Funeral costs in Peru: what EsSalud, your AFP or the ONP really cover, compared with private funeral insurance

Start with what you already have

When someone dies, families are quickly offered private “funeral insurance” or a funeral home plan. Before paying for one, know that many people already have some funeral cover without realising it: through EsSalud, through their AFP or, depending on how they died, through SCTR or SOAT. None pays for everything. All have caps and conditions.

This page compares them. If the deceased was in an AFP, the survivor’s pension and other details are on widow’s and orphan’s pensions.

EsSalud: the funeral benefit (prestación por sepelio)

Ley 26790 lists funeral benefits among what EsSalud may provide. Its article 9 says those benefits may include “d) Prestaciones por sepelio” (funeral benefits). The regulation (D.S. 009-97-SA) develops this in article 18:

“La prestación por sepelio, cubre los servicios funerarios por la muerte del asegurado regular, sea activo o pensionista, de acuerdo a las normas que fija el IPSS.”

(The funeral benefit covers funeral services on the death of a regular insured person, working or retired, under the rules set by the IPSS.) The 1997 regulation refers to the IPSS; today the benefit is paid by EsSalud, and its official gob.pe page says how much and to whom:

“Es el monto de dinero que otorga EsSalud a quien cumpla la condición de beneficiario o familiar directo del asegurado fallecido (cónyuge o concubino(a), hijo(a) mayor de edad, padre o madre o hermano(a) mayor de edad) que acredite haber realizado los gastos de los servicios funerarios por el fallecimiento de un asegurado regular titular, sea activo o pensionista, hasta un monto máximo de S/ 2,070.00”

(It is the money EsSalud gives to the beneficiary or close relative of the deceased — spouse or partner, adult child, parent or adult sibling — who shows they paid for the funeral of a primary insured, working or retired, up to a maximum of S/ 2,070.00.)

Three things follow:

• It is a cap, not a fixed payment. If the funeral cost more, the page says the difference is not recognised.
• Only the primary insured’s death counts. If the person who died was a spouse covered as a dependant (derechohabiente), EsSalud does not pay this benefit.
• Whoever paid, claims. You have to prove the expense with receipts.

The costs EsSalud recognises are “nicho o sepultura, cremación o entierro, ataúd, capilla ardiente, carroza, transporte, mortaja o traje y preparación de cadáver” (niche or grave, cremation or burial, coffin, wake room, hearse, transport, shroud or clothing, and preparation of the body).

Conditions and deadline

EsSalud’s page sets these conditions for the primary insured:

“Contar con 3 meses consecutivos de aportaciones o 4 no consecutivos dentro de los 6 meses calendario anteriores al mes en que ocurrió su fallecimiento. El trabajador debe tener vínculo laboral en el momento del fallecimiento. Los pensionistas deben mantener su condición de pensionistas al momento de la contingencia.”

(Three consecutive months of contributions, or four non-consecutive, in the six calendar months before the month of death. A worker must be employed at the time of death. A pensioner must still be a pensioner at that time.)

The contribution rule matches article 35 of the regulation, as reworded by D.S. 001-2025-TR. For cash benefits, that article takes the month of the event — here, the death — as the month that counts.

The deadline is short. Article 23 of the regulation says the right lapses after six months and that, for funeral benefits, the period “se cuenta a partir de la fecha de fallecimiento” (runs from the date of death). EsSalud’s page repeats it: you can apply “hasta 6 meses contados desde la fecha de fallecimiento del asegurado titular” (up to six months from the date of death).

What to bring

According to the page: Form No. 1040, filled in and signed, your ID, and the original receipts “donde indique el nombre del asegurado fallecido, emitidos a nombre del familiar o tercero que realiza el gasto” (showing the deceased’s name, issued to the relative or third party who paid). If a third party paid, add a sworn statement from the relative acknowledging that payment. If the death happened abroad, the original receipts must be translated where needed and either legalised by Peru’s Foreign Ministry or carry a Hague apostille. You hand everything in at an EsSalud Oficina de Seguros y Prestaciones Económicas. If all is in order, EsSalud tells you that you can collect at the authorised banks “en un plazo máximo de 72 horas” (within 72 hours at most).

