The applicant sought payment for IRBs. The respondent argued that the applicant’s claim was time-barred. The applicant submitted an OCF-1 in February 2012. State Farm denied the claim on March 8, 2012. The applicant submitted an OCF-3 in January 2017 after exhausting collateral benefits. State Farm denied the claim and requested additional financial documentation, but did not raise the limitation period issue. After receiving the requested financial documentation in November 2017, State Farm denied the IRB claim due to the limitation period. The applicant filed an application with the LAT in December 2017, over 5 years and 8 months from the first IRB denial. Adjudicator Sewrattan held that the applicant’s claim was time-barred and the applicant was not entitled to costs because the conduct complained about occurred outside of the LAT’s proceeding. The adjudicator held that the applicant made a claim when she submitted an application for ABs in February 2012, not when she first submitted a disability certificate in January 2017. The adjudicator further held that State Farm provided a clear and unequivocal denial of the applicant’s IRB claim and advised the applicant of her dispute resolution options on March 8, 2012. As such, the limitation period was March 8, 2014. The adjudicator rejected the applicant’s argument that State Farm was estopped from relying on the limitation period due to entertaining her IRB claim through 2017. The adjudicator held that tis conduct did not prejudice the applicant’s ability to comply with the limitation period.
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