First of all, foreign nationals who die in the DR must be autopsied by law (this is not a DR law but International Law to which the DR is a signatory and has ratified).
The autopsy will usually be performed at the Institute of Forensic Pathology in the capital, and a preliminary autopsy report will be issued almost immediately (depending on the need for toxicology tests etc., which may take a few days or a couple of weeks) stating the cause of death.
Death certificates and copies of the final autopsy report are obtainable from the Procaduria General.
Disposal of the body is usually carried out by the Blandino Funerary Services who will do all the necessary (including getting copies of the documents) to bury, cremate or repatriate the remains.
US insurers usually accept the certificates issued by the local authorities as proof of death. In specific cases, for reasons best left unmentioned here, insurers will request us to conduct an investigation to confirm the circumstances, cause of the death, verify documentation and records, and in very extreme cases to verify the identity of the cadaver, if buried in the DR.
Trying by all means to avoid the puns but not quite succeeding for all that, you may rest assured :cheeky: that the proper documentation is available and accepted by US insurers, although sometimes it may be a hassle to deal with.
PM me if you need any further assistance/information.
Bryan