As any 90s-movie fan or high school philosophy student knows, The Matrix is about humanity’s existence within a complex web of systems and programs. In The Matrix, people go about their daily lives just like anyone else here in the real world, literally unconsciously participating in the networks supporting them. Sophomoric twentysomethings can debate whether we’re actually in the Matrix right now, but what can’t be argued is that we exist within a prism of systems known as the social safety net. Automobile insurance is just one of these systems, and a good motor vehicle accident lawyer knows that your insurance benefits can be impacted by the other provincial and federal systems covering you.
The Effect of Outside Systems on Ontario Insurance Law
Things like social assistance payments, collateral benefits, and even whether or not your car accident occurred inside Ontario play a part in deciding your car accident benefits. A motor vehicle accident lawyer knows that these systems each have different implications for your compensation payout:
- Accidents Outside Ontario
- If your car accident occurred outside of Ontario but anywhere in Canada or the United States, you are given the choice between the benefits that you would receive in Ontario or the benefits that you would receive under that jurisdiction’s system. These differences can be difficult to understand for the average person—for instance, in Manitoba and Saskatchewan there are substantial no-fault benefits, but you also run the risk of being subrogated by the governmental insurer. Using a motor vehicle accident lawyer under these circumstances can help you to secure maximum benefits.
- Social Assistance Payments
- Social assistance programs, like the Ontario Disability Support Program and Ontario Works, are forms of social aid designed to help people in financial need for many reasons—car accidents included. If social assistance provides the same benefits as your insurance coverage, insurance pays first.
- Collateral Benefits
- In insurance terminology, collateral benefits are those that you receive from sources outside the automobile policy. These sources include employer insurance plans, income continuation programs, and others. Insurers are allowed to make deductions if you receive income replacement from another source or if you receive any temporary or periodic disability benefits in respect of an impairment you suffered before the accident. Insurers can also make deductions based on any income replacement benefits that are available to you, regardless of whether you’ve received them. A motor vehicle accident lawyer can get you all the benefit options available to you, preventing you from taking on unnecessary deductions.
While it is certainly a benefit and a privilege to live in a society with such a strong social safety net, you can see the matrix of bureaucracy that comes along with it. If all these systems look more like cascading lines of green code than intelligible information, you aren’t alone. Choose the red pill, and look for a free consultation with a Toronto motor vehicle accident lawyer.
Source:
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