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Effective June 1, 2016, to help make insurance premiums more affordable, the benefits and coverages you receive in a standard auto insurance policy are changing – some have been reduced, and some options for increased coverage have been eliminated or changed.

When it’s time to renew or purchase auto insurance on or after June 1, 2016, the standard auto insurance policy you receive from your insurance company will have the new lower benefits – unless you contact us to purchase increased optional coverages.

The following chart is a summary of the most significant changes to auto insurance:

Benefit	Current Policy	New Policy	Buy-up Option
Rehabilitation and Attendant Care Benefit for Non-Catastrophic injuries	$50,000	$65,000 (new combined total)	Increase the benefit to $130,000
Attendant Care	$36,000		Increase to $2,000,000 (for catastrophic injuries)
Non-Catastrophic injuries (Minor injuries i.e. sprains, whiplash and serious injuries i.e. broken bones severe strains).	$1,000,000 (for catastrophic injuries)	$1,000,000 total for Medical, Rehabilitation and Attendant Care (for Catastrophic injuries)	Increase to $1,000,000 (for Non- Catastrophic injuries)

There are many other options available to purchase additional or increased benefits and coverages. The following chart lists some but not all of those and indicates if those options will change on June 1, 2016.

Benefit/Coverage	Current Policy	New Policy	Buy-up Option
Income Replacement benefit	70% of gross income up to $400 per week.	No change	To increase the weekly limit to $600, $800 or $1,000 per week.
Caregiver benefit	catastrophic injuries: Up to $250 per week for the first dependent plus $50 for each additional dependent.	No change	To make the same amounts available in current policy  for catastrophic injuries available for all injuries.
Housekeeping and Home Maintenance expenses	Available only for catastrophic injuries: Up to $100 per week.	No change	To make the same amounts available in current policy for catastrophic injuries available for all injuries.
Death and Funeral benefits	$25,000 lump sum to an eligible spouse; $10,000 lump sum to each dependent; maximum $6,000 funeral benefits.	No change	$50,000 lump sum to an eligible spouse; $20,000 lump sum to each dependent; maximum $8,000 funeral benefits.
Dependent Care benefit	Not provided	Not provided	To purchase this benefit and add up to $75 per week for the first dependent and $25 per week for each additional dependent to a maximum of $150 per week.
Indexation benefit	Not provided	Not provided	To add an annual adjustment for inflation for many benefits according to the Consumer.
Third Party Liability	$200,000 minimum for claims as a result of lawsuits against you.	No change	Options exist to increase the minimum amount.
Tort Deductible	$36,905.40 deductible for court awarded compensation for pain and suffering (Jan. 1-Dec. 31, 2016)	No change	Reduce deductible by $10,000 regardless of annual indexation percentage increases.

Please give us a call if you have any further questions or if you are interested in the increased limits.

April 21, 2016 9:30 am Leave a Comment