08/01/2024
Excellent advice from a Personal Injury lawyer..
I’m a personal injury lawyer in Toronto. I thought I should share a tip for when you are all deciding on insurance for your cars. I see a lot of sad situations where people don’t have enough insurance after an injury and I am trying to raise awareness so that it happens less.
Everyone should consider purchasing optional accident benefits. When you get auto insurance, it is standard to have accident benefits. You can access accident benefits in the event you are injured in an auto accident, regardless of who is at fault for the accident. They are critical because you can start receiving them within a couple of weeks of your accident. If the accident is not your fault, and you sue the other driver, getting compensation out of the lawsuit is likely to take years. The accident benefits provide a bridge for you to get therapy, get assistance around the home and replace some of your lost income.
The problem is that if you just get basic accident benefits coverage (which most people do), your benefits are quite limited. For example, the benefit for lost income is only $400.00 a week or if you suffer a non-catastrophic injury (think broken leg with surgery or something like that), your benefits for rehabilitation and assistance around the home are capped at $65,000.00 and expire after 5 years. Under the basic plan, if you are catastrophically injured (think amputation, paralysis or severe brain injury), benefits are capped at $1,000,000.00.
I strongly recommend everyone consider purchasing optional accident benefits. The cost difference is not much, but the benefits are much better. You can get $1,000.00 a week for income replacement. You can get your rehabilitation benefit up to $130,000.00 or even $1,000,000.00 for a non-catastrophic injury with no expiration, and you can increase benefits payable if you are catastrophically injured to $2,000,000.00.
Unfortunately, I see a lot of people who are struggling with a severe injury after an accident who are not getting enough help from their accident benefit provider. By the time an accident happens, it is too late. Purchasing these additional benefits at the time you are buying insurance can make a huge difference in your life if something happens.
