What Do You Owe After an Accident: Part 3

Brittany AdamsAug 21 · 2 min read

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The Other Expenses

Thinking about what you may owe if you get hurt doing what you love can be a serious downer, but it’s important to understand the risks so that you can be financially prepared.

In the first two parts of this three part series, we covered a high level overview of how to determine what benefits your health insurance policy includes, and then described the actual out-of-pocket medical costs associated with an accident. To finish out this series, we are going to take a quick look at some of the “other” expenses associated with an accident that are often forgotten until the bills are received.

Accidents happen when we least expect them, and most of us don’t think about how a tumble on the trail could financially impact us. Here are some common areas that many of us overlook:

  1. Gear: You wrecked your bike when you took that spill on the trail. Bummer! It’s repairable, but how much is it going to cost you?

  2. Accommodations: If you are on a trip at the time of an accident, how many additional days will you, and/or anyone traveling with you, be in a hotel until you can return home? What if you have a trip coming up that you can’t make anymore? Hope that airbnb you booked has a chill cancellation policy.

  3. Travel: How will the injury and treatment for the injury impact your ability to keep travel plans intact? Are you able to cancel existing rental cars, train tickets, or flights? What if you miss your flight home, or to your next destination? Will that be refunded?

  4. Missed work/Loss of income: If you take a big enough tumble, you will likely miss some work while you are on the mend. That can impact your ability to pay your normal monthly bills for things like your rent or mortgage, and may also impact your ability to make payments for medical bills on time.

  5. Child Care or Pet Care: If you’re in the hospital, you won’t be able to take care of other obligations at home. You may incur additional unexpected expenses for someone to stay with your children for a few days, or for a sitter to come in and look after your pets.

Determining where you may have gaps isn’t fun, but it’s an important part of your adventure. You wouldn’t set out for a thru-hike without reviewing your map and packing up all of your essential gear would you? Knowing where your gap areas are will enable you to plan ahead and take the necessary precautions to reduce the sting of an accident.

This series isn’t meant to be the “end all be all” list of gap areas, but it hopefully got you thinking about some areas where you may need a little extra protection. If you haven’t already checked out the article on finding your health insurance gaps, you can find it here. To learn more about Buddy and how we can help you be a bit more fearless on your adventures, check out our site.

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