For this month’s Johnson Consulting Conversations we had the privilege of speaking with Deanna Wilkinson, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Express Funeral Funding, about how innovative funding partnerships are revolutionizing the funeral payment experience. With nearly a decade in funeral service and leadership roles at Express Funeral Funding since 2017, Deanna brought invaluable insights into transforming one of the most challenging aspects of funeral service: helping families navigate financial arrangements during their most vulnerable time.
Traditional insurance claims create a painful reality for grieving families—a 90-day waiting period that can feel endless when emotions are raw and expenses are immediate. As Deanna explained, “For grieving families, a 90-day wait can be incredibly stressful. They’re often facing unexpected expenses, and many don’t have liquid funds to pay out-of-pocket. This delay can cause financial strain, delay services, or even result in debt.”
This waiting period doesn’t just impact families financially; it adds unnecessary emotional and logistical burden at a time when they’re already overwhelmed. Funeral homes, meanwhile, find themselves in the difficult position of either extending credit or asking families to pay out-of-pocket while waiting for insurance verification and payment.
Express Funeral Funding’s approach transforms this experience through a streamlined three-step process: submission, verification, and funding. What makes this truly revolutionary is the speed—payment typically occurs within 24-72 hours, meaning families can move forward with services immediately, and funeral homes have funds in hand, often before the funeral even takes place.
The key differentiator is what Deanna calls “full non-recourse” protection. “If a policy is denied or underpays after we’ve advanced funds, the funeral home or cemetery isn’t responsible for paying us back. We take on 100% of the risk,” she explained. This protection allows funeral homes to serve families confidently, knowing their payment is secure regardless of the outcome with the insurance carrier.
The administrative burden elimination is staggering. Deanna quantified the impact: funeral homes typically manage 6-8 documents with various insurance companies, from lengthy claim forms (Prudential’s is 14 pages alone) to small estate affidavits, heirship affidavits, and W-9 forms. Express Funeral Funding’s process reduces administrative time by 2-4 hours per case. For firms handling high volumes of life insurance payments, this translates to hundreds of hours annually that can be redirected to serving families.
“Instead of staff chasing insurance paperwork, sitting on hold or waiting on checks, they submit a claim to us and move on with their day-to-day work,” Deanna noted. This operational streamlining stabilizes cash flow, reduces administrative load, and ultimately creates a smoother experience for families and staff alike.
I’ve had the opportunity to meet the operational and support teams at Express Funeral Funding’s headquarters in Jeffersonville, Indiana multiple times. There’s an energy one can feel in their office and in speaking with team members it’s evident they are strongly committed to serving funeral home clients and families.
One of the most compelling aspects of Express Funeral Funding’s service is the Family Pay option for excess insurance proceeds. This goes far beyond covering funeral costs, providing families with immediate access to funds that might otherwise be tied up for months.
Deanna shared two powerful examples that illustrate the human impact. In one case, a family who was on the verge of losing their farm to foreclosure due to medical bills. With a sizable policy, Express Funeral Funding advanced close to a million dollars, saving the family farm. This was nearly a decade ago and the family still sends Christmas cards to Express Funeral Funding. On the other end of the spectrum, another family with two boys needed suits to attend their father’s funeral and funds for family travel—a $2,000 advancement helped the family immensely.
These stories demonstrate how funding solutions can address immediate family needs beyond funeral expenses, from travel costs and medical bills to preventing foreclosure and providing cash flow during crisis periods.
Successfully introducing funding options requires finesse in both timing and communication. Deanna identified common mistakes: presenting options too late in the arrangement process after decisions have been made, and using overly technical language when families need clear, compassionate communication.
Clients of Express Funeral Funding have access to training materials with suggested dialogue. Deanna shared with the audience that clients can log into the Express Funeral Funding hub to download the exclusive training guide titled “Compassionate Payment Dialogue”. Inside this guide there are at-need and pre-need conversation starters and role-playing scenarios to practice with other team members.
The key is positioning funding as a benefit, not a backup plan. Funeral directors should introduce these options early in conversations, using straightforward language that focuses on empowerment and timing. As Deanna suggested, directors can say, “With our funding partner, you’ll receive any remaining funds within days, not months.”
The approach differs significantly between at-need and pre-need conversations. In at-need situations, urgency is high and families are looking for fast solutions. Pre-need conversations are more focused on long-term planning, with families often surprised to learn they can structure funding in advance. These discussions frequently evolve into future estate or beneficiary planning conversations.
Families facing financial distress may naturally be skeptical about fees associated with funding services. Deanna’s advice for funeral directors is straightforward: “Be transparent and empathetic. We help directors show families the full value: immediate access to funds, reduced stress, and no out-of-pocket costs. Our fees are minimal and disclosed upfront.”
Importantly, if a family chooses not to move forward or if the policy isn’t in good standing, there’s no charge and no obligation. This risk-free approach helps families understand that the service is designed to help, not create additional financial burden.
Express Funeral Funding also simplifies challenging scenarios, such as cases with multiple beneficiaries or incomplete policy information. When multiple beneficiaries are involved, the company recommends having all potential beneficiaries sign the assignment to prevent delays, and they handle all required documentation to ensure everyone stays informed.
Perhaps most impressively, with just basic information—name, date of birth, Social Security number, and insurance company—Express Funeral Funding can often locate and verify policies on the family’s behalf. “Oftentimes we’ll find additional policies the families didn’t know about!” Deanna revealed, highlighting how this service can uncover unexpected benefits for families.
For funeral homes hesitant about bringing in another “third party,” Deanna emphasized that Express Funeral Funding positions itself as a true partner. “We’re not just a third party—we’re your partner. Our goal is to elevate our funeral home and cemetery partners’ service offerings, not complicate them.”
The company stays behind the scenes unless asked otherwise, allowing directors to retain full control of the arrangement process while providing support and solutions rather than interference.
Deanna sees a growing trend toward comprehensive “life planning” rather than just funeral planning. Pre-need specialists are increasingly using funding discussions to address long-term planning and financial flexibility, showing families how to ensure future services are covered while excess proceeds go directly to beneficiaries.
“You really provide a disservice when you are not providing the family all of their options,” Deanna emphasized, highlighting the ethical imperative for funeral professionals to offer comprehensive solutions.
Looking ahead, she believes families will continue to expect simplicity, transparency, and immediacy in every financial transaction—including funeral arrangements. Express Funeral Funding positions itself at the forefront of this evolution, delivering tools that modernize the experience without losing compassion or care.
The key takeaways from our conversation are clear: funding partnerships can eliminate the 90-day insurance waiting period, provide full non-recourse protection for funeral homes, reduce administrative burdens by hundreds of hours annually, and most importantly, transform financial stress into peace of mind for grieving families.
As Deanna’s stories demonstrate, these solutions have profound human impact from saving family farms to ensuring children can properly attend their father’s funeral. In a business built on compassion and service, funding partnerships represent not just operational improvements, but opportunities to truly serve families during their most difficult times.
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