Crematory ownership

Definition

Whether the home owns a crematory or pays a third party for every cremation it sells.

Why It Matters

Cremation is the share of the trade that keeps growing and it earns much less than a burial, so where the cremation itself happens decides whether the home keeps a margin or pays it out. A home with its own retort also sells that service to other homes. Ask whether there is a crematory on site, what a third-party cremation costs today, and how the cremation share has moved over five years.