Tribunal Rules on Overpayment of IRBs

In the recent case of Angus v Aviva General Insurance (21-008080/AABS-R), the Licence Appeal Tribunal (LAT) provided clarity on overpayments of Income Replacement Benefits (IRBs) arising from retroactive payments.

The case clarified that the 12-month rule for overpayments is based on the date the IRBs were paid, not the period those payments relate to. Therefore, if a retroactive payment is issued within 12 months and extends past the 12-month cutoff, the insurer is entitled to any overpayment on the retroactive amount beyond the 12-month cutoff.

For example, in this case, a retroactive IRB payment was made on or about December 3, 2019 relating to the period June 30 to December 8, 2019.  The insurer requested repayment on November 11, 2020 relating to the period August 11 to August 23, 2019.  As this amount was paid within 12 months of the insurer providing notice, the insurer was entitled to the repayment despite the IRBs relating to a period beyond the 12-month cutoff.

Read the decision in full detail here: Angus v Aviva General Insurance 21-008080/AABS-R