Car insurance cover for medical expenses

bluebell45

Hello,

Does anyone know what kinds of medical expenses are covered under typical car insurance policies? My dad has been in hospital because of a car accident and I don't know what I might be able to claim for, if anything. I spoke to a representative from Aviva, our insurer, and he basically said that any medical expense (e.g. hospital stay, dental work) was covered up to £100, apart from physiotherapy, but I don't know if that's really the case. Has anyone made this type of claim before?

Thank you

InsideInsurance

Need more details.

Was he at fault for the accident, the innocent party or is it unclear?

If he is at fault then his policy may have a small token medical expenses section like the 100 bucks on yours. It is however one of the sections that is prone to being stripped off budget policies to bring the costs down.

If he is not 100% at fault for the case then his own policy will still have the very limited cover but any other losses would form part of his uninsured loss claim against the third party. If you have legal expenses the solicitor instructed under this policy will deal with it. If he doesnt then a no-win, no-fee solicitor would deal with it if you are also claiming for the injury and the settlement is likely to be over a grand

rudekid48

Is the hospital asking you to pay for his treatment??

bluebell45

I was referring specifically to medical expenses cover, as there was no other car involved.

The hospital is not asking us to pay but I wondered if the insurance paid any small amount for hospital stay like a cash plan does. He is also on various medication which I assume we may need a prescription for if it runs out and he still needs it. I just don't know if the cover is relevant to us or not - when I spoke to a guy at Aviva last week they seemed to try and evade the question and said that they'd have to look into it.

Quentin

Read up his policy to see what cover (if any) he has.

If he is having to pay for his prescriptions he presumably is getting some private treatment?

If so, then if he has private medical insurance (separate cover from his car insurance) then he may be able to claim for a hospital stay through that, (assuming he is not able to use it for emergency treatment)

InsideInsurance

bluebell45 wrote: »

I was referring specifically to medical expenses cover, as there was no other car involved.

The hospital is not asking us to pay but I wondered if the insurance paid any small amount for hospital stay like a cash plan does. He is also on various medication which I assume we may need a prescription for if it runs out and he still needs it. I just don't know if the cover is relevant to us or not - when I spoke to a guy at Aviva last week they seemed to try and evade the question and said that they'd have to look into it.

Again, what do you mean by "just relevant to us"?

The medical expenses cover you get on most comprehensive cover only indemnifies you and anyone in your car at the time of the accident. So it would pay for prescription charges etc up to the policy limit but wont give anything extra like a daily in patient rate.

As per your policy again the rates tend to be only token 100 quid or so.

InsideInsurance

Quentin wrote: »

If he is having to pay for his prescriptions he presumably is getting some private treatment?

No, the NHS charges 7.85 per item

bluebell45

I just mean, what is meant by medical expenses? If you were to write a list of medical expenses that are covered under medical expenses cover, what would they be? When the policy says 'any' medical expenses, it is being very vague. Does it include prescriptions, does it include physiotherapy (in this case, not) etc.? I don't understand what it covers. If you are treated on an NHS ward in an NHS hospital, then obviously your treatment is already free, so what medical expenses could medical expenses cover be referring to?

Quentin

Rta related nhs expenses are normally charged for by the hospital. (And paid by the insurer)

rudekid48

There used to be a charge made if an ambulance attended the scene - I don't know if this is still the case - but back in the day that was what this cover tended to be for. I am going back to the 80's / early 90's though

InsideInsurance

The Direct Line wording is:

Medical expenses
We will pay medical expenses up to the amount shown in the schedule for each person injured if your car is in an accident, as long as there is no cover in force under another car insurance policy.

Only the words in bold have a specific definition in the policy which means "medical expenses" is not explicitly defined and so would fall under a plain english definition. In other words your definition of it is as valid as mine.

Personally I would see prescription charges, over the counter medications, dressings, applicators etc as the main items that would fall under the definition which may or may not be appropriate depending on the injury. Physio is a bit of a grey one along with other alternative therapy etc