We have brought together some topical news stories about the funeral industry and death-care in culture.
The Funeral Rule is currently under review by the FTC. In November 2022, an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking was announced, inviting the public to comment on proposed changes and updates to the long-standing Rule. Who are the FTC? The Federal Trade Commission is a government agency established to enforce antitrust and consumer protection laws … Read more
How much is the U.S. Funeral Industry worth? The U.S. funeral market is currently estimated to be worth around $20 billion annually, with 2.4 million funerals taking place each year. Due to the increase in the U.S. senior population in the coming years, this death rate is set to rise. There are an estimated 19,000 … Read more
The world of inheritance tax has come into the spotlight in recent months. According to the Wall Street Journal, President Biden is preparing to roll out a new series of inheritance and death tax measures that will have an impact even on modest estates – despite a stated aim of putting pressure on the ultra-wealthy. As a … Read more
In April 2021 Congress passed legislation to authorize FEMA to provide financial assistance to those families who had incurred funeral expenses related to the passing of a family member from COVID-19. This relates ONLY to funeral expenses paid out after January 20th, 2020. FEMA is now accepting applications to claim back funeral expenses incurred. As … Read more
How to cater to, and market to, the growing Hispanic and Latino population in the United States is something many industries and even government agencies are trying to understand and master today. Here at US Funerals Online, we wrote some time ago a short piece on ‘Funeral Homes Catering to the Hispanic Population’, and yet … Read more
CNN ran an interesting story today from Asia about the design project for a floating cemetery. The title of “A cruise for cremains” caught my eye as I envisaged that the Carnival Cruise Ship Line was introducing a service offering ash scattering cruises from the U.S. to the Caribbean. I recently read of a baby … Read more
Google is quite omnipotent, and has such powerful control over our everyday interactions in the digital world today. Whether you choose to, or not, it is likely you use a Google product almost every day, and probably multiple times. Facebook announced some time ago that they had introduced an option to facilitate an account being … Read more
We all are familiar with the term ‘poverty’ and what it implies. The US Census 2017 reported that 13.9% of Americans live below the poverty line or poverty threshold. The poverty threshold is defined as a household income of $16,240 for a family of 2. This, however, does not take into account the thousands of … Read more
This seems to be a growing trend among progressive funeral homes today. Since we first published an article in January 2011 about ‘US Funeral Homes Adapting to Host Weddings and Other Life Celebration Events’, it seems there are more and more innovative ways in which funeral homes are serving as community centers. The bottom line … Read more
According to the 2008 census, people of Hispanic origin are now the nation’s largest ethnic or race minority. Hispanics constitute 15% of the nation’s total population, with 48% of the Hispanic-origin population living in California and Texas. With an ever-increasing Hispanic population, even the Funeral Industry is now adapting to how to fulfill the growing … Read more
A lock of Michael Jackson’s hair owned by known Hollywood hair collector, John Reznikoff, is now going to be used to create a unique diamond by a company named LifeGem. Reznikoff, who secured a lock of Jackson’s hair that had caught fire in a freak accident during the filming of a 1984 Pepsi commercial, reportedly … Read more
A new analysis of mortality rates in the United States during different times of the year has found that people are more likely to die during the holidays – namely on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. A group of sociologists analyzed all the official death certificates during a 25-year period in the U.S. between … Read more
Cremation has become a household term in the U.S. today, now accounting for 55% of all funerals conducted. Even those states traditionally very slow to accept cremation–Mississippi, Tennessee, and Alabama are now reporting significant increases in cremation cases. The funeral industry, known in the past for its slowness to respond to change, is starting to … Read more
On Thursday, January 31st, 2013, CNBC aired a documentary that went behind the scenes of the $17 billion death care industry in the United States. Tyler Mathisen presented the show that looked at how death care professionals profit from helping us make that final journey. It is already acknowledged by those within the death care … Read more
Cremation is storming our funeral industry as more and more Americans choose cremation for their final disposition. The cremation rate in the U.S. has risen from around 20% in the mid-1990s to over 42% in 2013. Forecasts expect it to reach over 60% by 2020. Pet Cremation: A convenient final disposition for lost furry loved … Read more