Insurance Claims for inconveniences caused for accident?
 

Hey guys,
so I was driving across the country, planning to move to Montreal and find work for the rest of the year. The plan was to drive down to Seattle and then across to New York before heading up to Montreal. So my car is full of stuff for the move.

When I was leaving Philly and heading up to Jersey I got in a car accident and the car is basically totalled. I was travelling in the middle lane of a 3 lane highway, when the car from the left lane came into mine and hit the front driver side of my car and sent me spinning away to the rail. I spun over the right lane 4 or 5 times and hit the rail a few times, which did all the damage. Both front and rear of it is basically gone. I have no injuries and no one else was hit luckily, and the other vehicle has a few scratches. I called to police to investigate on the scene and I have 3 witnesses, so the other party should be 100% at fault right?

That's all fine. Talked to ICBC, they will estimate the damages and I will submit receipts for all the new parts and modifications I have made to the car and they will most likely give me a salvage value.

What I'm unsure about it is how to claim for inconveniences that the incident has left me. It has left me stuck in the middle of Pennsylvania, when I was hoping to move to Montreal. I have yet to call the other party's insurance yet, but I rented a car one way, to get me up to Montreal and will submit the receipts for reimburstment. I also assume they will cover for my flight home to Vancouver as well at some point. I'm in Montreal and have not done anything else yet. But without a car, I am not able to find work or work in my field. I work in construction and need a vehicle to drive to the worksites which could be anywhere. How should I claim for this and how can I prove this, I didn't have a job lined up and was only going to start the job search when I got here. Is it worth getting a lawyer involved? I'm just kind of stuck right now trying to sort through all of this.

Anyone have any advise or past experience with this or dealing with US insurance companies?

jason@touringvan.com
thanks
Jason

First of all, good luck and let us know how this turns out.

This is not a simple claim. My guess is that you'll be out of luck for most of the "inconveniences", at least through ICBC. "Inconvenience" is not something that ICBC insures. Best to read your policy -- they may not cover a rental car (on the general policy it's an optional coverage).

You're right about keeping receipts and documentation of expenses. They'll be useful if insurance does cover.

do you have travel insurance? You may be able to make a claim through it, as travel insurance tends to deal with trip interruption etc etc etc.

but since it's their fault, would the opposite party insurance cover these inconveniences?

ICBC will not cover me on the rental cars and anything with inconvenience, that I will have to do through the other party's insurance. I know it works different in the US, as they generally do pay some of this out. I have yet to talk to my travel insurance yet, so I'll do that.

I hope you didn't total the 300zx in your signature

if you have lost of use coverage then you are all set

man.. sux to hear that.. ya.. it sounds pretty complicated... let us know how this goes...

I'm 100% sure they won't cover you. They'll tell you "you should've got travel insurance" because that's what travel insurance is for. ICBC insures your car and the liabilities that come with it, not your home, not your business, not your workers, not your health, not your vacation, just your car and its liabilities.

lawyer

^ I would get one asap and try calculate all expenses, opportunity cost lost due to the accident.. etc

I don't see how ICBC and other insurance companies can cover "inconveniences". I say just sue the other party involved when it is decided that the accident was indeed 100% their fault. :thumbsup:

Unfortunately it is the 300zx
Here's some photos
http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l1...A/P1090159.jpg
http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l1...A/P1090160.jpg
http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l1...A/P1090161.jpg
http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l1...A/P1090162.jpg
http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l1...A/P1090166.jpg
http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l1...A/P1090171.jpg

I did have travel insurance and I'm in the process of finding out what they will cover. I don't have loss of use coverage, so ICBC is only going to cover the salvage value of the car. The rest is through the other party's insurance.

I was moving across the country to Montreal, so this just screws everything up, not sure if i can be compensated for that. I'll keep ya'll updated

Jason

I'm not sure how this is going to work,

Where you there too work in the states or just pleasure/travel. if you're there to work you might be in a lot of legal shit. Even if you're canadian without a work visa, you're same as mexican illegal immigrant.

your OP - seems to mean you're there to travel but it was a little werid to go Penns > Montreal and so forth.

Oh you never said you had travel insurance, that pretty much changes everything.