Illinois Administrative Code › Title 38 - FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS › Part 610 - ILLINOIS FUNERAL OR BURIAL FUNDS ACT › Section 610.50 - Requirements for all Pre-Need Contracts

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 28, July 12, 2024
a) Pre-need contracts required to be filed
			 with the Comptroller must meet the criteria set forth in this Section. All
			 pre-need contracts submitted between January 1, 1994 and July 3, 1996 shall be
			 deemed to have been submitted on the effective date of this Part.
b) Required Contents:
1) Name and address of the principal office
			 of the seller and, if applicable, the parent company of the seller.
2) Name of purchaser and contract
			 beneficiary, if different from the purchaser and known.
3) Name and address of provider's principal
			 office, but if the provider has branch locations, the name and address of the
			 branch at which the funeral will be performed, if specified by the
			 purchaser.
4) Complete description
			 and price of funeral merchandise and services.
5) Disclosure of whether the contract is
			 guaranteed or non-guaranteed as to the price or if the contract contains both
			 guaranteed price items and non-guaranteed price items a clear statement of
			 which goods and services are guaranteed and which are not.
A) Each contract for goods and services for
			 which the price is guaranteed, or which contains both guaranteed and
			 non-guaranteed items, shall contain the following statement in 12 point bold
			 type:
THIS CONTRACT GUARANTEES THE BENEFICIARY THE SPECIFIC GOODS AND
				SERVICES CONTRACTED FOR. NO ADDITIONAL CHARGES MAY BE REQUIRED FOR DESIGNATED
				GOODS AND SERVICES. ADDITIONAL CHARGES MAY BE INCURRED FOR UNEXPECTED EXPENSES
				INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, CASH ADVANCES, SHIPPING OF REMAINS FROM A
				DISTANT PLACE, OR DESIGNATED HONORARIA ORDERED OR DIRECTED BY SURVIVORS.
				[225 ILCS
				45/1a-1(a)(3)(A) ]
B) Except as provided in subsection
			 (b)(5)(C), each contract for goods or services for which the price is not
			 guaranteed, or which contains both guaranteed and non-guaranteed items, shall
			 contain the following statement in 12 point bold type:
THIS CONTRACT DOES NOT GUARANTEE THE PRICE THE BENEFICIARY WILL
				PAY FOR ANY SPECIFIC GOODS OR SERVICES. ANY FUNDS PAID UNDER THIS CONTRACT ARE
				ONLY A DEPOSIT TO BE APPLIED TOWARD THE FINAL PRICE OF THE GOODS OR SERVICES
				CONTRACTED FOR. ADDITIONAL CHARGES MAY BE REQUIRED. [225
				ILCS 45/1a-1(a)(3)(B) ]
C) If a non-guaranteed price
			 contract may subsequently become guaranteed, the contract shall clearly
			 disclose the nature of the guarantee and the time, occurrence, or event upon
			 which the contract shall become a guaranteed price contract.
6) Where the particular goods and
			 services specified are unavailable at the time of delivery, the contract shall
			 state that supplies and services similar in style and equal quality will be
			 provided.
7) Any penalties or
			 restrictions in performing the contract must be fully stated.
8) The method of funding the pre-need
			 contract must be stated along with the following information:
A) The relationship among the funding person,
			 the provider, and the seller.
B)
			 The impact on the pre-need contract if the following occurs:
i) Changes in the funding arrangements or use
			 of funds.
ii) Penalties to be
			 incurred if the purchaser fails to make payments.
iii) Penalties to be incurred or moneys or
			 refunds to be received as a result of the cancellation.
iv) A difference between the proceeds of the
			 funding arrangement and the amount actually needed for the funeral
			 at-need.
9)
			 The method for changing the designation of the provider must be fully
			 described.
10) Unless the pre-need
			 contract provides for more liberal cancellation terms, every pre-need contract
			 sold outside of the seller's principal place of business is subject to the
			 Federal Trade Commission rule ( 16 CFR 429 ) concerning the Cooling-Off Period
			 for Door-to-Door Sales. The FTC Rule provides that with any door-to-door sale
			 the seller must furnish the purchaser a completed receipt or copy of any
			 contract pertaining to the sale at the time the contract is signed. The seller
			 must comply with the following terms:
A) A
			 completed receipt or copy of the pre-need contract at the time of signing must
			 be furnished to the purchaser.
B)
			 The same language must be used in both the oral sales presentation and the
			 written contract to the purchaser.
C) Notice of purchaser's right to cancel
			 within 3 days after signing pre-need contract. The notice must be as follows:
i) Located close to the signature
			 line.
ii) Printed in 12 point bold
			 type.
iii) State that "YOU, THE
			 BUYER, MAY CANCEL THIS TRANSACTION AT ANY TIME PRIOR TO MIDNIGHT OF THE THIRD
			 BUSINESS DAY AFTER THE DATE OF THIS TRANSACTION."
D) All monies must be refunded without
			 penalty within 10 days after cancellation.
11) In addition to the cancellation
			 provisions of subsection (b)(10) of this Section, each pre-need contract shall
			 include a statement that the purchaser has the right to cancel the pre-need
			 contract prior to need and receive a refund as authorized or required by the
			 Illinois Funeral or Burial Funds Act within 30 days after written demand.
			 Nothing in this Section shall prohibit a purchaser who is or may become
			 eligible for public assistance from making a guaranteed price contract
			 irrevocable in an amount prescribed by rule of the Illinois Department of
			 Public Aid to the extent that federal law or regulations require that such a
			 contract be irrevocable for purposes of the purchaser's eligibility for
			 Supplemental Social Security Income benefits, Medicaid, or other public
			 assistance program, as permitted under federal law.