In Canada, depending on the province where you reside, there are certain benefits that your insurer has to pay to you after you’ve been in a car accident. Often referred to as the ‘Section B’ insurer, insurance has to pay certain benefits. Generally speaking, there are both income loss and medical expense benefits that are potentially payable. An often overlooked entitlement under the Section B benefits in Alberta is the right to claim $135 a week if you are not employed and are unable to perform your household duties. This is often referred to as the ‘homemaker’s benefit’. The relevant section of the policy reads as follows :
an insured person who is 18 years of age or over and who is not engaged in an occupation or employment for wages or profit and is completely incapacitated and unable to perform any of his or her household duties shall, while so incapacitated, receive $135 per week for not more than 26 weeks
In order to claim these benefits, make sure that you obtain a note from your family doctor advising that you refrain from household duties that might impair your recovery.
Post courtesy of Calgary injury lawyer Brian Conway.