Wyo. Code R. 044-0002-2
Effective Date: 05/04/2026 to Current
Rule Type: Current Rules & Regulations
Reference Number: 044.0002.2.05042026
These rules are being promulgated by the Insurance Commissioner pursuant to W.S. §§ 26-2-110 and 26-32-101.
(a) 'Person' unless the context otherwise requires, means an individual, partnership, firm, joint venture, corporation, company, association, or joint stock association.
(b) 'Contract' means any contract, agreement, mutual understanding, series or combination of contracts, agreements, mutual understandings, and any security or other instrument which is convertible into a contract, agreement, or mutual understanding, whereby it is agreed that upon the death of any person a final resting place, personal property, or services of any nature shall be provided, delivered, or performed in connection with the preparation or cremation of such person's body for final disposition or in connection with the interment, entombment, or other final disposition of such person's remains or in connection with the memorializing or marking of the decedent, the decedent's remains, or the final resting place of such remains; and for which the contract seller receives depository funds as consideration for the contract, to be held by the contract seller for the benefit of the contract buyer as required by this regulation until performance of the contract. This term shall not include contracts for which the contract seller does not receive depository funds to be held for the benefit of the contract buyer, and the consideration for the contract is paid by beneficiary designations in policies of life insurance payable in money which are subject to regulation under other laws of this state. This term also shall not include a sale by the owner thereof of a cemetery lot, plot, grave space, niche or crypt if, upon receipt of full payment therefore, the purchaser acquires a conveyance of and a vested interest in an existing, specific, and identifiable lot, plot, grave space, niche, or crypt.
(c) 'Contract seller' means any person who engages in the business of selling contracts, also called 'seller'.
(d) 'Contract buyer' means any person who buys a contract from a contract seller, also called 'buyer'.
(e) 'Decedent' means any person specified or included in the contract upon whose death a final resting place, personal property, or services of any nature shall be provided, delivered, or performed.
(f) 'Commissioner' means the Commissioner of Insurance.
(g) “Depository” means a chartered state or national bank, authorized to do business in the state, or any savings and loan association in Wyoming, which is a member of the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation, with which a contract seller deposits funds received from the sale of contracts and so designated under a depository agreement.
(h) “Funds” or “Depository funds” means money, cash, cash equivalents, electronic funds transfer, or other negotiable instruments deposited by a contract seller with a depository from a contract buyer in consequence of and in consideration for the sale of a contract representing not less than 100% of the total selling price of a contract. In the event the contract buyer is making installment deposits, 100% of each installment shall become a part of the fund.
(i) “Performer” means the individual, partnership, association, company or corporation named in the pre-need funeral or burial contract who will provide the services enumerated in the contract for the decedent at the time of his death.
Section 3. Deposit of Funds with Depository. Not less than 100% of all funds received by the contract seller shall be deposited in the depository or otherwise invested pursuant to Section 4 of these regulations within thirty days after receipt thereof by a contract seller. Such funds shall be deposited under the terms of a depository agreement in a form to be approved by the insurance commissioner. Such funds deposited shall be held pursuant to the provisions of this regulation. The contract seller, at the time of each deposit of funds, shall make a record of the name of each contract buyer and the amount of the payment made by the contract buyer for which deposit is then being made, and shall keep such record, as to each contract buyer, until three years after the death of the decedent.
(a) For all revocable contracts:
(i) The contract seller shall limit his deposits after 1 July 1979 to obligations of the United States of America or of any states thereof; obligations and stock of federal government agencies; demand deposits, savings accounts, certificates of deposit, or shares of savings and loan associations.
(ii) The contract seller may invest, notwithstanding the limitations of this section, funds in an amount not to exceed in the aggregate the amount of the seller’s bond posted in accordance with Section 10 of these rules, in such types of investments which men of prudence, discretion and intelligence would acquire or retain for their own account.
(b) For all irrevocable contracts entered on or after January 1, 2026, the contract seller may invest in any investment allowed pursuant to W.S. § 4-10-901 and 4-10-902.
