Car accident coverage is often compartmentalized into two categories: damage to property and personal injury (both of which are commonly dealt with by Toronto personal injury lawyers). As any personal injury lawyer in Ajax knows, these categories have within them ambiguity and space to maneuver. As such, insurance law in Ontario includes clauses to cover these grey areas. An experienced personal injury lawyer in Ajax can help you to identify these exclusions, thus preparing you for any legal battle that you may face in the future.
Insurance Exclusions
Under the Ontario Insurance Act, every named insured (i.e. the owner of the insurance policy covering the accident) and every other insured person (i.e. people driving the named insured’s vehicle with their permission, or people listed on the insurance policy in question (depending on the policy) is insured for damage to property and damages resulting from bodily injury or death. There are, however, important exclusions:
- Property in the Vehicle: any personal property carried in or on the vehicle that is damaged or destroyed during a motor vehicle accident will not be covered under standard auto insurance policies. For example, insurance will not reimburse you if you were carrying valuables in the trunk of your vehicle that were destroyed in a rear-end accident.
- Contaminated Property: if any property becomes contaminated as a result of carriage in your vehicle, it will not be insured. This exclusion originated from the case of a shipping company whose vehicles contaminated the gasoline they were transporting, resulting in damage to the cars that used the gasoline and eventually lawsuits. Insurance would not cover these damages.
These are only two of the many exclusions in most standard insurance policies. If you find that your insurer refuses to cover any damages you’ve incurred, look for a free consultation with personal injury lawyer in Ajax.
Source:
http://www.insuranceinstitute.ca/-/media/PDFs/CIP-PDFs/C14OntarioAddendumSept2010revised%20-%202010%20text.pdf