No Fault Insurance Rules for Ontario, Canada
Ontario, Canada, follows a set of rules for vehicle accidents known as no-fault, which means that individuals involved in car accidents are entitled to certain benefits regardless of who was at fault. It is important to understand how no-fault insurance rules work in Ontario to take advantage of the benefits.
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No-Fault Insurance System
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The no-fault insurance system in Ontario pays out what are called accident benefits. These are a wide variety of different benefits that cover medical and rehabilitative, income replacement, caregiver, home maintenance and attendant care benefits. The purpose of this system is to assist anyone who is involved in a vehicle accident regardless of who was at fault in the collision. Regardless of who is deemed at fault for the collision, anyone who is injured in the accident or sustains any kind of damage can benefit from this no-fault system of insurance.
Medical and Rehabilitative Benefits
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These benefits cover chiropractic treatments, physiotherapy, gym memberships, massage therapy, assistance devices and any other type of medical or rehabilitative devices or treatment that are necessary for care following an accident. Devices that can be covered by these benefits include canes, ramps, wheelchairs, therapeutic beds, modified vehicles and any other device that can benefit or accommodate the victim of an accident. A doctor will need to create a treatment plan for submission to the insurance company, and these are not unlimited benefits but they can pay out $100,000 in benefits for as long as 10 years, or $1,000,000 in benefits over the course of a lifetime in catastrophic cases.
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Income Replacement Benefits
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These benefits replace income for individuals that cannot work after an accident. These benefits entitle accident victims to 80 percent of their net income before the accident which is derived from an average of the previous year's earnings. For a standard insurance plan, the maximum amount of income replacement is $400 per week.
Caregiver Benefits
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The purpose of caregiver benefits is to benefit people that act as a primary caregiver for a dependent to help them care for their dependent after an accident. To benefit from this provision, caregivers must be able to prove that they are the primary caregiver for a dependent. The standard caregiver benefit is $250 per week for a single dependent, plus an additional $50 per week for any additional dependents in the household.
Housekeeping and Home Maintenance Benefits
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The purpose of this benefit is to help an accident victim when they can no longer do home maintenance or housekeeping because of the accident. These benefits are granted to assist with cleaning, meal preparation, mopping, dusting, taking the garbage out and so on. This benefit amounts to $100 per week. For this benefit to be received, the accident victim must submit a receipt or invoice for the housekeeping to the insurance company.
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References
- Photo Credit car crash and police rescue team image by Canakris from Fotolia.com
