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New insurance for caregivers in Manitoba

New insurance could be on the way for caregivers in Manitoba. John Woods / The Canadian Press

WINNIPEG — The Manitoba government is offering a new insurance benefit for people who lose a stay-at-home caregiver in a motor vehicle crash.

Until now, there was no insurance coverage to make up for the cost of replacing a stay-at-home parent or other caregiver who is killed in a crash.

A bill now before the legislature would pay up to $30,000 a year to cover replacement caregiver costs, depending on the amount of dependents involved.

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Justice Minister Gord Mackintosh says the coverage will apply to parents, relatives of infirm or elderly adults, or anyone else who stays home to care for a relative.

The idea for the change came from insurance broker John McDonald, who says one of his clients was a woman who was killed in a crash on the Perimeter Highway south of Winnipeg.

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McDonald says the woman’s husband faced $4,000 a month in bills for child care.

“This enhanced benefit is an important recognition of the value of the unpaid work done by countless stay-at-home caregivers,” Mackintosh said in a statement.

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