Minnesota Statutes 72A.325 – Insurance for Funeral or Burial Expense; Freedom of Choice
No insurance company, agent, or other person engaged in the business of providing insurance or other benefits for the payment of any funeral or burial expense, shall designate, endorse, or otherwise promote any particular mortician, funeral director, funeral establishment, cemetery, or any other party offering funeral or burial services or supplies, as the beneficiary or recipient of the benefits, so as to deprive the persons with legal authority to control the disposition of the remains of the deceased policyholder under section 149A.80, subdivision 2, of the right to select the funeral or burial services and supplies of their choice. No owner, director, or employee of a funeral establishment, or entity having a direct equity interest in a funeral establishment, shall receive any fee, commission, or other reimbursement on any insurance sale facilitated through the funeral establishment, except the sale of a preneed funeral insurance contract with a face amount not to exceed $20,000.
Terms Used In Minnesota Statutes 72A.325
- Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. Source: OCC
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Person: may extend and be applied to bodies politic and corporate, and to partnerships and other unincorporated associations. See Minnesota Statutes 645.44
For purposes of this section, “preneed funeral insurance contract” means an agreement by or for an individual before that individual’s death relating to the purchase or provision of specific funeral or cemetery merchandise or services.
Nothing in this section constitutes a waiver or exception to the requirements of chapter 60K.