(1) Except as otherwise permitted by this Regulation, all notices required or permitted under this Regulation, other than a notice under subsection 32 (1) or (3.1), shall be in writing. O. Reg. 546/05, s. 28 (1).

(2) Any document, including a notice in writing, required or permitted under this Regulation to be given to a person may be delivered,

(a) by faxing the document to the person or to the solicitor or authorized representative, if any, of the person in accordance with subsection (6);

(b) by leaving a copy of the document with the solicitor or authorized representative, if any, of the person, or with an employee in the office of the solicitor or authorized representative;

(c) by personal delivery to the person;

(d) by letter mail, certified mail or registered mail,

(i) in the case of an insurer, addressed to the insurer or its chief executive officer at the insurer’s head office in Ontario as identified in the records of the Superintendent,

(ii) in the case of a person other than an insurer, addressed to the person at his or her last known address; or

(e) by electronic means, if the intended recipient of the document consents to delivery by electronic means. O. Reg. 281/03, s. 33; O. Reg. 533/06, s. 13 (1).

(2.1) For the purposes of clauses (2) (a) and (b), an authorized representative may include, subject to subsection (2.2),

(a) a member of a health profession if the document is a notice under subsection 38 (5) or (8), 38.2 (4) or (6) or 42 (4) or a report prepared under section 42; or

(b) a member of a health profession who is a health practitioner if the document is a notice under subsection 37.1 (4) or (5). O. Reg. 546/05, s. 28 (2).

(2.2) Subsection (2.1) does not apply unless,

(a) the insured person is not represented at the relevant time by a solicitor or another authorized representative;

(b) the insured person gives to the insurer a signed authorization and direction specifying which documents listed in subsection (2.1) that the insurer is authorized and directed to give to the member of the health profession;

(c) the signed authorization and direction is given to the insurer before the document is given to the member of the health profession; and

(d) the member of the health profession has agreed to act in accordance with the authorization and direction. O. Reg. 546/05, s. 28 (2).

(3) Despite clause (2) (d), any notice or other document that must be given within five or fewer business days shall not be delivered by letter mail. O. Reg. 281/03, s. 33; O. Reg. 458/03, s. 12.

(3.1) The functional equivalency rules set out in sections 4 to 13 of the Electronic Commerce Act, 2000 apply in the case of the delivery of a document by electronic means under clause (2) (e). O. Reg. 533/06, s. 13 (2).

(3.2) Despite subsection (2), but subject to subsection (3.10), the following rules apply in the circumstances specified in a Guideline issued for the purposes of this section to a document that is listed in section 69, is specified in the Guideline and is required under this Regulation to be delivered to an insurer to whom the Guideline applies:

1. Subject to paragraphs 2 and 3, the document and any attachments to it shall be delivered to the insurer only in a manner specified in the Guideline.

2. If the Guideline specifies that a document, exclusive of attachments to it, is to be delivered to a central processing agency on behalf of the insurer,

i. the document shall be delivered not to the insurer but only to the central processing agency specified in the Guideline and only in a manner specified in the Guideline, and

ii. attachments to the document shall be delivered not to the central processing agency but only to the insurer in a manner specified in the Guideline.

3. If the Guideline specifies that a document, together with attachments to it, is to be delivered to a central processing agency on behalf of the insurer, the document and the attachments shall be delivered not to the insurer but only to the central processing agency specified in the Guideline and only in a manner specified in the Guideline.

4. A document referred to in paragraph 1, 2 or 3 shall be deemed not to have been received by the insurer to whom it is addressed, if it is delivered to the insurer otherwise than as specified in the Guideline. O. Reg. 533/06, s. 13 (3).

(3.3) A document referred to in paragraph 2 of subsection (3.2) is deemed to be received by the insurer to whom it is addressed on the later of,

(a) the date on which the document, delivered in a manner specified in the Guideline to the central processing agency on behalf of an insurer to whom the Guideline applies, is determined by the central processing agency to be duly completed and to contain all information required by this Regulation to be included in it; and

(b) the date on which the last of any attachments is received by the insurer. O. Reg. 533/06, s. 13 (3).

