A couple weeks ago the provincial government announced they would be plugging a couple loopholes that allowed people to seek benefits from Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI) if they had accidents in golf carts.

A Canadian Press article on the story noted one instance where a man "clipped his knee on a golf course bridge" while driving a golf cart. Incredibly, he got some cash even though MPI doesn't insure golf carts.

At the time, there were no details on the total payouts from such claims, but the Canadian Taxpayers Federation was able to obtain a figure by filing a freedom of information request.

It turns out $48,313.03 has been paid out for two golf cart accidents since January 1, 2010. You can see the MPI document by clicking here.

Sure, it's not a lot of money in the grand scheme of things, but I think it's a good thing the government has closed this loophole (while making sure race cars, Segways and battery operated children's vehicles don't qualify either).

Thumbs up to Minister Swan for closing this loophole. Let's see more common sense moves like this in the future!

Readers of this blog post from Saskatchewan will be pleased to know a freedom of information response from Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI) noted there haven't been any golf cart-related claims over the last few years. After a discussion with staff I was told their legislation does not have the same loophole. 

If all this talk about golf cart accidents has you itching for a hilarious video full of golf cart crashes, here's one - click here.

PS - Kudos to MPI for the quick turnaround on this info request!

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