The claimant disputed entitlement to IRBs. The insurer sought repayment of IRBs paid to date due to the exclusion barring IRB entitlement when a person is operating an uninsured vehicle (section 31(1)(a)(i)). Adjudicator Farlam dismissed the IRB claim and ordered the claimant to repay all IRBs due to the exclusion. She held that the claimant new or ought to have known that his vehicle was uninsured. He placed insurance through a “broker” by email after meeting the “broker” at a gas station. The claimant paid the “broker” in cash, and he received no payment or policy documentation from the “broker”. He also never received an invoice for insurance. Additionally, the text messages with the “broker” contained blatant irregularities, including misspelling “insurance” and “Ontario”. Adjudicator Farlam found the claimant’s evidence that he believed he had purchased valid insurance to be non-credible. The claimant was employed and high school educated, and had previously placed legitimate insurance on a vehicle.
