Cremation Costs Rise with Demand

In the midst of the elaborate tombs in Metairie Cemetery is a columbarium. It's a place where people's ashes can be memorialized. And it's becoming increasingly popular as more and more people choose cremation.

"Every year we see the cremation rate increase," said Tiffany Simmons, funeral director and general manager of Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home.

But as the cremation rate increases, so has the cost.

A direct cremation can run upwards of $2,600 in New Orleans. Compare that with the national average, which, according to the National Funeral Director's Association, is just over $2,000.

Ron Christner, an associate professor of Finance at Loyola University, recently helped a family friend arrange a cremation and was shocked at the cost.

"There is no way," said Christner. "There is no way that the cost to transport a body to the funeral home or the crematory or the cremation itself should cost more than $700 or $800."

A direct cremation is essentially a basic cremation without any extra services. The price for that service varies greatly between funeral homes in the metro area - from $1,2000 to $2,650.

"One of your largest variances is going to be the facilities of the funeral home," said Billy Henry, general manager of Tharp-Sontheimer Funeral Home in Metairie. "The factor that's going to determine that is going to be the overhead of the building, the facilities and the people."

Henry said the average cost of direct cremation in New Orleans has nearly doubled over the last 10 to 15 years.

Directors at some funeral homes said part of the price increase has to do with the rising cost of fuel, labor post-Katrina, and the increased demand for the service.

"As we see cremation growing in the Southern markets, those labor costs and those overheads will be forced to be passed on to the cremation consumer," said Henry.

Stewart Enterprises, the second-largest funeral provider in the United States, is based in Metairie. One of its funeral homes is Lake Lawn Metairie. That facility has one of the city's few crematoriums.

By state law, families cannot deal directly with an independent crematorium; they must go through a funeral home for the service.

One crematorium owner said he typically charges less than $500 to perform a cremation. That's a small fraction of the cost funeral homes pass along to the consumer. But funeral directors say, after paperwork and services, the mark-up is justified.

"When we quote the family the price, it's not just the price of the cremation, it's the services that we provide to our families," said Simmons.

The state board of funeral directors said no agency regulates price in the Louisiana funeral industry. And Christner believes funeral homes have a price advantage because people typically don't shop around when it comes to funerals.

"If they know a name or somebody else has used them, that's who they go to," said Christner.

So how can you honor your loved ones life without breaking the bank? Funeral directors advise you to meet with them before you need them, so you can consider your choices while you're thinking clearly.

And remember, you don't have to buy an expensive urn or use a casket when cremating, although some funeral homes offer them. State law allows for any sturdy container to be used in the process.

"It's the persons' choice what they want to do, but they at least ought to know what the choices are and most people don't know what the choices are," said Christner.

Funeral directors said many people don't realize how many additional options they have when choosing cremation. Those include a memorial service after cremation or even an open-casket funeral service before cremation. Those options, of course, do increase the price.

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