Has anyone been able to get 3rd party insurance to take their electric wheelchair to North America?

Sofabound

Hi

I’m hoping to visit my brother in Florida next month and would like to take my Electric Wheelchair.  It’s insured here in the UK via Blue Badge Mobility Insurance which includes Worldwide Third Party Liability except it excludes USA and Canada 😞 

I’ve tried many wheelchair insurance companies here in the UK, but they are all the same, excluding North America.  I have also spoken to Travel Insurance companies who say yes it’s covered, but when you drill down into the Third Party Liability Ts & Cs they exclude Mechanically propelled vehicles which apparently includes electric wheelchairs.

My brother thinks I shouldn’t worry about it, but he’s not the one that will get sued if I run over someones toe!  

Has anyone managed to find a solution that will enable me to take my wheelchair with me to Florida and have the peace of mind that I am covered for third party liability?

Thanks for reading,
Sam 💙 

newborn

Have you tried Fish? They are the ones if anyone will. 
Mind, I would worry more about the chair. Airline staff take a special vow to wreck them! 
Maybe your brother will be right?  I do understand your worry, that Americans are keen to sue, but presumably if you have no insurance you won't be worth suing?  

Sofabound

Thanks @newborn

I have been with Fish before and they are the same unfortunately.  I did double check in case they have changed, but their policy also excludes “ Arising out of any occurrence in North America or Canada”

We don’t have much, but what we do have I’d rather not give away through any legal wranglings!

Alex_Alumni

I can suggest Mark Bates Ltd, which I use to insure my electric wheelchair. I've had a look on their website and it says:

"Provided you store your equipment as advised in our policy wording, our geographical coverage includes anywhere in the UK as well as 90-days worldwide cover (terms and conditions apply)."

Obviously you'd have to check those terms and conditions first, but hopefully they cover North America!

If I can help any further, let me know

Alex

newborn

Presumably Americans do get insurance which does not exclude America, therefore could you attempt to insure through one of them?  If not, could your brother arrange to hire a local wheelchair for your stay?  

Sofabound

Thanks everyone, really appreciate you taking the time to respond.  After contacting numerous companies in the UK it appears all the wheelchair insurance companies excludes third party cover in USA & Canada.  

I did contact the American Visitors Insurance website and got a succinct response of “ Sorry, we don't do that.”

I don’t know why, but I feel we should be able to travel with the wheels of our choice and I think I got the bit between my teeth to find a resolution 😬

Through my frustration I decided to contact our annual travel insurance company again and through some tears asked them if they were able to ask their underwriters if they could include my chair for this trip?  They then investigated it further and confirmed that my wheelchairs is included within the policy for third party cover up to £2m in the USA.  Thank you NatWest Annual Travel Insurance ✅ 

It may turn out that I’m not well enough to take my electric chair, but at least I now have a choice 😃 

Sam x

Alex_Alumni

Ah well done for persevering @Sofabound I'm glad you were able to straighten things out, it's very positive to hear. I'm sure this will be a really handy discussion for all our members who find themselves in a similar situation.

I think you're right, we should be entitled to travel with the wheels of our choice!  

I hope you have a fantastic trip when it comes around.

Alex