(A) If an insurance policy has been issued, sold, or assigned for the purpose of purchasing any funeral or burial goods or services, the insurer shall not pay the benefits of the insurance policy, including the cash surrender value, to any provider of such goods or services, unless the insurer, as a condition to paying the benefits of the insurance policy, receives from the provider a certified copy of the certificate of death of the insured, or other evidence of death satisfactory to the insurer, and a certificate of completion. The certificate of completion shall be signed by the provider and shall certify that the provider has delivered all the goods and performed all the services contracted for, by, or on behalf of the insured.
(B) A provider of funeral or burial goods or services shall not pledge, assign, transfer, borrow from, or otherwise encumber an insurance policy described in division (A) of this section prior to delivering all the goods and performing all the services contracted for, by, or on behalf of the insured. However, a provider may assign or otherwise transfer such a policy to another provider of funeral or burial goods or services in conjunction with the assumption by the other provider of the contractual obligation to provide the goods or services.
Effective Date: 08-06-2002 .