(c) Any checking account, savings account, certificate of deposit or other evidence of investment for credit jointly held in the names of a person (as defined in these regulations)
and a licensed embalmer, undertaker, funeral director or other person regularly engaged in selling or furnishing funeral supplies or services (which include any embalming; caskets, cemetery lots, plots, niches, crypts, vaults, markers; cremations or any other thing incident to the ultimate disposal of dead bodies) shall be conclusively presumed to have with it an underlying contract which specifically provides for said services, and shall be construed to be part of a pre-need contract (as defined herein) and subject to these regulations.
(d) For all contracts, whether revocable or irrevocable, the contract seller shall be strictly accountable for the corpus of the funds to the contract buyer.
(a) No contract seller, also referred to herein as “licensee” or “applicant,” shall accept any funds without first securing from the commissioner a license to accept funds.
(i) Application for license shall be in writing, signed by the applicant and duly verified on forms furnished by the commissioner. Each application shall contain at least the following information:
(A) The full name and address (both residence and place of business) of the applicant and every member, officer, and director thereof, if the applicant is a firm, partnership, association or corporation; and
(B) A detailed statement of the applicant’s assets and liabilities.
(b) Upon receipt of an application and payment of the fee identified in W.S. § 26-4-101, the commissioner shall issue a license, unless he determines that the applicant has made false statements or representations in the application, or is insolvent, or is not fully authorized or licensed to transact a funeral business in the State of Wyoming, or has been convicted of fraud or misappropriation or misuse of funds. Every license issued pursuant to this subsection shall expire every other year on the licensee’s birth month, but upon application and payment of the fee prescribed in W.S. § 26-4-101 may be renewed.
(c) The licensee shall keep accurate accounts, books, and records in this state of all transactions, copies of all contracts, dates and amounts of payments made and accepted thereon, the name and address of each contract buyer; the name of the decedent as to each contract, the name of the depository holding funds received under each contract, and shall make an annual report. Every application shall be accompanied by a fee of fifty dollars, and every annual report shall be accompanied by a fee of ten dollars.
(d) The licensee shall make all books and records pertaining to depository funds available to the commissioner for examination.
(i) The commissioner, or a qualified person designated by him may from time to time, during ordinary business hours examine the books, records, and accounts of the licensee with respect to funds received by said licensee and for that purpose may require the attendance of and examine under oath all persons whose testimony he may require. Said examination shall be made in accordance with generally accepted insurance accounting standards and shall be conducted pursuant to the examination procedures identified in W.S. § 26-2-116 through 26-2-122.
(ii) The cost of the examination shall be borne by the licensee, according to the provisions of the Wyoming Insurance Code pertaining to the examination of insurers.
Section 6. Assets, Income of Depository Funds. Income from depository funds shall inure to the benefit of the contract seller and may be withdrawn by him so long as the corpus of the deposit remains intact.-
Section 7. Annual Report. Each contract seller shall file an annual report with the commissioner on or before March 1st of each year, in such form as the commissioner may require, stating the names of the depositories with which it has funds on deposit and the amount remaining on deposit in the fund on the preceding December 31st or such other annual and reporting period as the commissioner may establish. Any contract seller which has discontinued the sale of contracts but which still has outstanding contracts shall, nevertheless be required to obtain a renewal of its license, and shall continue to make annual reports to the commissioner until all such contracts have been fully performed by it.
(a) At the time the contract is entered into the contract seller shall furnish each contract buyer with a duplicate original of the contract and, if said contract requires services to be performed at a future time by a person other than the contract seller, then the contract seller shall furnish the contract buyer with a copy of the instrument between the contract seller and such person obligated to perform the services agreed upon to be furnished and performed at the price provided in the contract.
(b) The contract seller shall file with the commissioner a master copy of each form of contract offered or sold by such contract seller and a master copy of any form instrument between the contract seller and a person licensed by the state whereby said person agreed to actually perform any services under any contracts offered or sold by the contract seller. In addition, the contract seller shall furnish the commissioner a written instrument on each contract sold, showing the names of all parties, the goods or services sold, the consideration therefor, and the terms of payment.
