Insurance Corner: Motorized vehicles - toys, scooters, etc

Home, Tenant and Condo insurance policies that include personal liability insurance contain an exclusion for motorized vehicles, trailers aircraft and their equipment. This exclusion includes but is not excluded to such things as a car, truck, travel trailer, motorcycle, segway, dirt bike, mini bike, scooter, moped, pocket bike, motorized toy, snowmobile, all terrain vehicle, go-cart, dune buggy and hang glider, ultralight or other similar aircraft of any name. In other words your personal liability insurance policy would not respond to a claim involving any of these items or their equipment.

A recent court case, which occurred in London, Ontario, involved an eight year old operating a motorized go-cart with a 5hp motor that could reach a speed of 11km per hour. The child lost control and struck a lady who suffered serious injuries and sued the parents. The parents reported the incident to their home insurer State Farm who denied the claim. The parents sued State Farm and a judge ruled that the loss should be covered. State Farm appealed the ruling to a higher court and a three judge panel ruled in favour of State Farm. The parents had to pay the cost for the two court hearings involving

State Farm and were left to pay the legal fees and any judgement made against them for the injury claim.

Most personal liability insurance policies extend coverage to include claims due to motorized wheelchairs, lawnmowers, snowblowers, golf carts (while being used on a golf course) or garden equipment you own or use. The item you own must be included as an insured property or cause of loss otherwise your personal liability insurance policy will offer no coverage.

This article is for information purposes only. Please check with your insurance

provider to verify that you are properly insured as policy wordings & limits may differ from one insurance company to another. Mark Guergis, CAIB

Registered Insurance Broker

Aim Insurance Brokers Ltd. 705-431- 5622

General insurance brokers with offices in Innisfil and Angus. We will provide material from within our office and other members of the industry to hopefully help you have a greater understanding of home, auto, and business insurance products.