: Ministry of Finance: A Consultation on Regulations for the New Requirement to Insure Long-Term Disability Benefits
As you may be aware, the 2014 Ontario Budget bill (Building Opportunity and Securing Our Future Act (Budget Measures), 2014) received Royal Assent in July 2014 and added section 115.1 to the Insurance Act to require that long-term disability benefits in Ontario (as defined) must be payable under an insurance contract undertaken by a licensed insurer.
The Budget bill also amended section 121(1) of the Insurance Act to provide regulation making authority governing transitional matters and to allow for exemptions to persons or classes of persons.
For your convenience, these amendments to the Insurance Act are in Appendix “A” to this Consultation Paper.
These amendments have not yet been proclaimed in force pending the development of regulations.
Consultations were held between January 16, 2015 and March 6, 2015.
The Consultation Paper included a request for submissions on transitional matters and persons that the Ministry of Finance should consider exempting.
In regard to the disclosure of the submissions, please note that all submissions received by the Ministry of Finance are subject to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
Any submissions or other materials received, or summaries of them, may be disclosed to other interested parties during and after the consultation. Personal information will not be disclosed without prior consent.
Submissions received are available upon request by contacting insuranceconsultation@ontario.ca.
Appendix “A”
INSURANCE ACT
Necessity for licence, long-term disability benefits
115.1 (1) Except as provided in the regulations, no person shall provide long-term disability benefits in Ontario unless the benefits are payable under a contract of insurance undertaken by a licensed insurer.
Exception
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply in respect of any benefit provided under a registered pension plan within the meaning of subsection 248 (1) of the Income Tax Act (Canada).
Definition
(3) In this section
“long-term disability benefits” means benefits under a benefit plan under which payments or benefits are payable to an individual for a period of not less than 52 weeks or until recovery, retirement or death, whichever period is shorter.
121 (1) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations,
…
8.1 exempting any person or class of persons from section 115.1 subject to such terms and conditions, including any limitations or restrictions, as may be set out in the regulations
8.2 governing transitional matters which, in the opinion of the Lieutenant Governor in Council, are necessary or desirable to facilitate the implementation of section 115.1
