Board of Embalmers & Funeral Directors

NPS / Lincoln Memorial

On June 25, 2008, the State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors revoked the authority of National Prearranged Services to sell preneed contracts in Missouri. The state board provides the information on this page as a courtesy to funeral homes and consumers.

NPS and Lincoln Memorial Life (the insurance company that backed many of the NPS contracts) are in liquidation under the authority of the District court of Travis County, Texas. A Special Deputy Receiver (SDR) has been appointed to oversee the liquidation. The SDR has two duties of interest to consumers:

1. To collect installment payments from consumers who are still paying on their preneed contacts.
2. To administer death claims from funeral providers who have performed funeral services pursuant to NPS contracts.

For more information, visit the SDR's Website: http://www.lincolnmemoriallife.com/

The Missouri Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association provides the funding to pay claims on NPS preneed contracts. For more information, visit the Guaranty Association's Website: http://www.mo-iga.org/forms/lincolnmemorial.aspx

Frequently Asked Questions

I have a preneed funeral contract. Will my funeral be taken care of?

Yes. The funeral home listed as the provider in your contract is responsible for fulfilling the terms of that contract. The Special Deputy Receiver has more information here: http://www.lincolnmemoriallife.com/faq.aspx

I have a preneed funeral contract. Should I continue making installment payments?

Consumers should contact the Special Deputy Receiver or their personal legal counsel for guidance on this question.

How do I know whether to contact the Special Deputy Receiver or the IGA?

Consumers should always contact the SDR first. Funeral homes should contact the SDR with questions about specific death claims and procedural questions.

Consumers and funeral homes who have already contacted the SDR and have questions about whether their claims are covered by the Guaranty Fund may contact the Guaranty Association using the link above.

I received a claim packet in the mail from the Special Deputy Receiver. What should I do?

The Missouri Attorney General's Office has prepared this guidance for consumers who receive these packets. http://ago.mo.gov/newsreleases/2009/Prepaid_Funeral_Service_Form_Alert/

The SDR has guidance for funeral homes who receive a claim packet at this link: https://pr.mo.gov/boards/embalmers/MO%20FH%20instructions%20-%204-30-09.pdf

NEWS

August 6 2009: former President and CFO of NPS indicted for fraud http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/laworder/story/F2711F9357144F998625760B0056C3C2?OpenDocument

August 6, 2009: the SDR and several insurance guarantee associations from across the country filed a lawsuit against various defendants with roles in the NPS matter http://www.lincolnmemoriallife.com/documents/08-07-09%20Complaint.pdf