Pennsylvania Acting Insurance Commissioner Michael Humphreys and Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) Director Randy Padfield today encouraged Pennsylvanians who incurred funeral expenses for a COVID-19-related death to apply for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) COVID-19 funeral assistance program to help ease the financial burden brought on by the pandemic.
FEMA’s funeral assistance program will provide financial assistance for funeral expenses incurred after Jan. 20, 2020, for deaths related to COVID-19. To be eligible, the COVID-19 related death must have occurred in the United States and the death certificate must attribute the death to COVID-19. In addition, the applicant must be a U.S. citizen, non-citizen national, or qualified alien. There is no requirement for the deceased person to have been a U.S. citizen, non-citizen national or qualified alien. Assistance is limited to a maximum financial amount of $9,000 per funeral and a maximum of $35,500 per application.
The funeral assistance program will provide reimbursement for expenses incurred for funeral services, including but not limited to transportation to identify the deceased individual, the transfer of remains, a burial plot or cremation niche, a marker or headstone, clergy or officiant services, the use of funeral home equipment or staff, and cremation or interment costs.
Eligible applicants can apply for the funeral assistance program by calling FEMA’s COVID-19 Funeral Assistance Helpline at 1-844-684-6333 from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday – Friday to begin the application process.
Prior to applying, potential applicants are encouraged to gather documentation, including the official death certificate that attributes the death to COVID-19, funeral expense documents (receipts or a funeral home contract that include the applicant’s name, the deceased individual’s name, the amount of funeral expenses and dates the funeral expenses were incurred), and proof of funds received from other sources specifically for use toward funeral costs. Funeral assistance may not duplicate benefits received from burial or funeral insurance, financial assistance received from voluntary agencies, federal/state/local/tribal/territorial government programs or agencies, or other sources.
For more information, visit COVID-19 Funeral Assistance at FEMA.gov.
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