Funeral Board Transportation Agreements/Ins.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
S 1
SENATE BILL 256

Short Title: Funeral Board Transportation Agreements/Ins. (Public)
Sponsors: Senator Johnson (Primary Sponsor).
Referred to: Rules and Operations of the Senate
March 11, 2025
*S256-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO MODIFY THE REQUIREMENTS OF TRA NSPORTATION PROTECTI ON 2
AGREEMENTS PROVIDED BY CERTAIN FUNERAL SERVICE PROVIDERS. 3
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 4
SECTION 1.(a) G.S. 90-210.60 reads as rewritten: 5
"§ 90-210.60. Definitions. 6
As used in this Article, unless the context requires otherwise: 7
… 8
(5) "Preneed funeral contract" means any contract, agreement, or mutual 9
understanding, or any series or combination of contracts, agreements, or 10
mutual understandings, whether f unded by trust deposits or prearrangement 11
insurance policies, or any combination thereof, which has for a purpose the 12
furnishing or performance of funeral services, or the furnishing or delivery of 13
personal property, merchandise, or services of any nature in connection with 14
the final disposition of a dead human body, to be furnished or delivered at a 15
time determinable by the death of the person whose body is to be disposed of, 16
but does not mean the furnishing of a cemetery lot, crypt, niche, or 17
mausoleum;mausoleum. This term does not inclu de a transportation 18
protection agreement. 19
… 20
(10) "Transportation protection agreement " means an agreement that primarily 21
provides for the coordination and arranging of all professional services related 22
to the preparation of human remains or cremated remains for the purpose of 23
initial and subsequent transportation of those remains." 24
SECTION 1.(b) G.S. 90-210.72 reads as rewritten: 25
"§ 90-210.72. Nonapplication to certain funeral contracts. 26
This Article does not apply to contracts any of the following: 27
(1) Contracts for funeral services or merchandise sold as preneed burial insurance 28
policies pursuant to Part 13 of Article 10 of Chapter 143B of the North 29
Carolina General Statutes or to replacements policies pursuant to Article 13E 30
of this Chapter. 31
(2) Replacements or conversions of such policies pursuant to G.S. 32
143B-472.28.G.S. 90-210.106. 33
(3) A transportation protection agreement as defined in this Article." 34
SECTION 1.(c) The North Carolina Board of Funeral Service may adopt rules to 35
implement the provisions of this section. 36
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 Senate Bill 256-First Edition
SECTION 2.(a) G.S. 58-7-15 reads as rewritten: 1
"§ 58-7-15. Kinds of insurance authorized. 2
The kinds of insurance that may be authorized in this State, subject to the other provisions of 3
Articles 1 through 64 of this Chapter, are set forth in this section. Except to the extent an insurer 4
participates in a risk sharing plan under Article 42 of this Chapter, nothing in this section requires 5
any insurer to insure every kind of risk that it is authorized to insure. Except to the extent an 6
insurer participates in a risk sharing plan under Article 42 of this Chapter, no insurer may transact 7
any other business than that specified in its charter and articles o f association or incorporation. 8
The power to do any kind of insurance against loss of or damage to property includes the power 9
to insure all lawful interests in the property and to insure against loss of use and occupancy and 10
rents and profits resulting therefrom; but no kind of insurance includes life insurance or insurance 11
against legal liability for personal injury or death unless specified in this section. In addition to 12
any power to engage in any other kind of business than an insurance business that is specifically 13
conferred by the provisions of Articles 1 through 64 of this Chapter, any insurer authorized to do 14
business in this State may engage in such other kinds of business to the extent necessarily or 15
properly incidental to the kinds of insurance business that it is authorized to do in this State. Each 16
of the following indicates the scope of the kind of insurance business specified: 17
(1) "Life insurance", meaning every insurance upon the lives of human beings 18
and every insurance appertaining thereto. The business of life insurance 19
includes the granting of endowment benefits; additional benefits in the event 20
of death by accident or accidental means; additional benefits operating to 21
safeguard the contract from lapse, or to provide a special surrender va lue, in 22
the event of total and permanent disability of the insured, including industrial 23
sick benefit; and optional modes of settlement of proceeds. The business of 24
life insurance does not include the provision of transportation protection 25
agreements, as defined under G.S. 90-210.60. 26
…." 27
