According to the Funeral Rule, a separate printed or typewritten Casket Price List (CPL) is required if a funeral provider's General Price List does not include the retail price of each casket offered by the funeral provider. The CPL can be in any form, including in a notebook or on a chart, as long as it displays the required information in a clear and conspicuous manner.

Required Information

The CPL must include enough descriptive information about each casket to enable consumers to identify the specific casket or container and understand what they are buying. In particular, the CPL must include:

(1) the name of the funeral provider's business;

(2) the caption: "Casket Price List;"

(3) the effective date of the CPL; and

(4) the retail price of each casket and alternative container that is usually offered for sale by the funeral provider and does not require "special ordering," with enough information to identify it.

* Under the Rule, "special ordering" refers to the purchase of a casket or container that is not in stock and is not part of the funeral provider's regular offerings to customers.

* Both caskets and alternative containers must be listed on the CPL. The Rule does not permit a separate list for alternative containers.

* The Rule does not require the CPL to include caskets that are not usually offered for sale, such as customized caskets and caskets that are no longer regularly offered for sale but are kept in inventory to fill pre-existing, pre-need contracts. A funeral provider is not required to prepare a new CPL if a casket or container is temporarily out-of-stock.

Using the CPL

A funeral provider must show the CPL to anyone who asks in person about the funeral provider's caskets, alternative containers, or their prices. The CPL must be offered when the funeral provider begins to discuss caskets or alternative containers and before these items are shown. Consumers must be able to view the CPL before discussing their options or seeing the actual caskets. However, the Rule does not require funeral providers to offer consumers copies of the CPL that they can keep.

A funeral provider may use individual price cards on caskets, but only in addition to a CPL. Consumers should not first learn of casket prices by entering the casket showroom and reading price cards placed on individual caskets or by having the funeral provider recite such information orally.

If a funeral provider uses a manufacturer's or supplier's casket showroom outside of the funeral home, the funeral provider must offer the CPL when the discussion of caskets begins. If the funeral provider begins to discuss caskets in his place of business, he must offer the CPL at that time. However, if the funeral provider does not begin to discuss caskets until he arrives at the manufacturer's or supplier's showroom, he does not have to show a CPL until he arrives and the discussion begins.

A CPL must be shown to anyone who wishes to modify a casket already purchased under a pre-need contract.

Copyright 2010 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.