In recent years, local, family-owned funeral homes have faced increasing challenges in maintaining their market share and relevance in a rapidly evolving industry. Several factors have contributed to this shift, threatening a business model that has served communities for generations, but one startup is giving these community-driven businesses a lifeline.
The Biggest Threats to Local Funeral Homes
Every funeral director has heard the broken record of upward cremation trends. Locally-owned funeral homes are no stranger to the pressures these no- or low-frills disposition options put on their traditionally full-service funeral businesses.
Another formidable challenge comes from nationally-owned funeral home chains. These corporate entities have the financial resources to acquire and streamline local businesses. Though, what they have in financial resources they lack in a deep, long-standing relationship with the families in their new communities.
This consolidation has created more impersonal planning experiences for families and put pressure on independent funeral homes to compete with larger, more efficient operations.
Speaking of big companies, preneed insurance carriers have also played a role in reshaping the industry landscape. Funeral homes are required to partner with a carrier in order to sell preneed — and carriers know it.
Preneed insurance partnerships often come with opaque commission schedules, hidden fees that eat into earnings, mountains of paperwork, and an overall impersonal experience for preneed families.
How Can Local Funeral Homes Compete?
Amidst these challenges, there is a beacon of hope for local funeral homes: technology. New digital tools and artificial intelligence (AI) are emerging as potential game-changers, offering independent funeral homes the means to level the playing field and compete effectively with larger corporate players.
AI-powered solutions can help local funeral homes streamline documentation and enhance personalization, creating a better overall preneed experience for families. This leads to better business results for funeral homes and their preneed agents, but it also serves to deepen the connection between funeral homes and their communities.
The deathcare industry is ripe for technological innovation that can support local funeral homes, and this startup has answered the call.
Introducing Prelude
Prelude is a member-based preneed insurance collective who has reimagined the preneed experience from the selling experience to the payouts. Prelude’s AI-powered digital app is designed specifically for funeral pre-planning and preneed insurance.
Where Prelude Leverages AI:
1. Families answer a few simple questions about their life and wishes in the Prelude app.
2. The AI tool captures these answers and develops a personalized pre-plan.
3. Their recommended pre-plan (and any edits they make) are automatically documented in a personalized letter to their loved ones.
4. Families receive multiple payment plan options based on their budget and the GPL of their funeral home.
5. After a couple short insurance questions, the Prelude tool creates a custom contract for all parties to sign.
With Prelude, local funeral homes can offer a modern, convenient pre-planning experience while maintaining their community-focused approach. This combination of easy-to-use tools and high-touch service can be a powerful differentiator in competing with corporate funeral chains and maintaining a vital role in the community.
