SCS/SB 943 - This act modifies provisions of the Missouri Preneed Funeral Contract Act. The act changes the definition of "insurance-funded preneed contract" by specifying that the annuitant is the beneficiary of the preneed contract. Beginning on January 1, 2019, all noncash payments on preneed contracts shall be made payable to either the seller, the trustee, the trust account, or the insurance company. Currently, when a preneed contract is funded by a trust a preneed contract seller must deposit the payments received under the contract into a designated trust fund within sixty days of receipt. The act states that cash payments, which are not placed into the trust account within five days, must be placed into an escrow account. A seller shall place all payments into a designated trust fund within ten days of receipt from the purchaser, the provider, the sales agent, or other designee. The act repeals the provision prohibiting a seller or preneed agent from retaining payments on an insurance-funded preneed contract for more than thirty days. Cash payments collected by the seller must be immediately remitted to the insurer or placed in an escrow account within five days of receiving the payment, unless the seller sells five or less preneed contracts a year. All consideration paid towards a joint account-funded preneed contract shall be deposited within five, rather than ten, days of receipt. Failure to place cash payments made on a preneed contract into the designated or escrow account within five days of receipt could result in disciplinary action by the Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors against the seller's license. In situations where a life insurance-funded preneed contract has lapsed, is no longer in force, or has had loans taken against it, the seller may cancel the contract and must refund to the purchaser payments as provided under current law, excluding insurance premium payments. The act requires a seller that sells trust-funded preneed contracts to include in the annual report to the Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors the current market value, rather than face value, of the trust fund. Currently, a seller of an insurance-funded preneed contract must include in the annual report to the Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors the status and total face value of each policy. The act specifies that a seller shall only provide the total face value of the policy if requested by the Board. The act is similar to SB 450 (2017), SB 951 (2016), SCS/SB 498 (2015), and SB 883 (2014). JESSI JAMES