Insurance Issues While Travelling Abroad Chris Richard, an expert personal injury lawyer in St Catherines, sat down with host Lee Sterry of Niagara’s 610 Newstalk Radio and discussed the insurance issues that arise when you are travelling abroad. Chris is a personal injury lawyer from the law firm Graves and Richard, a premier law firm in St Catharines. He discussed the restrictions on Statutory Accident Benefits coverage, the difficulties associated with suing abroad, the importance of obtaining adequate travel insurance, and how a personal injury lawyer can help.
Restrictions on Statutory Accident Benefits Coverage There are no fault benefits available under your automobile insurance policy should you be injured in a car accident in St Catharines. Under this coverage, you can receive in most cases up to one million dollars for medical expenses, or up to two million dollars for medical coverage and attendant care if you have optional benefits. There are also income replacement benefits available under the no fault provisions of your policy, which will replace up to 70 percent of your gross income. These no fault benefits are available if you’re in a car accident in St Catharines, whether you’re driving your own car, or if you are in any other vehicle including a rental car or taxicab. They even apply if you are a pedestrian and you are hit by a vehicle.
Obtaining Adequate Travel Insurance Because of this restriction on your no fault benefits coverage, you will want to ensure you purchase an adequate policy of travel insurance before you travel outside of Canada and the United States. The first consideration before you travel abroad is whether you need to have a private disability insurance policy to cover your income loss in the case that you are injured and rendered unable to work. If you have a disability policy with your employer, you will need to become informed as to exactly what that coverage is. Chris recently had a client whose employer’s policy covered approximately 25 percent of his lost income when he was injured abroad and unable to work after. This under-insured client would have benefitted significantly from purchasing a private insurance policy.
Disclose Pre-existing Conditions Another consideration when purchasing travel insurance is coverage for pre-existing medical conditions. This simply needs to be an open conversation with your insurer. Disclose what your pre-existing conditions are, even if it costs you more. If you have difficulty purchasing a policy after disclosure of your pre-existing conditions and you decide to travel without coverage, at least you will be doing so adequately informed.
Restrictions of Credit Card Insurance Coverage Chris explained that some policies cover only trips of certain scheduled duration. For example, some policies only cover travel for periods of ten days or less. So, if you have a vacation scheduled for 11 days, your credit card policy will not cover you. And it is not how long you are in the vacation sport that matters, but rather how long the vacation was scheduled for. Chris shared that he once had a case where his client was injured within a few days of arriving on vacation and was well within the limits of the policy provision, but because the vacation was scheduled for 21 days, the insurer denied coverage.
Taking Legal Action If the policy contains an exclusion that goes against the very reason you are seeking insurance, shop around lawyer. Chris explained that even in the case of exclusions, he is often able to get some sort of resolution with insurance companies for his clients. If you’ve been in an accident and need a personal injury lawyer in St Catherines, contact Graves and Richard. The Graves and Richard team will help you with your insurance company settlement, including slip and fall injuries settlements and car accident settlements. The expert personal injury lawyers and long term disability insurance lawyers have the experience, dedication, and compassion you need to help your case.
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