Before You Head South: What Canadian "Snowbirds" Should Know About Car, Home and Health Insurance.

Flocks of Canadian “snowbirds” head south to warmer parts of the U.S.A. and abroad to avoid the freezing temperatures at home. Before you travel, however, you should take a moment to review your car, home and health insurance to make sure that you are properly insured in the event something happens to you (or your car or home) while you are on vacation.

Car Insurance

If you have an Ontario car insurance policy and plan to drive your car south to a vacation in the U.S.A., your Canadian car insurance policy should cover you in the event that you become injured in a collision while on vacation.

You can apply for accident benefits with your Ontario policy and, depending on your policy, may be eligible to receive funding from your car insurer. This funding may include funding for medical and rehabilitation expenses, attendant care expenses, housekeeping expenses. It may also include caregiving expenses or an income replacement benefit if your injuries prevent you from returning to work. If you are injured in a car accident while traveling in the U.S.A., an experienced personal injury lawyer in Ontario can help you.

If you are flying south and will be renting a car when you arrive in the U.S.A., your Ontario insurance policy should respond to your claim for accident benefits and should also provide you with coverage for injuries that you may have caused to others or property you damaged. Your car insurance may not automatically cover the cost of damage to the rental car. You can contact your insurance company to ensure that you are covered while driving your car or a rental car in the U.S.A. and you may be able to purchase an additional endorsement to cover the cost of damage to a rental car. You can also see if your credit card offers insurance that will cover property damage to a rental car.

You may need to purchase extra insurance if you will be gone or using a rental car for more than 30 days or if you are making your southern destination your exclusive place of residence in the winter.

Home Insurance

Home insurance policies in Ontario differentiate between homes that are “vacant” and homes that are “unoccupied”. Home insurance policies are not all the same and the definition of “vacancy” and “unoccupied” that applies to you will be included in your insurance policy.

The definition of “vacancy” in a policy usually applies to situations where the occupants of the house have moved out and the house is empty. The definition of “unoccupied” usually applies where you are away from home for 4 or more consecutive days. If your home is going to be unoccupied for a period of time, you need to arrange for someone to check in at your home (the frequency of required visits may be included in your insurance policy) and you should also drain your pipes and shut off your water supply to reduce the risk of flooding.

If damage occurs to your home while it is unoccupied and you have not complied with the requirements in your policy, your insurance may not cover you for certain types of losses, like flood damage caused by frozen pipes or appliances like dishwashers. Some policies will still cover your while your home is unoccupied, provided you make special arrangements to monitor the home while you are gone. If your home is vacant for 30 or more days and you have not advised your insurer of that fact, your entire insurance policy could be void.

Before you go on vacation, you should contact your insurance company or broker to confirm what you need to do to ensure that you will be covered if anything happens while you’re gone.

Health Insurance

It is always a good idea to obtain travel medical insurance before going on vacation to help protect you from huge and unexpected health expenses. Almost all health insurance policies have an exclusion clause stating that if you have a certain pre-existing health conditions which are not “stable” in the three months before the effective date of the policy, the policy becomes void.

Definitions of medical stability are very strict and being referred to a specialist or changing your medication could be enough to trigger the exclusion. If you have pre-existing medical issues, you can still purchase health insurance but you must ensure that you answer all of the insurer’s questions truthfully and candidly so that your policy will cover you in the event of an unexpected health expense.

As with your car and home insurance, you should speak with your insurance company before going on vacation to confirm that you are covered for the duration of your trip.

By: Lara Fitzgerald-Husek

Accidents with Uninsured Drivers: What Happens Now?

What happens when you are injured in Ontario as a result of a motor vehicle accident and the driver of the vehicle who struck you did not have insurance coverage? You may be asking yourself: Will I be able to obtain medical and rehabilitation assistance, income replacement, and other benefits that I require?

The answer is yes. If you have automobile insurance, an Application for Accident Benefits will have to be submitted to your own insurer. It is your own insurer who will be responsible for providing you with reasonable and necessary accident benefits. It is also important to note that applying for these no-fault benefits does not affect your insurance premiums. If, however, you do not have your own automobile insurance, and no other automobile involved in the accident has insurance, or can be identified, you may be eligible for accident benefits from the Motor Vehicle Accident Claims Fund (MVACF).

The MVACF is a government fund. It is considered the payor of last resort. This means the fund provides accident benefits and other coverage to people injured in automobile accidents when there is no other automobile insurance that exists that can respond to a claim. Benefits for injured persons provided by MVACF are:

• Statutory Accident Benefits directly to persons involved in an automobile accident, who have no other recourse to automobile insurance.

