If Manitoba Public Insurance denied your claim, cut off your benefits, or decided a vehicle claim against you, you don't have to accept the first decision. Winnipeg MPI lawyer Neil Kaplan helps Manitobans challenge MPI decisions — through internal review, AICAC appeals, and negotiation.
Manitoba Public Insurance administers Manitoba’s public automobile insurance under The Manitoba Public Insurance Corporation Act. If MPI has denied your claim, reduced or ended your benefits, or decided a vehicle claim against you, that decision is not necessarily final: the Act and MPI’s own published processes provide a right to have injury claim decisions reviewed internally, and then appealed to the Automobile Injury Compensation Appeal Commission (AICAC), an independent commission established by the Manitoba government. Winnipeg MPI lawyer Neil Kaplan represents claimants through those reviews and appeals.
As MPI describes it, the Personal Injury Protection Plan is Manitoba’s no-fault accident benefits plan: if you are injured in a motor vehicle accident, benefits are available regardless of who caused the crash. MPI publishes the benefit categories, which include:
MPI’s own review materials and the Commission describe the route:
The Claimant Adviser Office, a provincial office separate from MPI, offers free assistance with AICAC appeals. Claimants may also be represented by a lawyer — which is where Neil Kaplan’s work comes in: building the review or appeal on the file, the medical evidence, and the Act, rather than on frustration with the first decision.
Decisions about a vehicle claim — including fault — follow MPI’s published process. MPI asks drivers who disagree with a fault assessment to discuss it with their adjuster, then request a supervisor or manager review, and then a review by a Customer Relations Officer. Fault itself can ultimately be taken to Small Claims Court, whose decision MPI accepts. The fault determination page explains how MPI assesses fault and what is at stake.
PIPP is Manitoba’s no-fault accident benefits plan, administered by MPI under The Manitoba Public Insurance Corporation Act. As MPI describes it, if you are injured in a motor vehicle accident you are entitled to benefits regardless of who caused the crash — including income replacement, medical and rehabilitation coverage, personal care assistance, and lump-sum payments for permanent impairment.
You have 60 days to apply in writing to MPI’s Internal Review Office for a review of the decision. If you disagree with the Internal Review decision, you have 90 days from the date you receive it to file an appeal with the Automobile Injury Compensation Appeal Commission (AICAC). In exceptional circumstances, AICAC may extend the appeal time.
Yes. Claimants preparing a review have the right to request and review a copy of their bodily injury claim file under s. 151(1) of The Manitoba Public Insurance Corporation Act. Medical reports obtained in support of a review can also be submitted to MPI.
AICAC hearings are informal, and are held before one commissioner or a panel of three. You explain why you disagree with MPI’s Internal Review decision, MPI explains its position, and both sides may refer to the documents filed and call witnesses. Hearings are open to the public unless the Commission orders otherwise.
Yes. After a Notice of Appeal has been filed with AICAC, you will be given the option of independent mediation, through the Automobile Injury Mediation office, as an alternative to proceeding directly to a hearing.
Decisions about entitlement to Personal Injury Protection Plan benefits. If you disagree with a case manager’s decision, you can apply in writing to MPI’s Internal Review Office within 60 days. If you disagree with the Internal Review decision, you can appeal to the Automobile Injury Compensation Appeal Commission within 90 days of receiving it.
For an accident in Manitoba, no. MPI’s own PIPP guide states that there are no lawsuits or cash settlements for pain and suffering in Manitoba: the Personal Injury Protection Plan pays the benefits set out in the plan, regardless of fault, and there is no provision to seek compensation through the courts for injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident in Manitoba. What can be challenged is MPI’s decision itself — benefits denied or cut off, a permanent impairment rating, a fault determination — through an internal review (60 days) and then an appeal to the Automobile Injury Compensation Appeal Commission (90 days).
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