Under a "no-fault" auto insurance system - also known as "personal injury protection" or "PIP" - the insurance company ("insurer"), automatically pays for some of a car accident victim's losses, including "death benefits," which include things like funeral and burial expenses.

These payments are made regardless of who was at fault for the accident.

In addition, some death benefits are often called "survivors benefits," because they are paid to the family or "dependents" the deceased person ("decedent"). These include:

• Accidental death benefits
• Continuation of lost earnings
• Periodic "pension" payments, and
• Replacement services payments

To recover no-fault death benefits, the decedent's death has to be directly and clearly connected to the use or operation of a motor vehicle.

Although the availability these benefits vary from state to state, most no-fault laws place limits on the amount of death benefits that will be paid. In addition, there are special rules for when payments will stop, as well as for claiming benefits.

Funeral and Burial Expenses

Most no-fault insurance plans specifically provide coverage for the ordinary funeral and burial expenses of any person who was accidentally killed as a result of the use or operation of a motor vehicle.

In some states, reasonable funeral expenses are protected benefits and have to be paid even when the insurance policy's other benefits - like medical expenses - have been paid to the policy limits.

Survivors' Benefits

Several types off no-fault "death benefits" are paid to the family or relatives of the insured who died in a car accident. In many states, the amounts payable as survivors' benefits are limited by the no-fault law of that state. For example, some states will allow payments for funeral expenses plus the decedent's medical expenses but will not allow payments for lost income.

Accidental Death

These benefits are paid only when the death is in fact "accidental," so if an insured commits suicide, which is generally considered to be an intentional act, no accidental death benefits will be paid.

An "accident" is generally defined as an event, which under the circumstances is unusual and unexpected by the person to whom it happens.

Income Continuation Payments

No-fault statutes generally take one of two approaches when it comes to paying for the decedent's lost income:

• The survivors will continue to receive the lost income benefits that would have been paid to the decedent if he had not died, including wages he should or would have earned in the future, or
• The survivors will be paid only what the decedent lost during his lifetime - the time, if any, between the injury and death - without regard to future wages, that is, wages that he or should would have earned if he or she had not died

Under either approach, income continuation payments are usually denied when the insured-decedent was unemployed when he or she died.

"Pension" Payments

Another benefit found under no-fault insurance laws is for "pension payments," also known as "survivors' economic benefits." This is a disability and income payment that is limited to cases where the insured has not been fatally injured, and like income continuation payments, replaces lost income. A key element of these payments is that they are designed to replace real, material goods that the insured would have provided if he or she had not been injured.

Under some no-fault laws, this benefit is applied if the insured dies as a result of the injuries he or she sustained in a car accident. So, if the insured dies, the survivors would receive payments for the purpose of replacing goods that the decedent would have provided if he or she had not died.

Usually, and unlike income continuation benefits, the statutes that provide for this benefit do not require that the insured be employed at the time of the injury or death.

Replacement Services

A household's loss of an adult or older child usually includes the loss of certain services performed by the decedent, which might be crucial to the household. Things like lawn mowing, cooking, and home maintenance that were done by the decedent might have to be done by hired help. So, many no-fault plans provide for replacement services coverage to cover such costs.

Proof of Income

In order to get survivors' benefits, some states require the insured's survivors to prove actual loss of items of real value as a result of the death of the insured. Often this is tied to the decedent's employment status, and some states give benefits to only to those who earned wages:

• Employed workers usually do not present a problem with the payment of benefits, but sometimes an insurer can stop or prevent payments if it can show that if the decedent had lived, his source of income would have been cut off prior to his death, such as by showing that the decedent was about to retire or lose his job.
• Unemployed decedent-insureds usually don't qualify for survivors' benefits.
• Disabled and retired workers - some states will allow benefits based upon the "likely" end of worker's temporary disability, and so benefits are given. Similarly, some states consider pensions to be "wages" and so benefits are granted. In both instances, some states take the opposite positions.

Dependency

In order to receive survivors' benefits, the claimant must prove his or her legal dependency on the decedent. Some state laws define exactly who qualifies as a "dependent" for the purpose of receiving benefits, such as "wife," "husband," and "minor child."

In general:

• Spouses are dependent on each other.
• Cohabitants, or persons who live together are not considered dependents.
• Minor children who are legitimate and naturally born to or adopted by a decedent are dependent, while adult children are not considered dependent unless there is a showing of dependency, such as financial support. Some jurisdictions treat illegitimate children as dependent, while other states do not.

Claiming Death Benefits

After a fatal automobile accident, the person seeking no-fault death benefits:

• Must give the insurance company ("insurer") a copy of the death certificate
• Should gather information such as hospital and medical records, accident and police reports, the decedent's tax and earnings information, and funeral bills and expenses
• Should use the forms provided by the insurer for filing claims, and
• Should determine if there's more than one policy that covers the decedent, because in some states, the survivors can use multiple policies to recover more than once for the decedent's death, which is called "stacking" of death benefits

An exclusion that would prevent the decedent from recovering no-fault benefits also bars the recovery of survivors' benefits. So, if a decedent can't recover accidental death benefits because of suicide, the survivors usually can't recover any benefits.

Payment of Benefits

Once a claim for death benefits has been made, there are several things that need to be kept in mind with respect to how payments will be made, for how much and when.

Most no-fault statutes place limits on the maximum amount of death benefits that are payable. Some states put a separate limit on each benefit, but most states give a total sum that the benefits can't exceed.

Death benefits can be subject to a set-off or reduction based on other benefits received by the claimant, such as workers' compensation benefits.

The typical beneficiaries in death cases are the legal dependents of the deceased, and so benefits should not be payable to anyone other than the decedent's immediate family or dependents.

Most states require that death and survivors benefits be paid within a specific amount of time, which can range from months to years.

Termination of Benefits

All no-fault laws provide a mechanism for terminating death benefits. In some states, the insurer's duty to pay benefits ends when a certain payment is made, like a funeral bill.

In general, benefits terminate when:

• A child who is receiving the benefits reaches the age of majority, usually 18 years of age, unless the child is physically or mentally handicapped or is a student
• The decedent's spouse remarries, or
• The dependent dies