We are available 24x7. Call (604) 856-2346 
In order to provide you with the best service possible, we have detected that you're from Vancouver. If this is incorrect, please select your city.
Resources & Frequently Asked Questions
Resources

Resources & Commonly Asked Questions

What does ICBC pay if someone dies in a crash?

Funeral expenses, grief counselling and death benefits under ICBC's Enhanced Care.

Updated September 29, 2026

If someone dies as a result of a motor vehicle crash, ICBC's Enhanced Care coverage can help with funeral expenses and grief counselling, and pays lump-sum death benefits to some family members. Enhanced Care began on May 1, 2021. The amounts below took effect April 1, 2026 and are adjusted each year for inflation.

Funeral expenses

ICBC pays up to $10,839 per person who died, including taxes, for funeral or burial expenses. This can include transporting the person who died, funeral or burial services, cremation, a cemetery plot and a grave marker.

ICBC can pay the funeral expenses directly, or reimburse the person who paid them, based on copies of invoices or receipts. ICBC asks for receipts for approved benefits within 180 days of the expense.

Grief counselling

Each family member can receive up to $4,533 for grief counselling. Each session is reimbursed up to $160, or up to $246 with a registered psychologist. Family includes a spouse or partner, children and stepchildren, parents and step-parents, grandparents, guardians, siblings and step-siblings, and others who had a family-like relationship with the person who died.

Lump-sum death benefits

  • Spouse or common-law partner. The amount depends on the age and income of the person who died. The minimum is $79,525. A common-law partner must have lived with them in a marriage-like relationship for at least two years immediately before the fatal injury.
  • Dependants. Each dependant receives $37,771 to $71,229, depending on their age. A dependant with a disability receives an additional $34,792.
  • No spouse or dependants. Non-dependent parents and non-dependent children each receive $17,710.

If there is no eligible spouse, dependent children share the amount that would have gone to a spouse. This includes when a single parent dies.

How to start a claim

Report the claim online or by phone. ICBC will then assign someone to help you with the benefits.

  • Vancouver: 604-520-8222
  • Toll-free: 1-800-910-4222

Keep all receipts and documents related to the death. ICBC's support guide to death benefits (PDF) lists what you may need, such as the funeral invoices, the funeral director's certificate of death, a marriage certificate and children's birth certificates. More is on ICBC's page, If the crash resulted in a death.

If the death followed a crash, let us know, and we can give you copies of the invoice and other documents for your claim.