Details for financial responsibility and earlier contracts

The Department's schedule uses total insurance-and-trust balance: $0–100,000 requires $15,000; $100,001–250,000 requires $30,000; $250,001–500,000 requires $45,000; and $500,001 and over requires $75,000. Match the Department's accepted balance and tier, including outstanding insurance-funded contracts rather than counting only trust accounts.

Consumer Affairs accepts a preneed performance/surety bond or an irrevocable standby letter of credit as financial responsibility. The funeral home is responsible for maintaining the appropriate sum as its outstanding contracts increase. Purchase Now here opens the bond application, not a bank letter-of-credit application.

Security does not replace the Chapter 7 trust-deposit duties or the Department's approval of preneed contract forms. Identify the provider, directly employed licensed seller and actual contracts. A funeral director's professional license does not by itself authorize the home to hold preneed payments.

The selected Department bond form permits cancellation by either principal or surety after 30 days' written notice by registered mail to the other party and Consumer Affairs. Notice to the Department is a condition of cancellation. Follow that procedure rather than treating an informal request as release.

For earlier contracts, the form preserves liability where both the promised property or services have not been received and all collected money is not on deposit in a federally insured institution in the principal's name as trustee for the beneficiary. Cancellation does not automatically erase those earlier obligations. The surety's aggregate liability for all breaches cannot exceed the stated bond sum.