Law Times

Law Times • may 9, 2016 Page 9 www.lawtimesnews.com Lawyers seek reasons for reductions June accident benefit changes looming BY JUDY VAN RHIJN For Law Times L awyers are looking for a rationale for yet another round of cuts to auto- accident benefits by the Ontario government. The changes to the Statutory Acci- dent Benefits Schedule are due to kick in on June 1, along with complicated shifts to the defini- tion of catastrophic impairment applied in the Schedule. "The June 1 changes deal with reducing the amount of money available for the higher-end in- juries," explains Darryl Singer of Singer Litigation Counsel of Markham, Ont. "Presently, the amounts available are $1 million in medical and rehabilitation benefits and $1 million for at- tendant care. That is to be cut in half, with $1 million available for both." Similarly, he advises that for serious non-catastrophic inju- ries, the maximum entitlement is reduced to a total of $65,000, down from $50,000 for medical and rehabilitation and $36,000 for attendant care, and benefits are only available for five years instead of 10 years. "That's a huge amount to people who are already serious- ly injured," he says. The government has touted the changes as a means of re- ducing the cost of the standard package, and enabling buyers tailor a package to increase cov- erage. Policyholders can double the $65,000 standard limit and the catastrophic impairment coverage and add other benefits. Daniel Strigberger, a defence lawyer at Samis & Company based in Waterloo, Ont., ex- plains how this works. "Historically, the first signif- icant change happened in 2010 when the changes took away housekeeping and caregiving. They were eliminated from the standard policy and created as an option. This was to take care of abuse of the benefit. It seemed every claim, regardless of the in- jury, would include housekeep- ing costs at $100 per week for two years and at least $250 for caregiver benefits. People now have the choice of not having those benefits as standard. The idea was to reduce premiums, and not compel them to pay for things they neither need nor want," he says. Strigberger sees the June 1 changes as a continuation of this approach. "Now what they have done is reduce and combine medi- cal/rehabilitation and attendant care from $50,000 and $36,000 into one limit of $65,000. Some- body can spend the benefits on attendant care and get less treatment or vice versa. Basi- cally, you know that when you do attendant care, you are tak- ing away from your treatment," he says. Strigberger acknowledges that the people who need both treatment and attendant care won't be happy. "They are trying to curb claims for the $3,000-per- month attendant care, which doesn't always correspond with the kind of treatment people are getting or need," he says. Najma Rashid of Howard Yegendorf & Associates of Otta- wa is very surprised to hear the changes described as increasing options for consumers. "It has severely reduced the benefits available. It very much limits the amount for medical rehabilitation and attendant care and for catastrophically impaired individuals. "Non-earner benefits are only available for two years now and the definition of 'catastrophic impairment' has changed, and not in a way ben- eficial to victims," she says. Previous reductions have been justified as necessary if premiums are to be reduced without threatening the finan- cial viability of insurance com- panies. These arguments have been thrown in doubt by the Lazar Prisman Report released in late 2015 and updated on March 30, which found that the main play- ers in the industry are highly profitable. Rashid notes that despite this, premiums are not going down. "Basically, we are paying the same for less. I don't think the new change expands options available to injured victims at all," she says. Singer goes further. "The changes are horrible and grossly unfair. There is no justification for the reduction other than the government giv- ing in to the insurance lobby," he says. Meanwhile, the IBC has re- sponded to the changes with approval, citing ongoing diffi- culties with fraud. Strigberger believes the new changes do have some role in curbing further abuses of the system. "From the insurer's stand- point, it reduces the amount of people who don't have auto insurance but are getting en- hanced benefits from a standard policy. That's a big issue. The optionals only refer to named insureds, spouses, dependants, or listed drivers, not pedestri- ans and occupants. Drivers who want to protect their families with optional benefits can now choose to pay for that protec- tion, while people who don't buy car insurance don't get ac- cess to enhanced benefits," he says. LT FOCUS E. V. Litigation & Financial Services Inc. Elaine G. Vegotsky, CMA, CFE, CFI Assisting you in Litigation & Forensic Accounting, Financial Investigations x a F r o e n o h p e l e T 0 0 9 e t i u S 0 7 3 1 - 0 3 9 ) 6 1 4 ( , t s a E e u n e v A d r a p p e h S 5 4 Willowdale, Ontario M2N 5W9 (905) 731-5812 evlitigation@rogers.com E. V. Litigation & Financial Services Inc. Elaine G. Vegotsky, CMA, CFE, CFI Assisting you in Litigation & Forensic Accounting, Financial Investigations x a F r o e n o h p e l e T 0 0 9 e t i u S 0 7 3 1 - 0 3 9 ) 6 1 4 ( , t s a E e u n e v A d r a p p e h S 5 4 evlitigation@rogers.com Toronto, Ontario M2N 5W9 (905) 731-5812 CFA, CPA, Vlit_LT_Mar10_14.indd 1 14-03-04 10:18 AM CANADA & USA 1.800.265.8381 | EMAIL info@mckellar.com | www.mckellar.com The reason why we are Canada's largest and most comprehensive structured settlement firm has everything to do with our passion for service and performance — without exaggeration, we make life easier for you. Almost as fast as McKellar. Light travels at a speed of approximately 186,282.397 miles per second. Untitled-2 1 2016-03-09 8:28 AM

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