• Compensation for personal injury or property damage to victims involved in an automobile accident with an uninsured or unidentified driver, or stolen vehicle when no liability insurance exists. This coverage is capped at $200,000.

It is important to note that the MVACF will not provide Accident Benefits when the accident was outside of Ontario or, in most cases, if the accident was in Ontario but the injured individual(s) does not reside in Ontario.

If you or a loved one find yourselves in this situation, a personal injury lawyer can help with this complex claim. They can ensure that forms, documentation, and information are supplied in a timely manner so that you or your loved ones can obtain access to the much needed Accident Benefits required in order to rehabilitate back to health after suffering serious injury.


By: Josie Skelly








　

PTSD & Catastrophic Injury

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder caused by a major physical or emotional trauma. It commonly affects traumatic accident victims.

According to the Oxford Medical Dictionary, the onset PTSD occurs at least one month after the traumatic experience. PTSD victims report flashbacks, nightmares, and anxiety. PTSD victims also engage in avoidance behaviors. For example, motor vehicle accident victims often develop PTSD in the form of driving anxiety.

Occasionally, the anxiety is so severe that these individuals avoid all forms of motor vehicle transportation.

PTSD is typically treated through a combination of counseling and medication. According to the Mayo Clinic, cognitive therapy, exposure therapy and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing are effective forms of PTSD psychotherapy. The Mayo Clinic also recommends antidepressants, and anti-anxiety medications to treat the symptoms of PTSD.

 There are legal implications associated with severe PTSD. Where PTSD has been caused by another person’s negligence, that person is responsible for the PTSD and its accompanying impairments. Moreover, severe PTSD can lead to a finding that one is “catastrophically impaired” for the purpose of no-fault accident benefits. Among other things, this will entitle the PTSD victim to increased funding for treatment.

Click here for more information on PTSD and its treatment.

By: Jordan Kofman

Driving Positions

A proper driving position is essential to preventing accidents and minimizing accident related injuries. Below are three tips to improve common positioning errors.


Hand Position

Persons who learned to drive in the pre-airbag era were taught to position their hands at “10 and 2”. Today, this is an unsafe driving position. In the event of an impact, airbag deployment can fracture improperly positioned forearms and thumbs.

The airbag’s impact can also launch a driver’s forearms into their head, thereby increasing the odds of a brain injury. If your vehicle is equipped with airbags, position your hands at “9 and 3”.


Headrest Setup

A properly positioned headrest is essential to preventing whiplash-type injuries. In the event of a collision, your body and head should move in unison. This will not happen where the headrest is positioned too far behind the back of your head.

Position your vehicle’s headrest as close to the back of your head as possible. The headrest should be no more than 4cm from the back of your skull. Vertically, the top of your headrest should align with the top of your skull.


Mirror Positioning

There is a common misconception that the flank a driver’s own vehicle should appear on the inside edge of a side-view mirror. While familiar for many drivers, this mirror position increases the size of blind spots. The inside edges of properly positioned side-view mirrors will just overlap with the outside edges of the rear-view mirror’s field of view. This mirror position will dramatically reduce the size of your blind spot.



By: Jordan Kofman

Road Hazards

An unexpected hazard on a roadway can cause a driver to swerve or brake suddenly and crash into other vehicles, pedestrians, or structures. Road hazards can include a wide variety of conditions such as debris left on the roadway, trees or shrubbery that block a driver’s vision, or construction zones that can reduce the width of lanes or place a worker in the path of oncoming traffic.

The condition of the road itself can also present a hazard, such as uneven roads, unexpected curves, faded paint markings, cracks or potholes, or the presence of snow, water, or ice.

Encountering a road hazard, such as a pothole, can result in severe consequences, such as personal injury, or even death. But aside from vigilantly keeping an eye out for hazards on the roadway, there is not much that drivers can do to protect themselves and others.

Various government agencies, such as the Province of Ontario and municipalities, are responsible for maintaining roads and ensuring they are safe for drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians. They are required to keep all roadways in a state of repair that is reasonable in the circumstances.

Therefore, in the event of an accident, it is possible to make a claim against the Province or municipality for damages. In order for a claim to be made, the Province or municipality must have failed to meet the minimum maintenance levels. These minimum standards can differ by type of road. It must also be shown that the Province or municipality knew, or should have known, about the state of disrepair.

If you are injured in an accident and believe a road hazard caused or contributed to the accident occurring, it is important to consult with a lawyer in order to determine whether you have a valid claim against the Province or a municipality.

Road Rage

Most drivers have experienced some level of annoyance or anger at other drivers on the road, but “road rage” is much more extreme. Road rage occurs when a driver’s extreme anger at other drivers' perceived wrongdoing results in aggressive, angry, and potentially dangerous behaviour.

