Repatriation of the body, what is it?
Whether your motivation is related to reasons of identity, or that your wishes are motivated by heart bonds, it is common that a person living in mainland France wishes to rest in his homeland. Let’s see the practical meaning of the thing without avoiding the budgetary aspects.


Repatriation assistance

Note that it is forbidden to do this on your own. The law requires the use of licensed professionals who will work cooperatively to care for the deceased. Each territory, each diaspora having its customs, the organization which will assure the assistance repatriation is in charge of mastering (with the possible help of the embassies or consulates) all the administrative, technical and logistical procedures of the transport of the body. These fees are often quite high. Talk about it to find out how much it costs to people you know who have already experienced this. They will certainly tell you, that it is better to take out a Funeral Guarantee which contains a “repatriation assistance of body” (expenses supported in the guarantee).

The repatriation trip

The principle is based on the need to travel the body of the deceased and generally to cross one or more borders. Air transport is preferred to the alternative of the road. Once the assistance is requested, the coordination team (funeral societies, freight, airlines) will set up to organize the repatriation trip. After formalization of the repatriation quote, an administrative file is created, which makes it possible to carry out the administrative and legal steps (town hall, prefecture, consulate, police station). As you will have understood, the delay in setting up the repatriation of a body can vary (complexity of the context, experience of the speakers on the international relations …). Again, your friends who have experienced this will tell you that it is better to choose professionals who are used to this technical and also diplomatic management.

To be even more “pragmatic” three particular points. During the journey, the body of the deceased is necessarily placed in a hermetic zinc envelope inside a coffin. It may also be, depending on the country of destination, that some care of conservation of the body is required (made by the thanatopractor). The family is sometimes allowed to board the same flight as the deceased. A good funeral repatriation bodyguard will support 1 to 2 tickets for accompanying persons.

 

The Guarantee Funeral Repatriation of Body Legal Protection Funeral

You subscribe to a contract that provides you with financial capital (a sum of money) to pay for funeral expenses, including repatriation. In the list of eligible expenses, all the funeral guarantees do not necessarily have the possibility of sending the body of the deceased across borders, except sometimes in case of accidental death arriving abroad. But if the death concerns a person currently living in France and wishing to be repatriated for example to an overseas territory, the repatriation costs of the body will remain the responsibility of relatives, if the contract does not provide. As a result, you will have made the wrong choice, that is, one that does not completely fit your needs and wishes.
This is why Universcia has also added a Funeral Legal Protection in the contract. Indeed, the intervention of a lawyer or a legal service may be necessary in some cases of funeral arrangements. Attention, this legal protection is not provided for anything other than the disputes related to the organization of the funeral of the deceased. Ask your Universcia advisor if you think your file may have legal complications. Anticipating these risks will be an important action in repatriation assistance and in the fluid management of the context.