§ 90-210.81 — Requirements as to rules and bylaws

North Carolina § 90-210.81

• Jurisdiction: North Carolina
• Ch. 90: Medicine and Allied Occupations
• Art. 13E: Mutual Burial Associations

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All burial associations now operating within the State of North Carolina shall have and maintain rules and bylaws embodying the following:
Provided, further, that mutual burial associations organized and operating pursuant to this Article may offer for sale to its members in good standing, funeral benefits payable only in cash in excess of two hundred dollars ($200.00), but those sales shall be subject to all applicable insurance laws of this State and shall in no manner be subject to the provisions of this Article or impair whatsoever funds heretofore or hereafter collected and held by that Association pursuant to this Article. All mutual burial association policies heretofore or hereafter sold in this State in an amount of two hundred dollars ($200.00) or less shall continue to be administered by the Board of Funeral Service and shall be subject to all provisions of this Article.
Applicant's birthday must be written in the application and subject to verification by any record the Board of Funeral Service may deem necessary to prove or establish a true date of the birth of any applicant.
Whenever in the opinion of the Board of Funeral Service, it is necessary to audit the books of any burial association more than once in any calendar year, the Board of Funeral Service shall have authority to assess such burial association the actual cost of any audit in excess of one per calendar year, provided that no more than one audit may be deemed necessary unless a discrepancy exists at the last regular audit. Such cost shall be paid from the thirty percent (30%) allowed by law for the operation of the burial association.
Every burial association shall file with the Board of Funeral Service an annual report of its financial condition on a form furnished to it by the Board of Funeral Service. Such report shall be filed on or before February 15 of each calendar year and shall cover the complete financial condition of the burial association for the immediate preceding calendar year. The Board of Funeral Service shall levy and collect a penalty of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) for each day after February 15 that the report called for herein is not filed. The Board may, in its discretion, grant any reasonable extension of the above filing date without the penalty provided in this section. Such penalty shall be paid from the thirty percent (30%) allowed by law for the operation of the burial association. Any secretary or secretary-treasurer who fails to file such financial report on or before February 15 of each calendar year or on or before the last day of any period of extension for the filing of such report granted by the Board to the burial association of such secretary or secretary-treasurer shall be guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor. Each day after February 15, or the last day of any period of extension for the filing of the report granted by the Board to the burial association of such secretary or secretary-treasurer, that said report is not filed by the secretary or secretary-treasurer of a burial association, shall constitute a separate offense.
Assessment Rate for Age Groups:
First to tenth birthday
($50.00) benefit five cents (5¢)
Tenth to thirtieth birthday
($100.00) benefit ten cents (10¢)
Thirtieth to fiftieth birthday
($100.00) benefit twenty cents (20¢)
Fiftieth to sixty-fifth birthday
($100.00) benefit thirty cents (30¢)
(Ages shall be defined as having passed a certain birthday instead of nearest birthday.) Assessment shall always be made on the entire membership in good standing.
Any member joining under the age of 10 shall, upon attaining his or her tenth birthday, pay thereafter the assessment for a member age 10 as set out above.
Any member joining under the age of 10 whose benefits in force upon such member attaining his or her tenth birthday are in the amount of fifty dollars ($50.00) shall, if such member is in good standing upon attaining his or her tenth birthday, thereafter have benefits in force in the amount of one hundred dollars ($100.00) without the necessity of making application for such increased benefit. Assessments made thereafter for such member shall be the same as an assessment for a member age 10 as set out above. Such one-hundred-dollar ($100.00) benefit shall be in full force and effect for any such member in good standing immediately upon such member attaining his or her tenth birthday even though the increased assessment provided for herein shall not yet be due and payable, it being the intent of this Article that, notwithstanding any other provisions in these Articles, any member in good standing with a fifty-dollar ($50.00) benefit shall immediately upon attainment of his or her tenth birthday have a one-hundred-dollar ($100.00) benefit in force whether or not the increased assessment is then due and payable by such member in accordance with the assessment period of this association.
The benefits provided for are to be paid by the burial association to the funeral director providing such funeral and burial service either in cash or in merchandise and service as elected by the person or persons making the funeral arrangements for such deceased member. If the burial association shall fail, on demand, to provide the benefits to which the deceased member was entitled to the funeral establishment which provided the funeral service for the deceased member, then the benefits shall be paid in cash to the representative of the deceased member qualified under law to receive such benefits.
(b) Each burial association shall establish and maintain a reserve account for the payment of member's benefits. On the thirty-first day of December following July 1, 1975, each burial association shall transfer to such burial association's reserve account established in accordance with this Article all funds which such burial association is maintaining on that date in an account designated by such burial association as either a surplus account or a reserve account. Thereafter, beginning on January 1, 1976, each burial association shall place in such reserve account five percent (5%) of the assessments collected from and after that date and five percent (5%) of the investment income of the association earned from and after that date. These sums shall continue to be placed in the association's reserve account until the association's reserve account shall equal twenty-one dollars ($21.00) per member. Thereafter if the reserve account shall fall below twenty-one dollars ($21.00) per member, such sums shall again be deposited in the account until such time as the reserve account shall again be equal to twenty-one dollars ($21.00) per member. If the reserve account shall at any time exceed twenty-one dollars ($21.00) per member, amounts in excess of twenty-one dollars ($21.00) per member may be withdrawn from the reserve account.