Protecting Your Family Against Inadequately Insured Drivers
Imagine that you or one of your family members is seriously injured in a motor vehicle collision. You may not be able to return to work. You may require expensive care and therapy. The financial implications of a motor vehicle collision can ruin a family.
Fortunately, our law allows injured people to recover their economic losses from the person whose negligence caused the collision. The negligent person’s insurance company will pay damages up to the limits of his or her insurance policy.
Unfortunately, some people driving on Ontario roads do not have insurance. What happens if you or one of your family members is injured by one of these people? The answer is contained in your automobile insurance policy. Most of us have an endorsement in our insurance policies called the “Family Protection Endorsement”. This endorsement says that if you or a family member is injured because of the negligence of an uninsured driver, your own insurance company will pay for damages up to the limit of your policy.
The Family Protection Endorsement also protects you and your family members against inadequately insured motorists. If your Family Protection Endorsement has limits of $2 million and you are injured by a driver with liability insurance limits of only $250,000, then your insurance company must indemnify you for your damages above $250,000, up to the $2 million limit.
The Family Protection Endorsement is one of the most important provisions of your insurance policy. If you or one of your family members is seriously injured in a motor vehicle collision, it might be the difference between financial stability and ruin.
About the Authors
Troy Lehman joined Oatley Vigmond in 2006 and became a partner in 2010. As a personal injury lawyer, his greatest satisfaction comes from helping people through to the other side of a difficult time in their lives. “We’re here to help and relieve stress,” Troy says. “When I walk into a first meeting with a client, people are often scared and anxious. And for me, the best thing that can happen at the end of the meeting is that they say, ‘I feel so much better.’