Just pay the bills

One way or another, most Canadians pay for insurance every month. And while they hope they’ll never have to make a claim, they take some comfort in knowing they’ll be covered if something does go wrong.

But insurance companies seem almost determined to make people question that basic assumption by routinely looking for ways to pay less for claims than they should.

The most recent and appalling example of that comes courtesy of AIG Insurance. It is refusing to pay for the physical and psychological care that doctors and medical assessors have said a 91-year-old victim of last April’s van attack needs.

Aleksandra Kozhevnikova was living independently — indeed, she was out paying bills and shopping for eggs — when she was struck down on Yonge St. by the rental van that killed 10 people and seriously injured 16 others.

She was unconscious in the hospital for three days, and now is no longer so independent.

A series of medical assessments have concluded she requires personal support care, physiotherapy and psychological services, and yet AIG has left almost $40,000 of those bills unpaid, reports the Star’s Robert Cribb. (AIG is the insurer of the company that rented the van to the man charged with multiple counts of first-degree murder.)

It beggars belief the steps that AIG, a global insurance company, has already taken to save such a paltry sum — let alone its desired next step of putting this frail woman through a mini-trial under oath to question the extent of her injuries.

AIG needs to give its head a shake. It should live up to its motto, “Bring on Tomorrow,” and pay for the care that will help make Kozhevnikova’s tomorrow just a little better.

AIG needs to pay for care needed by Aleksandra Kozhevnikova, a 91-year-old victim of the Toronto van attack