2009 Iowa Code
Title 13 - Commerce
Subtitle 1 - Insurance and Related Regulation
CHAPTER 523A - CEMETERY AND FUNERAL MERCHANDISE AND FUNERAL SERVICES
523A.404 - MERCHANDISE DELIVERED TO THE PURCHASER OR WAREHOUSED.

        523A.404  MERCHANDISE DELIVERED TO THE PURCHASER OR
      WAREHOUSED.
         1.  Trust requirements do not apply to payments made pursuant to a
      purchase agreement executed prior to July 1, 2007, for outer burial
      containers made of either polystyrene or polypropylene or cemetery
      merchandise delivered to the purchaser or stored in an independent
      third-party storage facility not owned or controlled by the seller
      when approved by the commissioner.  The seller or the storage
      facility must demonstrate that they will do all of the following:
         a.  Issue a receipt of ownership in the name of the purchaser
      and deliver it to the purchaser.
         b.  Insure the merchandise against loss.
         c.  Protect the merchandise against damage.
         d.  Transfer title to the purchaser.
         e.  Appropriately identify and describe the merchandise in a
      manner that it can be distinguished from other similar items.
         f.  Use a method of storage that allows for visual
      examinations of the merchandise.
         g.  Have adequate, computerized recordkeeping systems in place
      to identify, describe, and count each item in storage, including the
      ownership of each item, and provide an aggregate listing with
      numerical totals.
         h.  File a consent to be examined and inspected by the
      commissioner.
         i.  Provide reports to the commissioner, annually, by an
      independent certified public accountant, which shall include a
      physical count of merchandise held in storage and a review of
      information, including the seller's revenue and sales records, as
      necessary to verify the adequacy of the number of items held at the
      storage facility.
         j.  Satisfy the annual reporting requirements of section
      523A.204.
         2.  Lawn crypts may be delivered in lieu of trusting.  For this
      purpose, delivery means installation in a grave owned by the
      purchaser.  The seller shall do all of the following:
         a.  Notify the administrator before the lawn crypts are
      installed.
         b.  Identify the intended location of the lawn crypts within
      the cemetery.
         c.  Provide documentation adequately demonstrating delivery
      has occurred.  Adequate documentation includes but is not limited to
      photographs and third-party certifications.
         3.  Cemetery merchandise and funeral merchandise shall not be
      deemed delivered to the purchaser or warehoused if the merchandise is
      subject to a lien or security interest by any party other than the
      seller.
         4.  A seller is prohibited from requiring delivery as a condition
      of the sale.
         5.  A seller shall provide services necessary for the installation
      or burial of outer burial containers sold by the seller.  This
      subsection shall not require the seller to provide for the opening or
      closing of the interment or entombment space, unless the purchase
      agreement provides otherwise.  

         2001 Acts, ch 118, §31; 2007 Acts, ch 175, §14, 15, 62
         Referred to in § 523A.405, 523A.503, 523A.807