How Do I Pay for Funeral Bills after a Car or Motorcycle Accident?

FAQs: Paying for Funeral Bills after a Car Accident

Q. If someone dies in a car accident, does insurance pay the funeral bills?

A. Partially. The New York No-Fault insurance death benefit amount for funeral bills is only $2,000. Additional money to pay funeral costs is available from the other sources mentioned here.

New York No-Fault Insurance Death Benefit

The $2,000 New York No-Fault insurance death benefit is available for the following types of accidents: car accidents, pedestrian accidents, and bicycle accidents, when someone is killed when struck by a car, truck, or bus. The New York no-fault insurance death benefit is not available to motorcyclists and passengers on a motorcycle but is available to pedestrians hit by a motorcycle.

The Defendant and the Defendant’s Insurance

The defendant and the defendant’s insurance are responsible for all damages and costs, although a lawsuit might need to be started to get money from the defendant, and can take a long time.

Additionally, the defendant’s insurance may have Med Pay insurance that can be used to pay for costs.

Lawsuit Settlement Cash Advance

The money needed to pay for a funeral can be obtained immediately with a cash advance on a lawsuit settlement.

The money plus interest owed to the cash advance company can be included in a lawsuit against the person or company responsible for causing the death of someone killed in an accident, so the high-interest rate of a cash advance may be paid by the defendant.

Please call us, and we will be happy to let you know how we can get money from other sources to pay the funeral bills and how we can help you.

Q. How much does a funeral cost in New York?

A. The average cost of a funeral in New York is approximately $8,000-$12,000. If someone else was even partially at fault for the car accident, call us, and we can arrange to get the additional money you need to pay for the funeral.

All of the minimum amounts regulated by New York insurance laws are significantly less than they should be and have not kept up with inflation. This is certainly one of them because the cost of a funeral today is far more than $2,000.

Q. Does the insurance for the car which caused the accident pay for the funeral?

A. The owner and driver of the car which caused the accident or is partially at fault for causing the accident are responsible to pay all damages, including funeral costs. However, while it might be possible to get the insurance company to pay for the funeral upfront, it’s usually not likely.

When a wrongful death case is settled, the New York Surrogate’s Court will issue an order stating that the funeral bills must be reimbursed from the settlement to the person who paid them.

Q. The accident was a Hit and Run. Will insurance still pay for the funeral?

A. Yes. The estate is entitled to receive money when there is a hit-and-run accident, and there is also a $2,000 death benefit for funeral bills. Call us immediately because there is a very short time deadline to file a claim.

A claim with the New York state crime victims compensation fund may also be filed when the death was caused by a crime such as a hit-and-run accident, drunk driving, drag racing, or a stolen car.

Q. Does the $50,000 no-fault insurance coverage pay for the funeral?

A. No. The $50,000 minimum no-fault coverage and optional increased coverage (OBEL) pay for medical and other bills. See what no-fault pays for in New York.

Q. No-fault won’t pay for the funeral because the $50,000 no-fault limit was paid

A. The $2,000 death benefit is in addition to the minimum $50,000 PIP (Personal Injury Protection) available from no-fault insurance in New York State. Insurance company claim representatives have tried to tell me that the $2,000 comes out of the $50,000 minimum PIP, but this is incorrect.

When a State Farm claims representative sent a letter stating they were paying $2,000 out of the $50,000 PIP, I used that to our advantage to get State Farm to pay a total death benefit of $4,000 for funeral bills.

Q. What New York law states that No-Fault insurance has to pay for the funeral?

A. Article 51 of the New York Insurance Law § 5103. Entitlement to first-party benefits (a) (4) states, “The estate of any covered person, other than an occupant of another motor vehicle or a motorcycle, a death benefit in the amount of two thousand dollars for the death of such person arising out of the use or operation of such motor vehicle which is in addition to any first-party benefits for basic economic loss.”

Consequently, if all of the minimum $50,000 PIP no-fault benefits have been paid out and there is no money left, do not let the no-fault insurance claims representative tell you that they cannot pay you the $2,000 death benefit because there is no more money. But your lawyer should be taking care of these problems for you.

Q. Will New York No-Fault insurance pay funeral bills for a motorcycle accident?

A. No. Motorcyclists and passengers on a motorcycle are excluded by law from no-fault insurance, but we can get you the money you need to pay funeral bills. We’re known as the best motorcycle lawyers in New York!

A pedestrian killed by a motorcycle is covered by New York no-fault insurance.

If you have a family member who was killed in a car accident in New York, we will take care of all of these problems for you.

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