Funeral insurance company Freedom Insurance Group, another company that was mauled in royal commission hearings, went into a voluntary trading halt yesterday and is preparing to make an announcement on its financial position.When it comes, the announcement is unlikely to be good news. In December, Freedom warned that it may face a liquidity shortfall in the absence of receipts of commissions from new business sales.In October, Freedom suspended new business sales of all direct insurance products, after evidence at the royal commission that the company, which made most of its money from funeral insurance, had a record of making it very difficult for customers to cancel their cover. Staff were paid bonuses based on the number of policies they "saved".The company's move was also in response to the release of an ASIC review of the direct life insurance market, which found that the market was marked by aggressive sales techniques, inadequate information, high cancellation rates and poor claims outcomes.ASIC said people were being sold "products they don't want, can't afford or don't perform as they expected." The regulator said it would restrict outbound sales of life and funeral insurance.In addition, the company reported that ASIC had commenced an investigation into past misconduct, which was highlighted during the royal commission hearings. "Following communication from ASIC, the Board is of the view that the company is required to make remediation payments in relation to affected customers," it said in a statement in October.Freedom parted company with its chief executive and chief financial officer and called in Deloitte to conduct a review.In November, lawyer and former Regnan chief Pauline Vamos, was appointed to the board with the intention that she would take over the chair. And late in December, Sean Williamson, an insurance industry veteran who had worked for a long time at TAL, took over as CEO.In December, the company abandoned an agreement to buy St Andrew's Insurance from Bank of Queensland. It had been pursuing equity funding for the acquisition but was not successful. Termination of the purchase agreement was mutually agreed.At the same time, Freedom released details of a strategic review, which concluded that it had no "commercially viable option" to recommence sales of its life insurance products.The board said it would "continue to assess alternative business models that may arise, which would enhance shareholder value and deliver enhanced customer outcomes."It said it was considering options to address the potential shortfall. The board said in a statement to the ASX on December 6 that it remained satisfied that the company was solvent. Its main asset was its in-force book.