Aggressive driving behaviours include tailgating, speeding, failing to yield a right-of-way, cutting off other vehicles, swearing, rude gesturing, or making threats. These behaviours could result in subsequent altercations, assaults, and collisions.

A strong majority of Ontario drivers admit to driving behaviour that could be described as road rage. According to a study by the Canadian Journal of Public Health, 46% of Ontario drivers have been shouted at, cursed at, or had rude gestures directed at them while driving in the previous 12 months, and over 31% of them admitted to shouting or cursing at someone themselves.

Road rage appears to be most prevalent in drivers aged 18-34, with over 44% of them admitting to threatening or swearing at someone while driving. It also appears to be more prevalent among the wealthier segment of Ontario drivers. Over 44% of Ontario drivers earning over $80,000 a year admitted to swearing or threatening another driver.

According to a report by Leger Marketing for kanetix.ca, men also appear to be more likely to engage in road rage behaviour than women – although not by much. Among Canadian drivers, 83% of men and 76% of women admitted to engaging in some form of aggressive driving behaviour. Additionally, men were more likely to experience road rage after being cut off, while women were more likely to experience road rage for personal reasons, such as running late or having a bad day.

The Canadian Journal of Public Health study also found that drivers in highly congested traffic areas, such as Toronto, were more likely to be the recipients of shouts, curses, and rude gestures. This is likely due to the higher stress levels associated with urban driving.

The consequences of aggressive driving and road rage incidents can be severe. Just last summer, Ontario police charged a 27 year old truck driver for throwing a steel block through the window of another car, injuring a baby and five-year-old child. While this is an extreme example, road rage incidents can result in serious injury or even death.

Road rage is often caused by heightened stress. You can avoid becoming involved in a road rage incident by monitoring your own stress levels. Ensure that you get fresh air, breathe deeply, and listen to relaxing music while in a stressful driving scenario. If you are on a long trip, take a break from driving every now and then. If someone else’s driving annoys or angers you, do not try to retaliate. It is much better to leave traffic enforcement in the hands of police.

The next time you become angry on the road, remind yourself of the potential consequences. Do not take other drivers’ mistakes or behaviours personally and you can ensure that you will not become a perpetrator of road rage in the future.

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Wedding Insurance

Wedding insurance is a policy that provides financial protection against an unpredictable event that can occur. This type of coverage is especially important given the increasing cost of weddings.The following is a list of some of the benefits that may be provided under a wedding insurance package policy:


• Cancellation or Postponement Expenses: Reimbursement for expenses that result from cancellation.

• Illness or Injury: If certain individuals involved in the wedding get injured or become ill and the wedding needs to postponed, the expenses involved with the postponement are covered.

• Weather: If you wedding has to be postponed due to rain or bad weather conditions, there is coverage for the cost of rescheduling.

• Failure of Suppliers: Reimbursement for any non-recoverable deposits from a supplier who fails to provide their services as agreed upon.

• Rented Property: Reimbursement for direct physical loss or damage to any rented property used during the wedding reception.

• Wedding Rings: Reimbursement for loss or damage to wedding rings for a stated period of time prior to the wedding until the conclusion of the ceremony.

• Wedding Gifts: Reimbursement for damage to wedding gifts up to 24 hours after you receive them. The weddings gifts must be either at the reception venue or in transit from the reception venue to the home of the wedding party. The coverage ends once the wedding gifts arrive at the home of the wedding party.

• Wedding Cake and Flowers: Reimbursement for any direct physical damage to or loss of the wedding cake or flowers for a specified number of days prior to the wedding an up until the conclusion of reception.

• Photographs, Video, DVD or Other Medium: Reimbursement for the photographer’s or videographer’s expenses incurred to correct, or retake the wedding photographs or other medium within a specified timeframe from the actual wedding event.The following are some of the riders that can be added to the standard wedding insurance package policy for an additional premium to address the policyholder’s specific needs:

• Honeymoon: Cancellation of the honeymoon due to illness, bad weather or other specified circumstance.

• Liability Insurance: Liability insurance if the ceremony and or reception is held at a site that doesn’t carry liability insurance such as a private residence. This provides coverage in the event a guest sustains personal injury or causes injury to someone else.

• Military Service: If the bride or groom are in the military or active reserves, coverage is provided if  they are called into service and the wedding has to be postponed.There are conditions, limitations, and exclusions that are outlined in the policy wording. It is important to consult an insurance broker for expert advice. You will want to ensure you have the appropriate coverage to address loss to property as well as against lawsuits for personal injury to a guest or caused by a guest.

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