A plan found after the meeting
Your arranger meets a family and arranges a funeral. Two days later, the daughter finds a letter in her father's papers: he took out a pre-paid funeral plan with your firm years ago, through a plan provider you work with. Nobody checked at first call because the family did not mention it, and your records of plan holders are in three places: a filing cabinet from before the business changed hands, a provider portal and a spreadsheet.
Now the arrangement has to be revisited against what the plan covers, the estimate redone and the family told that some of what they chose was already paid for, and some was not.
Plan records scattered over time
Pre-paid plans are sold years or decades before they are used. Over that time, providers change, businesses merge and systems are replaced.
- Plan holders are recorded in different places depending on when and through whom the plan was sold.
- Provider portals show their own plans, not a combined list.
- Names and addresses on plans may be years out of date.
- Nothing checks for a plan automatically when a first call comes in.
- Claims to providers are tracked on the file, with payment reconciled later by hand.
What a missed plan costs
A plan found late means rework for your team and confusion for the family at the worst possible time. A plan never found means the family may pay for something that was already paid for, which is a serious matter for them and for your reputation.
On the claims side, plans claimed late or without the right paperwork are paid late, and reconciling provider payments against funerals becomes a monthly headache.
One plan register, checked at every first call
What we build is a register of every plan holder linked to your firm, searchable at the moments it matters.
- We bring plan holder records together from your filing, spreadsheets and exports from provider portals, where providers offer them, into one register with the plan provider, plan type and what it covers as recorded.
- Records are checked for duplicates and gaps, with a list for your team to review.
- When a first call is taken or a case is created, the deceased's name, date of birth and previous addresses are checked against the register, and any likely match is shown to the arranger.
- At the arrangement meeting, the plan's recorded inclusions are shown beside the choices, so the estimate reflects them from the start.
- The claim to the provider is tracked as a task with the documents needed, as your provider specifies, and its status through to payment.
- New plans sold through your firm are added to the register as they are sold.
| Moment | What the register does |
|---|---|
| First call | Checks for a matching plan holder |
| Arrangement meeting | Shows plan inclusions beside choices |
| After the funeral | Tracks the claim to the provider |
| Payment received | Reconciles it against the funeral account |
What a plan covers, and how claims must be made, are set by the plan provider and the regulation that applies to them. The register records what they tell you and does not interpret plan terms or give financial advice.
The same family, with the register
The first call is taken at night. The next morning, the case shows a possible match: a plan held with one of your providers, sold under a previous address. The arranger mentions it gently when she phones to arrange the meeting. The daughter finds the letter before they sit down, and the arrangement starts from what her father had already chosen.
Could a plan be missed at your firm?
- Plan holder records are in more than one place.
- Nobody checks for a plan automatically at first call.
- A plan has been found after the arrangement was made.
- Claims to providers are tracked by hand.
- Provider payments are reconciled against funerals manually.