One of the things you should be aware of if you’re in an accident is that you are entitled to Section B benefits under your own insurance policy. Every single insurance policy in Alberta has a Section A, Section B, and Section C. Section B says you’re entitled to certain types of medical benefits and Income replacement benefits, regardless of who is at fault for the accident.
Regardless of who is at fault for the accident, you are entitled to 21 treatments right out of the gate for any sort of treatment you need as result of your injuries. If you need chiropractic, physio, or massage treatment, your insurance company has to pay your treatment providers directly.
Even if you need dental work – jaw issues are quite common as part of whiplash type injuries – that dental work must be paid for by your insurer.
Similarly, if you have psychological issues such as anxiety or depression after the accident, you’re entitled to obtain treatment for those emotional injuries.
Remember, the first 21 treatments must be paid directly by your own insurance company to your treatment providers.
After those initial 21 treatments, the Section B policy becomes a policy of reimbursement.
What this means is that you must pay the treatment provider and then send the receipt into your own insurer for reimbursement to you. They must reimburse you up to certain limits within the terms of the policy.
Section B is a policy of last resort – so what does that mean?
That means that if you have insurance elsewhere through extended health, such as through your work or perhaps your spouse’s work, you have to access that extended health insurance before section B will kick in.
So, for example, after those first 21 treatments, if you continue to get physiotherapy and the physiotherapist is charging you $100, you would pay the physiotherapist the $100 and look to the extended health insurer and Section B to reimburse you.
If your extended health covers 80% of physio, you would submit the receipt from the physiotherapy to your extended health insurer and have them reimburse you the $80 and then the remaining $20 will get reimbursed by your own Section B insurer. If you don’t have extended health insurance, just send the receipt directly to your own Section B insurer and they must reimburse you that hundred dollars.
As you pay your treatment providers, keep recycling the money being reimbursed by your extended health insurer and section B insurer and you shouldn’t be out more than about three or $400 at any given time.