Income Replacement and Non-Earner Benefits
By: Ryan A. Murray and Jordan Kofman (student-at-law), Oatley Vigmond LLP, OBA – Accident Benefits CPD (YLD) – November 25, 2014
Statutory accident benefits (“accident benefits”) are a type of no-fault insurance coverage attached to every automobile insurance policy in Ontario. The law which governs accident benefits is a regulation made under the Insurance Act. The law governing accident benefits was amended for motor vehicle accidents occurring on or after September 1, 2010. These amendments resulted in a dramatic reduction in available accident benefits in cases that do not involve a catastrophic impairment. Except where specified, all references in this paper are to the current legislation. All accident benefits described assume that the insured person has not purchased any optional coverage.
Income replacement benefits (“IRB”) and Non-earner benefits (“NEB”) are accident benefits that provide weekly compensation to working people, students, children, retired people and unemployed people who suffer injuries in motor vehicle accidents in Ontario. This paper will review the IRB and NEB benefits in general. The paper will first review the respective qualification criteria for each benefit. Secondly, the paper will outline the weekly benefit election procedure and how it differs from the SABS regime pre-September 1, 2010. This section of the paper will also discuss some issues to consider before your client makes an election of a weekly benefit. Next, the paper will provide an overview of how both the IRB and NEB are calculated. Lastly, the paper will review the issue of collateral benefits and how these effect entitlement to IRB under the SABS.
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