require embalming under any circumstances, a GPL must include the following text: Except in certain special cases, embalming is not required by law. Embalming may be necessary, however, if you select certain funeral arrangements, such as a funeral with viewing. If you do not want embalming, you usually have the right to choose an arrangement that does not require you to pay for it, such as direct cremation or immediate burial.

Disclosure 3: Alternative Containers
The third GPL disclosure required by the Funeral Rule reads: If you want to arrange a direct cremation, you can use an alternative container. Alternative containers encase the body and can be made of materials like fiberboard or composition materials (with or without an outside covering). The containers we provide are…

According to the FTC, an alternative container is an “unfinished wood box or other non-metal receptacle or enclosure, without ornamentation or a fixed interior lining, which is designed for the encasement of human remains and which is made of fiberboard, pressed-wood, composition materials (with or without an outside covering) or like materials.”

What this means for you as a funeral consumer is that, if you choose direct cremation as the means of final disposition for yourself or a loved one, you are not required to purchase a casket from the funeral provider. Instead, you may purchase or provide a suitable alternative container for use during the cremation process. (Please note that if the funeral provider does not offer direct cremation, then the business does not need to include this disclosure on its GPL.)

Disclosure 4: Basic Services Fee
As noted earlier, funeral homes often charge a “basic services fee” to cover the cost of arranging a funeral service and to recover overhead charges not allocated to other goods and/or services. When a consumer cannot decline this fee, the following text must appear on the GPL: This fee for our basic services and overhead will be added to the total cost of the funeral arrangements you select. (This fee is already included in our charges for direct cremations, immediate burials, and forwarding or receiving remains.)

In some cases, a funeral home might add the cost of arranging a funeral service and its overhead to its casket prices instead of charging it as a separate item (the “basic services fee”). In these situations, the funeral provider must use the following text on its GPL: Please note that a fee of [$XXXX] for the use of our basic services and overhead is included in the price of our caskets. This same fee shall be added to the total cost of your funeral arrangements if you provide the casket. Our services include…

Disclosure 5: Casket Price List
If a funeral provider does not list its casket prices by model directly on its GPL, then it must include the range of prices it charges (low to high or vice versa) and include the following text: A complete price list will be provided at the funeral home. In such cases, you as the funeral consumer should expect to see a separate Casket Price List when discussing or purchasing a casket.

Disclosure 6: Outer Burial Container Price List
If a funeral provider does not list its outer burial container prices by model directly on its GPL, then it must include the range of prices it charges (low to high or vice versa) and include the following text: A complete price list will be provided at the funeral home. In such cases, you as the funeral consumer should expect to see a separate Outer Burial Container Price List when discussing or purchasing an outer burial container.

Regardless of whether these prices appear on the GPL or as a separate list, the Funeral Rule requires the following text to appear directly next to this information: In most areas of the country, state or local law does not require that you buy a container to surround the casket in the grave. However, many cemeteries require that you have such a container so that the grave will not sink in. Either a grave liner or a burial vault will satisfy these requirements.

When You Should Receive a GPL

The FTC Funeral Rule requires funeral providers to give a GPL “to anyone who asks, in person, about funeral goods, funeral services, or the prices of such goods or services.”

The term “anyone” truly means anyone, regardless of whether he or she actually intends to make funeral arrangements. (The Funeral Rule even requires funeral providers to give a GPL to a direct competitor if asked!)

Moreover, a funeral provider must give you a GPL regardless of whether you are making funeral arrangements after a death occurs (“at-need”) or simply gathering information ahead of time (“preneed”). Please note that if you telephone a funeral provider and inquire about prices, the provider must give you accurate information over the phone but the Funeral Rule does not require the provider to send you its GPL in the mail. In addition, funeral providers subject to the FTC Funeral Rule are not required to post/publish their GPLs online, such as on their company website.

Next, the Funeral Rule requires a funeral provider to give you a GPL when you begin discussing any of the following:

• The type of funeral service(s) or forms of final disposition the funeral provider offers.

• Any specific goods and/or services the funeral provider sells.

• The prices for any specific goods and/or services the funeral provider sells.

Finally, funeral providers must give you a copy of their GPL “for retention,” which means that you have the right to keep the GPL and take it with you. A funeral provider may not merely tell you that he or she will “get you a copy” at some later time, or show you a GPL in a binder or plastic sleeve that appears to be the property of the funeral home and not for you to take.

Sources:
“Complying With the Funeral Rule” by the Federal Trade Commission, August 2012. Retrieved January 01, 2017. http://www.business.ftc.gov/documents/bus05-complying-funeral-rule