Suggestions for disability trip,and home insurance for my personal wheelchair and medical equipment

[RaySharpton]

Suggestions for disability trip and home insurance for my personal wheelchair and medical equipment?

My most recent search was from 2012 on this forum.

Now that I am retired, I will be traveling more. I have been traveling with my own scooter, but life has changed and I am going to buy a portable electric wheelchair.

I have State Farm condo insurance, but I am looking for new insurance coverage that might cover my medical items for damage and loss while at home and when I travel.

I have used Allianz travel insurance from Delta, but I am also looking for an annual trip insurance coverage that will cover me and my wheelchair and medical equipment and accessories when I travel domestically.

I have used Insuremytrip to search, but no success with info that I was looking for.

Do you have any suggestions or experiences?

After doing Google searches, most disability travel insurance companies seem to come from Europe.

Any suggestions or experiences would be appreciated.

Sincerely, Ray

 

[arminnie]

Have you talked to your State Farm agent?

That’s what I did. My scooter is not expensive but the lift is.

 

[RaySharpton]

Have you talked to your State Farm agent?

That’s what I did. My scooter is not expensive but the lift is.

Thank you, Arminnie. Those lifts are expensive. So they will replace your lift and scooter if they were damaged beyond repair in a wreck or pay to repair them? Do you know if they will replace your scooter if stolen or need repair? I realize that sometimes it is easier to pay rather than have insurance cover something and possible have your premiums increased because of a claim. I'm just curious.

 

[Bete]

Honestly, I don't think there's much out there in this regard. Call various US insurance companies and see where it leads you. If they don't have the coverage they may lead you in the right direction.

 

[SueM in MN]

Check with the insurance company that insures your condo first. They should be able to tell you whether your scooter/wheelchair would be covered by your existing condo insurance or whether you could get a specific rider to cover it. (We’ve had both)
Your equipment should be covered whether you are at home or away.

Any equipment on your vehicle (lift/ramp, etc) should be part of your vehicle insurance. We have not had any damage to our lift, but our van was rear ended and the insurance company would have covered damage to the ramp or the van’s kneeling mechanism (part of the special accessibility features) if necessary.

 

[RaySharpton]

Honestly, I don't think there's much out there in this regard. Call various US insurance companies and see where it leads you. If they don't have the coverage they may lead you in the right direction.

Check with the insurance company that insures your condo first. They should be able to tell you whether your scooter/wheelchair would be covered by your existing condo insurance or whether you could get a specific rider to cover it. (We’ve had both)
Your equipment should be covered whether you are at home or away.

Any equipment on your vehicle (lift/ramp, etc) should be part of your vehicle insurance. We have not had any damage to our lift, but our van was rear-ended and the insurance company would have covered damage to the ramp or the van’s kneeling mechanism (part of the special accessibility features) if necessary.

Thank you, Bete and SueM. I have already emailed my State Farm Insurance agent about upgrading my insurance policy since I am now retired. Things are getting difficult for me since I have no family to help me out. I no longer own a car, and I have been using Allianz trip insurance for Delta flights and car rentals. Until I retired, I used mass transit and my mobility scooter to get to work, grocery store, etc..

I would like to rent cars more, but until I buy a new electric wheelchair, I am unable to lift my scooter into any rental car.

Thank you, again.

I hope to see more experiences from everyone.

 

[lanejudy]

I agree with SueM. Check with your homeowners (condo or rental) insurance regarding coverage for the scooter. Depending on the agency and your specific policy, you may simply need to add a “rider” to the policy which will cover your expensive medical equipment. That would cover it in the event of fire or accident at home, at work, around town, or long or short distance travels.

As for travel insurance, there are websites that will give estimates on trip insurance. Think about what you may need — hospital, ER, urgent care, evacuation or long-distance ambulance transfer, etc. — depending on your personal needs. You can get travel insurance for a single trip, or (less common in the US but still available) a policy that covers any travel for a year. Check with the agents who handle any of your other insurance as well, such as your car, condo, medical, etc.

Congrats on your retirement and enjoy your travels!

 

[RaySharpton]

I agree with SueM. Check with your homeowners (condo or rental) insurance regarding coverage for the scooter. Depending on the agency and your specific policy, you may simply need to add a “rider” to the policy which will cover your expensive medical equipment. That would cover it in the event of fire or accident at home, at work, around town, or long or short distance travels.

As for travel insurance, there are websites that will give estimates on trip insurance. Think about what you may need — hospital, ER, urgent care, evacuation or long-distance ambulance transfer, etc. — depending on your personal needs. You can get travel insurance for a single trip, or (less common in the US but still available) a policy that covers any travel for a year. Check with the agents who handle any of your other insurance as well, such as your car, condo, medical, etc.

Congrats on your retirement and enjoy your travels!

Thank you, LaneJudy. I was trying to think of the phrase, "rider” to the policy to do a Google search.

 

[arminnie]

My scooter is technically covered for theft - but it only cost $600 and my deductible is $1000, so in reality it would only be covered if part of a much larger claim for a lot of stuff. My lift is covered as part of my car insurance so that would not apply to someone without a car.

 

[Tiggerish]

I have State Farm insurance on my vehicle, a Ford Transit Connect. It started life as a cargo van but was modified by Ford to seat 7 passengers. I had the two rear seats removed and a Bruno Joey lift installed. I had to get a rider added to my policy to cover the lift and my power chair but it is for full replacement costs less my deductible. I also have rental insurance on my apartment with State Farm and my agent said if my chair was damaged to due to a covered incident in my apartment it would be covered as it is listed on the policy's personal property list.

 

[arminnie]

I have State Farm insurance on my vehicle, a Ford Transit Connect. It started life as a cargo van but was modified by Ford to seat 7 passengers. I had the two rear seats removed and a Bruno Joey lift installed. I had to get a rider added to my policy to cover the lift and my power chair but it is for full replacement costs less my deductible. I also have rental insurance on my apartment with State Farm and my agent said if my chair was damaged to due to a covered incident in my apartment it would be covered as it is listed on the policy's personal property list.

Tiggerish gave a much better reply than I did. I also have a Bruno Joey lift (that I love). I have State Farm for my vehicle and homeowner’s insurance. I ditto what Tiggerish said.

 

[RaySharpton]

Thank you, Tiggerish, Arminnie, lanejudy, SueM in MN and Bete. It is making more sense to me reading several people's experiences.

I haven't owned a car for several years, but maybe I may buy one in the future.
My State Farm Insurance wouldn't cover my rental cars unless I had a car insurance with them.
I really need to update my condo insurance with a detailed list of things that need to be covered and add riders where needed.

Thank you for helping me think through this.