Insurance

Your Insurance Never Takes a Holiday - Even if You do

Your bags are packed, someone is taking care of the cat and you are off on that summer vacation you've been anticipating since New Year's ended. You may be on a holiday, but your insurance is still working for you - and we're not just talking the travel insurance you purchased for the occasion. Your auto and property insurance also play a roll when you are on vacation. Here are some examples:

Example 1:

You're planning to drive across Canada. While outside your province, you are hit from behind when stopped at an intersection and your family has suffered minor injuries.

In this situation, your family's injuries were caused by a car accident where you were one of the drivers. This means your auto insurance, not your travel insurance, should cover any medical expenses because of the accident.

Whether in Canada or the US, you would look to your own auto insurance company to pay for damages and they would collect from the other driver through the proper legal channels in that area.

Example 2:

While in the busy parking lot of Yosemite National Park, you back into a pedestrian. Unfortunately, the person's injuries are severe.

This is where your auto liability coverage comes into play. As Canadians most of us have a liability limit of $1 million. If you carry a lower liability limit and plan on travelling in the US, you might want to consider purchasing some more coverage. Even $1 million CDN does not go far if you are sued through an American court system.

Example 3:

You return to your hotel room to find it ransacked! Your camera, camcorder and other personal items are missing.

In this type of situation you would be covered under your property policy. Your home insurance covers your belongings, even when outside of your house.

Call your insurance company to make the claim before you replace any of your lost items. They can tell you if your property policy has any special limits. Don't forget, you'll have to pay your deductible first, so if the items you lost are worth less than your deductible, you won't be able to claim anything.

Example 4:

On the first tee, your golf club slips out of your hands and hits a waiting golfer in the shin. His injuries aren't that severe but he is irate and threatens to sue.

Ok - so this sounds kind of unlikely, but stranger things have happened. In this case, if you were on vacation or not, it's the liability portion of your property policy that would cover you. Most property policies have a liability limit of $1 million that would cover you anywhere in the world.