- Does my LTD deduct WSIB benefits?
Yes, some policies contain offsets for amounts received through WSIB claims.
In Richer v. Manulife Financial, 2007 CarswellOnt 1713 (Ont. C.A.), the insured’s policy provided for an offset for amounts he was entitled to receive through a WSIB claim. The insured plaintiff had made a WSIB claim but it had not yet been resolved. Entitlement to receive payments was not dependent on an application for compensation being approved. Manulife was entitled to reduce the monthly benefit payable to the insured under the policy by the amount of WSIB benefits to which he would have been entitled had he not elected to proceed with an action. See also Robert Wilken v. Sun Life Assurance Company, 2017 CarswellOnt 19517 (Ont. C.A.), where the court noted, at paragraph 3:
“The plaintiff’s voluntary decision to make a retroactive election, foregoing WSIB benefits to pursue a tort action, effectively would deny the insurer its contemplated and permitted offset, thereby elevating the insurer’s relevant coverage obligation to a ‘first payor’ status that obviously was not intended.”