Oregon Endowment Care Bonds
The Oregon Department of Consumer & Business Services Division of Finance & Corporate Securities requires an Endowment Care Bond for business providing pre-paid burial markers, vaults, crypts and niches. This bond guarantees that the funeral home or graveyard fulfills the prepaid customer request to have the chosen marker, vault, crypt or niche ready upon arrival.
The application process with Jet takes minutes online for a quick review by our underwriting team, while our competitors may take days or weeks.
How Is the Endowment Care Bond Amount Determined?
An example of this is if the volume of business is $100,000 the bond would be $35,000 and the bond would be held with the Director of the Department until the Crypt is used. Under the statute ORS 97.929 the 35% bond for preconstruction crypts and niches is deposited with the surety and would be increased or decreased everytime there is a sale or completion of services.
The cost of the bond will be a small percentage of the bond limit determined and will factor in the financial strenth of the funeral home service.
Can Jet File the Bond For Me?
Jet will make sure the bond is filed for you with the Oregon Department of Consumer & Business Services Division of Finance & Corporate Securities. The original bond will be sent to DCBS emailed to the you with a copy of the bond for your records. Other agents may charge processing and mailing fees.
The bond form is sent to:
Department of Consumer and Business Services
350 Winter St. NE, Room 410
Salem, Oregon 97301
How Does a Principal Avoid Bond Claims?
Claims can be avoided by the endowment care owner keeping accurate accounting of its contracts with the clients and uphold those contracts. Should there be a dispute between an estate and the funeral home the DCBS will investigate the claim. Funeral homes must provide the burial arrangement they agreed to and can face penalties and court action for not doing so.
What Happens If I Get a Bond Claim?
Any claim coming from the public will be investigated by Jet to ensure the claim is valid. Jet will defend you as best as possible. This claim will be preceded by a complaint to the Department of Consumer and Business Services. They will have investigated the complaint from the consumer and at that point will decide if the claim will need to be directed to Jet. Jet will then request 45 days to investigate the claim. The principal should be responsive, thorough and truthful in all communications.
If the claim is valid, Jet will pay the claim up to the price of the bond. The Principal will be responsible for reimbursement to Jet for the amount of the claim
Why Is the Bond Required?
The Endowment bond is required to protect the public and Department of Consumer and Business Services to ensure that the Endowment business owner lives up to the contracts to provide markers, faults, crypts or niches. The bond will financially compensate a damaged estate if the funeral home fails to provide the pre-purchased burial arrangement.
What Happens to Pre-arranged Contracts if the Funeral Business Sells?
Ownership change of funeral homes cancels the previous registration with the DCBS for the prior owner, as the new owner takes over as the registered business owner. The new owner must purchase new surety bonds to replace each of the outstanding bonds from the prior business. The prior bond does not transfer the obligation to the new owner, but the new owner must abide by the prior contracts, leading to them obtaining a new bond. The obligation to provide all burial markers would be part of the sale terms. With the transfer of ownership all pre-arranged contracts and bonds should remain for the consumer, just under the new owner's name.
