Facts
P., born on November 18, 1941, suffered a cervical spine distortion in a rear-end collision on July 18, 2003. After she did not resume her employment, the employment relationship was terminated at the end of December 2003. Winterthur Swiss Insurance Company provided daily allowance benefits and covered the medical treatment. In November 2004, the insured person reached the regular AHV retirement age, whereupon the accident insurer denied her claim for daily allowances or pension benefits, arguing that due to the regular retirement, there was no more loss of earnings from December 1, 2004 onwards. The Social Insurance Court of the Canton of Zurich overturned the objection decision and remanded the case to Winterthur to reassess the insured person's entitlement to benefits from December 1, 2004.Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court dismisses Winterthur's appeal. The entitlement to daily allowances is linked to the risk (accident) that occurred during the insurance coverage and the resulting incapacity for work, and is abstract and oriented towards the past. The fact that the insured person reached the AHV retirement age at the beginning of December 2004 during the receipt of the daily allowance and thus no longer had any loss of earnings caused by the accident from that moment on, does not change the entitlement. The claim for daily allowances exists as long as the insured person has not regained full working capacity or the medical treatment has not been completed.
A claim for…