SECTION 2.(b) G.S. 58-58-1 reads as rewritten: 28
"§ 58-58-1. Definitions; requisites of contract. 29
(a) All corporations or associations doing business in this State, under any charter or 30
statute of this or any other state, involving the payment of money or other thing of value to 31
families or representatives of policy and certificate holders or members, conditioned upon the 32
continuance or cessation of human life, or involving an insurance, guaranty, contract, or pledge 33
for the payment of endowments or annuities, or who employ agents to solicit such business, are 34
life insurance companies, in all respects subject to the laws herein made and provided for the 35
government of life insurance companies, and shall not make any such insu rance, guaranty, 36
contract, or pledge in this State with any citizen, or resident thereof, which does not distinctly 37
state the amount of benefits payable, the manner of payment, the consideration therefor and such 38
other provisions as the Commissioner may require. 39
(b) This section does not apply to a preneed licensee under Article 13D of Chapter 90 of 40
the General Statutes or for the purposes of a transportation agreement, as defined under 41
G.S. 90-210.60." 42
SECTION 2.(c) G.S. 58-58-125 reads as rewritten: 43
"§ 58-58-125. Minimum premium rates for assessment life insurance companies. 44
No assessment life insurance corporation, organization or association of any kind issuing 45
policies or contracts upon the life of any resident of this State shall hereafter be organi zed or 46
licensed by the Commissioner unless such corporation, organization or association adopt 47
premium rates based upon the attained age of the assured at the time of issuance of the contract 48
and such rates shall not be less than those fixed by the America n Experience Table of Mortality 49
or any other recognized table of mortality approved by the Commissioner. Nothing contained in 50
this section shall be construed to affect burial associations regulated under G.S. 143B -472 51
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Senate Bill 256-First Edition Page 3
through 143B -472.28 Article 13E of Cha pter 90 of the General Statutes or railroad burial 1
associations." 2
SECTION 2.(d) G.S. 58-58-330(a) reads as rewritten: 3
"(a) This Part does not apply to solicitations or sales involving:involving any of the 4
following: 5
… 6
(7) Contracts used to fund:fund any of the following: 7
… 8
f. Prearranged funeral contracts.contracts or transportation protection 9
arrangements, as both terms are defined under G.S. 90-210.60." 10
SECTION 2.(e) G.S. 58-58-335(8) reads as rewritten: 11
"(8) "Life insurance" means insurance coverage on human lives, including benefits 12
of endowment and annuities, and may include benefits in the event of death 13
or dismemberment by accident and benefits for disability income; and unless 14
otherwise specifically excluded, includes individually issued annuitie s. In 15
accordance with G.S. 58-7-15, t his term does not include a transportation 16
protection agreement." 17
SECTION 2.(f) G.S. 58-60-35(a) reads as rewritten: 18
"§ 58-60-35. Disclosure of prearrangement insurance policy provisions. 19
(a) As used The following definitions apply in this section: 20
(1) "Prearrangement" means any Prearrangement. – A contract, agreement, or 21
mutual understanding, or any series or combination of contracts, agreements 22
or mutual understandings, whether funded by trust deposits or prearrangement 23
insurance policies, or any combination thereof, which has for a purpose the 24
furnishing or performance of specific funeral services, or the furnishing or 25
delivery of specific personal property, merchandise, or services of any nature 26
in connection with the final disposition of a dead human body, to be furnished 27
or delivered at a time determinable by the death of the person whose body is 28
to be disposed of, but does not mean the furnishing of a cemetery lot, crypt, 29
niche, mausoleum, grave marker or monument . This term does not include a 30
transportation protection agreement, as defined under G.S. 90-210.60. 31
(2) "Prearrangement insurance policy" means a Prearrangement insurance policy. 32
– A life insurance policy, annuity contract, or other insurance contract, or any 33
series of contracts or agreements in any form or manner, issued on a group or 34
individual basis by an insurance company authorized by law to do business in 35
this State, which, whether by assignment or otherwise, has for its sole purpose 36
the funding of a specific preneed funeral contract or a specific 37
insurance-funded funeral or burial prearrangement, the insured being the 38
person for whose service the funds were paid." 39
SECTION 3. This act becomes effective October 1, 2025, and applies to preneed 40
funeral contracts and transportation protection agreements entered into on or after that date. 41