The parties agreed that the claimant met the disability test and was entitled to IRBs, but disagreed over whether he had available to him, and could have received LTD from his collateral benefits insurer through his employment. The claimant took the position that he applied for LTD, which were refused, and therefore the insurer was not entitled to deduct any potential LTD benefits from his IRB. The insurer took the position that the claimant’s claim for LTD was denied on a technical ground (not applying for the benefit on time) and he should therefore be deemed not to have applied for the benefit at all. Vice Chair Johal agreed with the insurer, emphasizing the obligation on the claimant to apply for and exhaust collateral benefits before resorting to the accident benefit insurer. If the claimant misses the limitation period within which to apply for the collateral benefit, that is akin to failing to apply for the benefit at all, and the insurer is entitled to deduct the LTD as if the claimant was receiving the benefit. As such, Vice Chair Johal held that the insurer was entitled to a deduction of LTD benefits from the IRBs being received.
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