Bill
SB 256
Defines transportation protection agreements and excludes them from preneed funeral contracts and life-insurance rules, granting the Funeral Service Board new rulemaking authority.
Status & procedural history
- Bill number: SB 256
- Title/subject: Funeral Board — Transportation Protection Agreements / Insurance (addresses funeral service contracts and related insurance law)
- Introduced: February 3, 2025
- Current status (as provided): Passed first reading; referred to committees for further consideration.
- Key statutes amended: G.S. 90‑210.60 and 90‑210.72 (Funeral Service Article), and multiple provisions of Chapter 58 (Insurance / life insurance and prearrangement insurance-related provisions).
Purpose / intent
- Clarify how “transportation protection agreements” are defined and treated under North Carolina law, and to explicitly exclude those agreements from the statutory definition and regulatory treatment of preneed funeral contracts and certain life insurance provisions. The bill gives the North Carolina Board of Funeral Service rulemaking authority to implement the change.
Key provisions and changes
- New/clarified definition (G.S. 90‑210.60):
- “Transportation protection agreement” is defined as an agreement that primarily provides for coordination and arranging of professional services related to preparation of human remains or cremated remains for the purpose of initial and subsequent transportation of those remains.
- Exclusion from preneed contract rules (G.S. 90‑210.72):
- The Article governing preneed funeral contracts will not apply to transportation protection agreements; those agreements are treated separately from preneed funeral contracts.
- Insurance‑law carve‑outs (Chapter 58 amendments):
- Life‑insurance and related insurance statutes are amended to state that “life insurance” (and related regulated categories) does not include transportation protection agreements. Several sections that govern prearrangement insurance, disclosure and licensing (examples include G.S. 58‑7‑15, 58‑58‑1, 58‑58‑125, 58‑58‑330(a), 58‑58‑335(8), and 58‑60‑35(a) as shown in the bill) are revised to exclude transportation protection agreements from coverage or to recognize them as distinct from insurance products and traditional prearrangement funding mechanisms.
- Rulemaking:
- The North Carolina Board of Funeral Service is specifically authorized to adopt rules to implement the statutory changes.
Who is affected
- Funeral service providers and preneed licensees who sell or coordinate transportation‑only arrangements.
- Insurers and entities that currently offer or insure prearranged funeral contracts — the bill removes (or clarifies the removal of) transportation‑only agreements from being treated as life insurance or preneed insurance in the cited statutory contexts.
- Consumers who purchase transportation protection agreements (effects on consumer protections depend on how the Board’s implementing rules and other statutes apply).
- The North Carolina Board of Funeral Service (rulemaking and oversight implications) and the Department/Commissioner of Insurance (interpretation/enforcement of insurance law changes).
Potential practical effect
- Transportation‑only arrangements will be treated as a distinct category separate from preneed funeral contracts and, by statute, not subject to certain insurance rules. That changes which statutory protections, disclosures, licensing requirements, and funding/financial‑security obligations apply — with the precise regulatory framework to be clarified by the Board’s implementing rules.
Notes & next steps
- The bill text gives the Board rulemaking authority; the full practical regulatory impact will depend on adopted rules.
- Monitor subsequent committee actions, amendments, and any rulemaking by the Board to see how consumer protections, required disclosures, and licensing/financial treatment are implemented.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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