Families incurring funeral expenses for the death of loved ones related to the COVID-19 pandemic are now eligible for up to $9,000 in reimbursement from the federal government.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency funeral assistance program, announced Monday, was praised by an official with one local funeral home.
“I think it’s a great thing,” said Victoria Campbell, administrative assistant for Voss and Sons Funeral Service in Seymour.
“It’s wonderful and so unexpected,” she said. “For families that paid for funerals with life insurance or out of pocket, this will do so much.”
Families can only apply if a funeral cost has already been paid in full. If they have had more than one death of a family member in Indiana due to the coronavirus, they can receive a maximum of $35,500.
Funeral expenses covered include burial plots, transfer of remains, transportation to identify the deceased individual, caskets, urns, headstones, funeral arrangements, cremation and other costs.
Luke Nolting, a funeral director for Spurgeon Funeral Home in Brownstown, said even though funeral homes want to help families as much as they possibly can, FEMA wants to deal directly with families during the application process.
To apply, an applicant should have proper documentation, including a death certificate, funeral expense documents and proof of funds received from other sources. The person who has paid for the funeral has to be the applicant.
While funeral homes cannot apply on behalf of a family incurring expenses, they can help families gather proper documentation if needed.
Applications can be filed after Monday by calling FEMA’s toll-free call center at 844-684-6333. The call center is open between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. There is no deadline for applying at this time. FEMA plans to announce a specific deadline once that decision is made.
Online applications will not be accepted. Multilingual services will be available.
Since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020, there have been 69 COVID-19-related deaths in Jackson County.
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For information about the funeral assistance program, visit fema.gov/disasters/coronavirus/economic/funeral-assistance.
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