Travel Insurance and EHIC After a Polish Citizen Dies in the UK

EHIC/EKUZ Does Not Cover Body Transport — Not Even Partially

This is the most common misconception Polish families face. The European Health Insurance Card (EKUZ) covers emergency medical treatment for living patients in EU and EEA countries. Since Brexit, the UK honours a separate arrangement for EKUZ/GHIC holders — but it covers only hospital treatment, never body preparation, embalming, coffin transport, or cremation.

If the deceased received emergency hospital treatment before dying, those treatment costs may be covered under the EKUZ arrangement. EKUZ does not cover post-death arrangements such as mortuary storage, embalming, the funeral director, the zinc coffin, airport cargo, or cremation.

Do not count on EKUZ for any repatriation costs. The card is irrelevant to cross-border bereavement logistics.

Travel Insurance: Check Before Signing Any Funeral Home Contract

Many Polish citizens travelling to or working in the UK hold private travel insurance policies that include repatriation of remains as a covered benefit. This is where real money can be recovered — policies typically cover £5,000–£15,000 of repatriation expenses.

The critical sequence:

1. Locate the policy. Check the deceased's email, bank statements (for premium payments), employer records, and personal documents. Common Polish travel insurers: PZU, Warta, Allianz, Signal Iduna, Ergo Hestia.
2. Call the insurer's 24-hour emergency line immediately. Do this before instructing a funeral director and check whether the policy requires prior authorisation.
3. Do not sign any funeral home contracts before insurer approval. Many policies state that expenses incurred without the insurer's prior authorisation are excluded. If you sign a £3,000 repatriation contract with a UK funeral home before calling the insurer, the insurer can legally refuse to reimburse those costs.
4. The insurer may appoint their own repatriation provider. Insurance companies typically have contracts with specific international funeral directors. Using their network is cheaper for the insurer and fully covered for you. Using an independent provider without approval may void the claim.

What Travel Insurance Typically Covers

A standard Polish travel insurance policy with repatriation coverage usually includes:

• Transport of remains (body or ashes) to Poland
• Embalming and containment required for transport
• The zinc coffin or transport-grade urn
• Air cargo or road transport costs
• Any family-travel assistance expressly included in the policy

It typically does not cover:

• The funeral ceremony in Poland
• The burial plot or gravestone
• UK probate or estate administration costs
• Accommodation for the family beyond 1–2 nights
• Upgraded coffins or decorative urns

Check the specific policy. Exclusions for pre-existing medical conditions, deaths related to alcohol or drug use, and deaths during illegal activity are standard.

Employer Death-in-Service Benefits for UK-Based Polish Workers

If the deceased was employed in the UK, three potential sources of financial support exist:

Death-in-service benefit — Many UK employers offer group life insurance as a workplace benefit. The amount depends on the employer's scheme and nominated beneficiary. The family should contact the employer's HR department immediately.

Workplace pension death benefit — If the deceased was enrolled in a UK workplace pension, the pension fund may pay a lump sum or dependant's pension to the surviving family.

Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation — If the death occurred during work (for example, a construction-site or industrial incident), the HSE may investigate. This does not itself provide direct financial compensation to the family; ask a UK solicitor about any civil claim.

The investigation and any civil claim can take time. The family can pursue a civil claim in parallel through a UK solicitor (many operate on a no-win-no-fee basis for workplace death claims).

Filing Sequence

The optimal approach is to run insurance and benefit claims in parallel with the repatriation process:

Day 1: Call the travel insurer. Notify the employer's HR department. Day 2–5: Register the death. Instruct the funeral director (the insurer's preferred provider if applicable). Week 2–4: File the ZUS funeral allowance (Form Z-12) once the Polish death certificate transcription is complete. Month 1–3: Pursue any workplace pension death benefits. Begin HSE-related civil claims if applicable.

The ZUS funeral allowance and any private insurance claim are separate processes; check each scheme's rules. A family with travel insurance and ZUS can potentially recover the majority of repatriation costs.

The Polish Dies in the UK — Family Guide includes an insurance claim checklist, employer notification template letters, and a cost recovery worksheet that maps expenses against all available reimbursement sources.