I am currently on LTD and I am waiting to hear from WSIB. But it looks like I am going to have to appeal WSIB. If I do win my appeal I will have an over payment with LTD. Can this debt be negotiated? So far I have been collecting LTD for a year.
I am barley getting by and can’t afford my health care costs. You’re off because your sick but the way these programs work does not do anything to support your health. Every time I speak to them it’s some sort of harassment (e.g. words from my case workers: I wasn’t sexually assaulted at work because there were no witnesses, all I need is meds and I would be fine). Every time I talk to one of them it is constantly these types of comments. Not to mention the hoops and lies. Contacting me the day after my drs appt to get more medical information when they were well aware of when my appointment was. I even asked that they contact me before my appointment if they need more medical information. It is difficult to get an appointment at my doctor’s office and they are well aware that I have a difficult time leaving the house. It feels like constant games. Their actions have made me sicker and it is difficult to get better when they hold your survival in their hands and shame you at the same time.
Right now it is hypothetical question, but all I do is try to find a way out of this hole. If I can negotiate the debt I will be able to afford my medical expenses and hopefully get better. If I get better I can get away from LTD and WSIB and my toxic workplace (my workplace spent 3 years trying to cover up the assault and harassment).
The simple answer is no. Once an LTD recipient is approved for WSIB, the retroactive WSIB payment and ongoing WSIB payments are subject to offset by the LTD insurer. There is no motivation reason for an LTD insurer to negotiate.
The more complicated answer is yes, it is possible to sometimes negotiate the LTD offset, but for that to happen a person would have had their LTD terminated (because of failure to reimburse the overpayment) and are being sued by the LTD insurer for the retroactive payment. Even in this situation, there is no guarantee the insurer would negotiate because it likely has a right to the money. The only situation there could be negotiation is if there was some legitimate dispute over their entitlement to part or all of the reimbursement they are claiming. Otherwise, there is no defence to the insurer’ lawsuit, so eventually it would result in a judgement against the LTD claimant that would include court costs on top of the retroactive payment owed. Unless there is some legitimate dispute over their entitlement, Insurers are willing to fight these lawsuits for repayment, even if they pay more in legal fees than it would cost to settle, because they want to discourage people from trying not to pay the offset
David Brannen
Disability Lawyer with Resolute Legal
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You can ask the insurance company but they could just cut off your current ltd until they get their money back.
I don’t have any useful suggestions, hopefully someone else has an idea.
Good luck.