Membership Benefits

The ICCFA does what no cemetery or funeral home can do alone: we speak for the entire deathcare profession. The ICCFA regularly interacts with numerous federal agencies, including the FTC, GAO, IRS, OSHA, and EPA, as well as the state and federal courts.

Additionally, the ICCFA supports the legal and regulatory needs of our members. Education and resources on ADA, OSHA, and Air Cargo “Known Shipper” compliance are available. Complimentary phone consultations (30 minutes) are also available for members to speak with experts on employment & labor law, taxes, cremation liability, and general price list compliance.

Our Annual Convention, conferences, and events offer unmatched content and idea-sharing. Nowhere else can owners and employees of cemeteries, funeral homes, crematories, memorial designers, pet loss providers, and suppliers come together to share so openly and honestly their challenges and solutions. Educational programming targets the most relevant issues facing our members, with a focus on providing solutions they can use to gain a competitive edge in their markets and to better serve families. Funeral directors can earn CE credits at each of our meetings.

Published 10 times a year, our award-winning magazine, Memento Mori, offers practical, “how to” articles, case studies and commentary contributed directly by our members as well as coverage of the most pressing federal legislative and regulatory issues facing the industry.

Available exclusively to ICCFA members, our bi-weekly electronic newsletter, Wireless, offers timely legislative, industry and association news.

Attorney and licensed funeral director Poul Lemasters offers a free review of members’ General Price Lists for compliance with the FTC Funeral Rule.

The PLPA is a group of like-minded pet-loss providers who are working to foster a high level of ethics and training within the industry. The PLPA is focused on establishing sound business practices and standards and promoting the value of quality pet-loss care to veterinarians and the public. Membership in the PLPA is included with ICCFA membership and is available to all companies that provide pet loss services and products, including traditional cemeteries and funeral homes that include pet care sections. Resources and forums for discussion are available to PLPA members.

Separate PLPA-only memberships are available for pet loss only businesses.

The ICCFA has developed forms, contracts and programs that can be accessed by members and customized to promote best practices at their locations:

• Cremation Authorization Forms
• Funeral Home and Cemetery Contracts with Third-Party Crematories
• Red Flag “Identity Theft” Compliance Program
• Document Retention/Destruction Sample Policies
• Whistleblower Sample Policies
• IRS Conflict-of-Interest Form for Officers and Directors
• Sample Influenza Policy for Employee Handbook

The ICCFA has partnered with Answering Service for Directors (ASD) to create a cremation hotline to answer any questions or concerns you may have regarding cremation, completely FREE of charge. This means that the greatest pool of cremation experts ever assembled is now at your service, 24/7!

Designed to protect your company against the specific exposures of the funeral industry, the ICCFA Business Insurance Program offers deeply-rooted security for your business. The program is exclusively available to members of the ICCFA and offers competitive pricing, superior customer service and a dedicated sales team.

The ICCFA holds exclusive retainer agreements with three attorneys and a certified public accountant to provide expert advice and opinion at no charge for 20-30 minutes to members with questions affecting their business:

• Tax attorney Les Schneider
• Labor law attorney Michael Pepperman
• Cremation counsel Poul Lemasters

This service is for the purpose of asking questions of the attorney within a 20-30 minute time frame. Should additional time or follow-up work be desired by the member, a fee will be generated by the attorney to the member for the additional work.

Our KIP (Keeping It Personal) Awards Program recognizes cemeteries, crematories, funeral homes, and suppliers for their efforts to personalize products and services for their client families. Our Certification Program recognizes individuals who have achieved a high level of professional competence and extensive knowledge of industry principles and practices. KIP Awards winners and certification recipients are provided press releases so they can publicize their programs to their local media.

Serving merchants for more than 30 years, TSYS Merchant Solutions offers ICCFA members a discounted payment acceptance program tailored to your business needs. By partnering with TSYS, you may be able to reduce your operating costs and improve cash flow.

ICCFA makes available sample forms that you may modify for your use in daily business transactions. As with any form or contract you may use, you should consult an attorney in your jurisdiction(s) to make sure all content fits within the parameters of local regulations. Forms cover funeral home, cemetery, cremation and pet loss issues.

Cremation Central offers training, resources and support in the areas of cremation operations, legal issues and arranging. Some of the materials on the site are available to all industry members, but certain sections and forms are available to members only. Also available to ICCFA members are discounted in-house staff training and certification as cremation arrangers, as well as a new cremation “phone shopper” program that provides training on how to effectively respond to initial cremation calls.

Support of ICCFA’s Public Education Efforts

The ICCFA conducts ongoing efforts to educate consumers about the value of memorialization, remembrance, and prearrangement. We provide extensive consumer information and regularly respond to misleading media reports relating to the industry.

Support of ICCFA’s Government Relations Efforts

The ICCFA continually monitors federal legislation and regulations as well as the courts and keeps members up-to-date on the issues affecting the industry and small businesses. Our Model Legislative and Regulatory Guidelines have been widely distributed to state organizations to promote the adoption of sound legislation that is sensitive to the needs of both businesses and consumers. The ICCFA also provides testimony before Congressional committees and federal agencies as well as friend-of-the-court briefs in support of members’ interests.

Support of ICCFA’s Consumer Mediation Efforts

The ICCFA Cemetery Consumer Service Council provides mediation services to assist members in handling consumer complaints to the satisfaction of all parties.