Summer is the perfect time to go on a road trip with your friends or family. Whether you’re staying close to home or travelling afar, there are many things to consider, such a routes, traffic, snacks and insurance. Are you prepared in case you get in an accident?
Understand where you are
With every border crossed comes potential new laws, rules and insurance policies. Getting in a car outside out of province isn’t so bad, but what if you’re in an accident while out of the country? The last thing you want is to spend hours, or thousands of dollars, in an unfamiliar place.
Good news: Your Canadian auto insurance will cover you out of province and in the United States. In addition to obtaining accident benefits from your Canadian insurer, you may also be able to claim against the insurance company for the other driver.
But what happens if you were injured in a car accident in the States and the at fault party is uninsured or underinsured? Keep reading.
Top up your insurance
It is always important to make sure you top up your insurance. In certain US jurisdictions, the minimum insurance policies are only $20,000 – $50,000. Without extra insurance, if you get into an accident with someone with one of these policies, you can only recover that little. If you top up your insurance and have a much larger policy, you’re eligible for much more regardless of the other driver’s situation.
Borrowing a car
If you borrow a car from a friend for your road trip, will you be covered? Yes! Assuming you have a valid driver’s license and received consent to borrow your friend’s car, you will be covered by the car owner’s auto insurance. If you already have your own auto insurance policy, you will also be covered by that, but it will be secondary coverage.
Car rentals
If you rent a car, do you need to buy the insurance? Yes, unless your own auto insurance policy has a rental endorsement. If you don’t have auto insurance or a rental endorsement on your policy, then you need to purchase insurance from the rental agency.
Cross border MVA and personal injury cases can be very complex. Do not delay in consulting an experienced personal injury lawyer to make sure your rights are fully protected.