Your AFP: funeral costs (gastos de sepelio)

If the deceased was in the private pension system, the private pension law includes funeral costs among its benefits. Article 40 of the TUO says:

“Las prestaciones en favor de los trabajadores incorporados al SPP son exclusivamente las de jubilación, invalidez, sobrevivencia y gastos de sepelio, y no incluyen prestaciones de salud ni riesgos de accidentes de trabajo.”

(The benefits of the private pension system are only retirement, disability, survivors’ and funeral costs; they do not include health care or work-accident risks.)

The SBS explains that the AFP pays or reimburses “una suma de dinero correspondiente a un tipo referencial de sepelio” (an amount matching a reference funeral), up to a cap the SBS sets that “se actualiza semestralmente de acuerdo al Índice de Precios al Consumidor (IPC)” (is updated every six months in line with the consumer price index). Active members and disability or retirement pensioners qualify. If the member had pension insurance cover (seguro previsional), that insurance pays; if not, it comes out of their individual account.

You apply at the deceased’s AFP, and the application is “firmada por quien efectuó el gasto y cuyo nombre aparece en los comprobantes de pago” (signed by the person who paid, whose name is on the receipts). The other documents are on widow’s and orphan’s pensions.

The ONP: we found no funeral benefit

We searched the consolidated text of Decreto Ley 19990 published by the ONP and found no funeral or burial benefit. The closest thing is the death lump sum (capital de defunción) in article 67:

“Al fallecimiento de un asegurado que percibía o hubiera tenido derecho a percibir pensión de jubilación o de invalidez, de acuerdo al presente Decreto Ley, y únicamente en caso que no deje beneficiarios con derecho a pensión de sobrevivientes, se otorgará capital de defunción en orden excluyente a las siguientes: a) Al cónyuge; b) A los hijos; c) A los padres; y d) A los hermanos menores de 18 años.”

(When an insured person who received, or was entitled to, a retirement or disability pension dies, and only if no one is left with a right to a survivor’s pension, a death lump sum is paid, in this exclusive order: spouse, children, parents, siblings under 18.)

That is not a funeral reimbursement: it exists only when no one qualifies for a survivor’s pension. Being in the ONP does not stop someone from having EsSalud. If the deceased was an EsSalud primary insured, as a worker or a pensioner, the EsSalud funeral benefit is the route that does exist.

Deaths in accidents: SCTR and SOAT

If the death came from a work accident or occupational disease of someone covered by SCTR, a different route applies. Article 19 of Ley 26790 says SCTR covers “pensiones de invalidez temporal o permanente y de sobrevivientes y gastos de sepelio, como consecuencia de accidentes de trabajo o enfermedades profesionales” (disability and survivors’ pensions and funeral costs resulting from work accidents or occupational diseases). EsSalud’s page, for its part, says its benefit “no corresponde ser otorgada a los fallecidos afiliados al Seguro Complementario de Trabajo de Riesgo (SCTR)” (does not apply to deceased persons covered by SCTR). See SCTR: what it covers.

If the death was caused by a traffic accident, also check what SOAT covers. If the deceased had no EsSalud, check whether they were covered by SIS.

Private funeral insurance

A private policy is a contract: it covers what the policy says, no more and no less. Ley 29946, the Insurance Contract Law, has two rules worth knowing before you sign and before you claim:

“Tercera. Los términos del contrato que generen ambigüedad o dudas son interpretados en el sentido y con el alcance más favorable al asegurado. […] Séptima. La cobertura, exclusiones y, en general, la extensión del riesgo así como los derechos de los beneficiarios, previstos en el contrato de seguro, deben interpretarse literalmente.”

(Ambiguous or unclear terms are read in the way most favourable to the insured. Cover, exclusions and beneficiaries’ rights are read literally.)

In practice: what the policy clearly excludes stays excluded; what is worded ambiguously is read in your favour. Before you buy, compare the amount on offer with what EsSalud and the AFP already cover, and ask whether the policy pays even if you also collect those benefits.

What this page does not cover

We do not cover prepaid plans sold by funeral homes and cemeteries, or funeral benefits under special regimes (armed forces, police, public-sector workers with their own allowances). We do not give the current AFP cap, and we did not check whether EsSalud and the AFP can both pay for the same funeral. SOAT amounts are on their own page.