FEMA Is Now Offering Funeral Expenses Reimbursement for COVID-19 Deaths

FEMA is now able to offer financial help to grieving families who lost loved ones to COVID-19 under a new funeral assistance program.

How to pay for funeral expenses is usually the last thing on the mind of someone who’s recently lost a loved one. However, it is a practical task that everyone who prepares to say goodbye to a family member who has died must do. During this past year of substantial loss, many dealt with sudden, unexpected deaths, which may have been a hard financial burden to bear. But as of April 12, 2021, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is able to ease that burden by offering funeral expenses reimbursement for the family members of those who died due to COVID-19. You can now claim up to $9,000 in funeral expenses, but you’ll need to be patient in order to collect the funds.

What items are covered by this new program?

The program offers help with a number of funeral-related expenses, including the following:

• Transportation for up to two individuals to identify the deceased individual
• Transfer of remains
• Casket or urn
• Burial plot or cremation niche
• Marker or headstone
• Clergy or officiant services
• Arrangement of the funeral ceremony
• Use of funeral home equipment or staff
• Cremation or interment costs
• Costs associated with producing and certifying multiple death certificates
• Additional expenses mandated by any applicable local or state government laws or ordinances

Things to keep in mind

Though FEMA has stated that it will only reimburse one family member per death, it will work with the family if receipts or paperwork have multiple names on them. One secondary family member may be registered as a co-applicant, but only one is allowed to collect the funds. It may be easier for a single applicant to handle the process, and then the family can decide how to distribute the reimbursement. A funeral home is not eligible to apply for this program.

Even if you’ve already applied for financial help from FEMA regarding hardships caused by COVID-19 (such as disaster relief), you can still apply for the funeral assistance.

How to apply

FEMA is not accepting any online applications. You must start this process with a phone call.

You must have these documents on hand before calling:

• Social Security number for the applicant and the deceased individual
• Date of birth for the applicant and the deceased individual
• Current mailing address for the applicant
• Current telephone number for the applicant
• Location or address where the deceased individual passed away
• Information about burial or funeral insurance policies
• Information about other funeral assistance received, such as donations
• CARES Act grants and assistance from voluntary organizations
• Routing and account number of the applicant’s checking or savings account (for direct deposit, if requested)

FEMA believes each application will take about 20 minutes. They promise to not rush through any calls and to give proper time to all applications. Once you apply, you will be given a unique application number, which you must use when you send in all the necessary paperwork.

Once you being your application over the phone, there are three ways you can send in the supporting documentation:

• Upload to your DisasterAssistance.gov account
• Fax documents: 855-261-3452.
• Mail documents: P.O. BOX 10001, Hyattsville, MD, 20782

Possible challenges

The only foreseen challenge is the high call volume that FEMA is currently dealing with. They ask that applicants be patient. Many people have commented that they remained on hold for long periods of time before reaching a FEMA representative.

If you receive a busy signal, FEMA asks that you try again later. There is no deadline for this application, so if you experience difficulty getting through the first time, keep trying.