About Us

Introduction

Mr. Burrus has built his knowledge of cemetery perpetual care funds through eighteen months of research culminating in a three part research series published in International Cemetery and Funeral Management published in 2001. He has also participated in industry conferences on this topic and has performed a detailed stochastic analysis of a large perpetual care fund covering a large group of cemeteries.

Researcher

I have spoken with regulators in nearly every US jurisdiction on the topic of perpetual care adequacy.

Author

I authored the acclaimed and widely referenced three part perpetual care series in International Cemetery and Funeral Management (February to April, 2001):

“How to Put Aside Enough Now to Cover Cemetery Costs Later” (Part 1)
“The Expenses Will Never End, but Some Revenue Sources Will” (Part 2)
“Developing a Financial Plan for a Perpetual Care Fund” (Part 3)

Village Voice (April, 2009) (extensively quoted)

“How Century-Old Burial Societies Were Taken Over by Black-Market Speculators”

Consumers Digest (March, 2010) (extensively quoted)

“Grave Concerns – Digging up the Dirt on Cemetery Scams”

ICCFA Magazine (Summer, 2010) (Speakers: Managing for Success)

“Make sure ‘perpetual care’ funds meet long-term needs”

ICCFA Magazine (January, 2011)

“Endowment Care Long-Term Adequacy Analysis: A Case Study”

Presenter

North American Cemetery Regulators Association Annual Meeting (2001) – “Ensuring the Adequacy of Cemetery Perpetual Care Funds”

North American Chevra Kadisha Conference (2008) – “The Future is Yours – Understanding the Cost of Perpetual Care”

North American Chevra Kadisha Conference (2009) – “Perpetual Care Funds – Parallels to Insurance Loss Reserves”

ICCFA Annual Convention and Exposition (2010) – “Your Perpetual Care Fund: How Much is Enough?”

Death Care Management Council Spring Meeting (2011) – “The Importance of Perpetual Care Adequacy Studies”

Work History

President and Principal Actuary, HB Actuarial Services, Inc. 2001 to Present.

  • 2001 – Founder of the firm (2001); manages all client relationships (2001 to present)
  • Developed a rigorous actuarial and statistical methodology to the study of the long term adequacy of perpetual care funds; accepted first perpetual care fund analysis engagement (2001).
  • Prepared expert deposition in litigation concerning the valuation of a perpetual care obligation (2008).
  • Significant growth in perpetual care related speaking engagements and assignments (2008 to present).

Chief Actuary, AmCOMP Insurance Group, 2002 to 2007.

  • Managed entire actuarial department (2002 to 2007).
  • Created a computer based insurance pricing tool to assist field underwriters in accepting / pricing risks (2002 to 2004).
  • Led preparation of insurance rate filings in all states (2002 to 2007).

Associate Actuary, Insurance Data Resources, 1997 to 2001.

  • Led team to create computer based insurance rate making system for statewide workers’ compensation rates (1999).
  • Led consulting team to provide a computer analysis of workers’ compensation retrospective rating calculations for hundreds of policies under multiple rating scenarios (1998).

Actuarial Associate, National Council on Compensation Insurance, 1993 to 1997.

  • Actuarial team leader to create computer based insurance rate making system for statewide workers’ compensation rates (1996).
  • Developed numerous analytic reports for the actuarial department (1993 to 1997).

Other employers include CIGNA Property and Casualty Company, and Insurance Services Office.

Credentials

  • Member of the American Academy of Actuaries (1997).
  • Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society (2001).
  • President of Casualty Actuaries of the South East (2006).

Education

Bachelor’s Degree, Applied Mathematics; Minor in Economics – University of Rochester.