(c) If any contract contains an agreement for the performer to furnish services at a future time, the contract shall state the name and address of the principal office of the person licensed by the state who will perform such services. If no request for performance of the contract shall have been received by the contract seller from the next of kin or legal representative of the decedent within seventy-two hours after the death of the decedent, then the contract seller shall cause such services to be performed and such goods supplied in the manner provided in the contract, and upon the performance of such services, liability under such contract shall be conclusively deemed terminated.
(i) Any checking account, savings account, certificate of deposit or other evidence of investment for credit jointly held in the names of a person (as defined in these regulations) and a licensed embalmer, undertaker, funeral director or other person regularly engaged in selling or furnishing funeral supplies or services (which include any embalming, caskets, cemetery lots, plots; niches, crypts, vaults, markers; cremations or any other thing incident to the ultimate disposal of dead bodies) shall be conclusively presumed to have with it an underlying contract which specifically provides for said services, and said account etc., shall be construed to be a part of a pre-need contract (as defined herein) and subject to these regulations.
(ii) No contract, rider or addendum thereto, shall be offered for sale in Wyoming if such shall fail to provide for the furnishing of specific goods or services or both for a specified amount and no contract, rider or addendum shall contain a clause which provides for the diminution of the value of said goods or services or both or for an increase in the cost of same, contingent upon the happening of a future event or the existence in the future of any condition, economic or otherwise.
(d) Default, Termination, or Cancellation of Contract.
(i) In the event of default, termination, or cancellation by the contract seller for any reason whatsoever, said contract seller shall forthwith tender to the contract buyer all funds deposited on behalf of the contract buyer in the depository maintained by the contract seller. Said contract seller shall at the same time pay to the buyer all interest which has accrued on said funds as determined by the records of the depository and which otherwise is or was to be the property of the seller. (The fact that these regulations otherwise allow the contract seller to retain the interest shall not abrogate this requirement).
(ii) Unless designated as an irrevocable contract pursuant to subsection (f) of this section, below, in the event of default, termination, or cancellation by the contract buyer, other than by death, the contract seller shall forthwith tender to the contract buyer 80% of all principal funds which are on deposit as aforesaid. Accrued interest may be retained by the contract seller.
(e) Notice requirements for all contracts. All contracts shall:
(i) Contain the words 'not insurance' in bold face type on the face of each contract.
(ii) Contain notice to the contract buyer of the types of investments into which the funds derived from the sale of these contracts may be deposited and the risks associated with those investments.
(iii) Contain notice that the contract buyer has the ability to cancel or terminate a contract or make demand for any amounts paid for the contract pursuant to the provisions of subsection (d) of this section, so long as the contract buyer has not elected an irrevocable contract pursuant to subsection (f) of this section.
(f) No contract shall restrict any contract buyer who is receiving State Medicaid benefits from making his contract irrevocable in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Wyoming Department of Family Services or Department of Health.
Section 9. Disbursements by Depositories. Disbursements of depository funds discharging any contract shall be made by the depository upon receipt of a document signed by the contract seller verifying that the contract has been fully performed, or is in default or a receipt signed by the contract buyer or his heirs or assigns discharging the contract seller from further obligations under the contract.
(a) Every contract seller shall post with the insurance commissioner a surety bond in an amount of not less than five percent (5%) of all amounts received from all contract buyers or their representatives, whether deposited or invested, such amount to be determined as of the December 31st of the year next preceding, or such greater amount which the contract seller may wish to post, but in no event less than $10,000. The amount of such bond may not be reduced without the prior written approval of the commissioner.
(b) The State of Wyoming shall be named as the obligee in such bond for the benefit of the contract buyers, their heirs, legatees or assigns who are damaged by the loss of any funds paid to the contract seller after their receipt by the contract seller.
(c) This bond may consist of cash, demand deposits, savings accounts, certificates of deposit or a corporate surety bond or other such security as the insurance commissioner shall require.