Re: wheelchair insurance question

[Guest guest]

Well MDA will pay up to $500 a year to fix a wheelchair and so far I've found

that to be enough (you of course must be a patient of MDA but thats easy to do,

just get your Dr to fill out the paperwork they send you)

Fraigun

[Guest guest]

Hello

I have a powerchair and old manual wheelchair, when the powerchair

breaks down, I use the manual chair indoors only for short distances.

The dealer has a loan program for their customers, I have had them

come to the house and drop off the loan and take mine back for repair

if it could not be fixed on location.

Medicare/Medicaid paid for the powerchair and so far, the repairs, not

covered by the warranty.

With Medicare's new rules, unless Congress acts, it will be

interesting to know what will happen for repairs and eventually a

replacement.

I don't know of any home owners rider to cover a loss if it got

damaged without there being some kind of event (fire, flood, etc.),

but a thief would have to survive first, because I would be in it. LOL!!!

But when I used a scooter and it was in back of my pick-up truck, I

padlocked it to the lift, when I was able to walk inside a store, etc.

Now its different, the serial number of the powerchair is in my files,

the dealers files and probably the manufacturer also, if it came to

having to identify it, that should be easy enough.

Maybe you should broadcast some tips on how to tag and label our

mobility devices, if the need would arise to have to identify them.

I can see canes and walkers getting mixed up, but not wheelchairs in a

crowded place, especially if they were moved to one side after the

person was seated.

[Guest guest]

Gretchen~

I worried about that for a while too. Then my husband and I

purchased our first home and I began looking into homeowners

insurance. I asked a lot of questions of course and one similar to

yours. I was told by almost all of the insurance companies that if

my chair were stolen it would fall under theft in the policy, if it

were damaged by someone else it would fall inder vandalism in the

polocy. She would of course have to make a police report for stollen and/ or

damaged equiptment. Then if she didn't want to make a claim with her homeowners

insurance company (which could raise her

premium), she could try her private insurance company first, which

issues wheelchairs and such based upon need.

But if her co-pay is higher than her homeowners insurance deductable it might be

best to just go through your homeowners insurance company. It all depends on

the situation and what is affordable. Inevitably some money will have to be

shelled out (unless you have Medicaid) but maybe a co-pay or insurance

deductable isn't as wallet pinching as paying for the equiptment out right.

The same goes for renters insurance. If you are that worried then in your

friends presence, call her homeowners insurance company and find out what the

process would be under those circumstances. I'm sure they would be more than

happy to explain the process to you and your friend.

If she didn't have homeowners insurance then she would still have to

make a police report and then get in contact with her insurance

company and go through the process of getting another chair/scooter

all over again. And pay the co-pay if any. If she didnt have

insurance, a police report would still be needed for the purpose of

pressing charges and if/when they catch the perp she could take him

to civil court and sue them for the repacement value of what he stole.

I hope this helped. Good luck!

Jane

[Guest guest]

Hi!

With 's new chair due to arrive any day I called our

homeowners insurance company to inquire about this...our policy does

cover the chair (regular deductibles apply) however, there is also

an individual policy available that we can purchase specific to the

chair. You should check with your policy holder.

[Guest guest]

Hi Gretchen,

I have never thought about wheelchair insurance. My electric chair stays

in my apartment if I'm not using it. I think I will contact my MDA rep &

ask her about it. If my apartment was broken into & it stolen I'd be

SOL. Thanx for asking that question!!!

Kerry from Wisconsin

[Guest guest]

I called my insurance company and was told that under my homeowners policy

(condo in this case) my chair is considered personal property, & is therefore

insured against theft, damage by fire, etc. I'm also covered for liability in

case I cause damage to someone else's person or property. I suppose this

includes knocking someone down or going through a plate glass window. It does

not include mechanical breakdowns or repairs, so thank you for telling me

that the MDA will allow $500 annually for repairs.

I think it's time for me to read the pages & pages of fine print in my policy.

Who knows what I may discover.

Happy trails,

Ruth

Be kind. Everyone you meet is struggling with something.