Income Replacement Benefits for Personal Coverage

If you are unable to work due to a work-related injury or illness, you may receive income replacement benefits. We will decide if you are eligible for full or partial income replacement based on medical information that shows the injury or illness affects your ability to participate in business operations and requires time away from work. 

What you receive in income replacement benefits depends on several factors:

• your loss of earnings due to the injury
• the level of Personal Coverage you purchased
• any benefits you receive from other sources for the same injury or illness.

The following table shows approximate values of income replacement benefits based on 90 per cent of net verified earnings for a single person with no tax credits or deductions. 

*if your net earnings are less than or equal to minimum annual earnings, your benefit rate will be 100% net earnings

All calculations take into consideration that business owners are not required to pay Employment Insurance (EI) and so probable EI premiums have not been factored into the above calculations.

Please note: Wage loss benefits for business owners are based on an owner's ability to continue to operate the business. The above amounts are based on the business owner being unable to do any of his or her duties that they did prior to the injury or illness. If the business owner is still able to undertake some of their pre-injury duties, the level of wage loss benefits they receive will be reduced accordingly.

If you receive benefits from another insurance provider for the same injury or illness, these payments may be considered collateral benefits and may reduce your WCB wage loss benefits.

If you are 61 years of age or older at the time of the work-related injury or illness, wage loss benefits will not be paid beyond 48 months after the injury date.

If you purchased more than the minimum level of coverage and did not previously provide proof of your earnings, you will receive income replacement benefits based on the minimum coverage level until we verify your earnings. Usually, we verify your earnings through income tax records. Once we have verified your earnings, we will recalculate your income replacement benefits based on the level of coverage you purchased or your verified earnings, whichever is less. If this increases your income replacement benefit, you will receive a retroactive payment to make up the difference.

If you purchased more than the minimum level of coverage and previously verified your earnings, you will receive income replacement benefits based on the level of coverage you purchased and your loss of earnings.

Your income replacement benefits will be based on the minimum even if your verified earnings are less than the minimum, as long as there is a loss of earnings.

Income replacement benefits for business owners are based on your ability to continue to operate the business.

If your injury means you cannot do any of your regular duties, you will receive full benefits (generally 90 per cent of net earnings covered).

If you are able to do some of your pre-injury duties, you will receive partial income replacement benefits based on how your injury affects your earnings. Your WCB representative will review your medical restrictions and consult with you to determine your loss of earning capacity as a percentage of your verified earnings.

Example:

You purchased the 2024 minimum amount of coverage at $28,960. Your work injury or illness means that you can only participate in your business at about 40 per cent of what you usually do.

We calculate your reduced earnings based on your verified earnings and your work capacity:

$28,960 x 40% = $11,584

We assume you are still able to earn $11,584 per year from your business and deduct this amount from your earnings before calculating your income replacement benefits.

$28,960 - $11,584 = $17,376

Your income replacement benefits will be based on the lost earnings of $17,376 per year.