(3.4) A document referred to in paragraph 3 of subsection (3.2) is deemed to be received by the insurer to whom it is addressed when the document and any attachments to it are delivered in a manner specified in the Guideline to the central processing agency on behalf of an insurer to whom the Guideline applies and the document is determined by the central processing agency to be duly completed and to contain all information required by this Regulation to be included in it. O. Reg. 533/06, s. 13 (3).

(3.5) For the purposes of subsections (3.3) and (3.4), the central processing agency shall be deemed to have determined, on the day the document was delivered to the central processing agency in a manner specified by the Guideline, that the document is duly completed and contains all information required by this Regulation to be included in it unless the central processing agency notifies the sender, in a manner specified in the Guideline and not later than the second business day after the document was delivered to the central processing agency, that the document is not duly completed or does not contain all information required by this Regulation to be included in it. O. Reg. 533/06, s. 13 (3).

(3.6) A notice under subsection (3.5) shall include sufficient particulars to enable the sender to remedy the deficiency. O. Reg. 533/06, s. 13 (3).

(3.7) The central processing agency shall, as soon as practicable, make the contents of the document available to the insurer to whom the document is addressed. O. Reg. 533/06, s. 13 (3).

(3.8) An insurer that is deemed by subsection (3.3) or (3.4) to have received a document, other than an invoice to which subsection 44.1 (1) applies, shall in the manner and within the time required by the Guideline provide the central processing agency with the following information, which may include personal information:

1. Particulars of the goods or services referred to in the document for which the insurer agrees to pay and the amount the insurer agrees to pay in respect of such goods or services.

2. Particulars of the goods or services referred to in the document for which the insurer does not agree to pay. O. Reg. 533/06, s. 13 (3).

(3.9) Following receipt of the last of any attachments to a document in accordance with paragraph 2 of subsection (3.2), an insurer shall notify the central processing agency for the purpose of the application of clause (3.3) (b), in the manner and within the time required by the Guideline. O. Reg. 533/06, s. 13 (3).

(3.10) Subsections (3.2) to (3.9) do not apply to a document if the insurer has waived the requirement that the document be submitted to the insurer in circumstances permitted by this Regulation. O. Reg. 533/06, s. 13 (3).

(3.11) Nothing in this Regulation prohibits any person from delivering a document to which subsection (3.2) applies to the central processing agency on behalf of a person otherwise required to deliver it. O. Reg. 533/06, s. 13 (3).

(4) If an attempt is made to personally deliver a document to a person at his or her place of residence and, for any reason, it is not possible to personally deliver the document to the person, the document may be delivered by leaving a copy, in a sealed envelope addressed to the person, at the person’s place of residence with anyone who appears to be an adult member of the same household. O. Reg. 380/03, s. 3.

(5) In the absence of evidence to the contrary, a person is deemed to receive anything delivered by letter mail under clause (2) (d) on the fifth business day after the day the document is mailed in accordance with clause (2) (d). O. Reg. 380/03, s. 3; O. Reg. 458/03, s. 12.

(6) A document that is delivered by fax must include a cover page indicating,

(a) the sender’s name, address and telephone number;

(b) the name of the person for whom the document is intended;

(c) the date of the accident to which the document relates;

(d) the name, address and telephone number of the person to whom the document relates;

(e) the date and time the fax is sent;

(f) the total number of pages faxed, including the cover page;

(g) the telephone number from which the document is faxed; and

(h) the name and telephone number of a person to contact in the event of transmission problems with the fax. O. Reg. 281/03, s. 33.

(7) A document delivered in accordance with clause (2) (a), (b), (c) or (e) after 5 p.m. local time of the recipient shall be deemed to be delivered on the next business day. O. Reg. 281/03, s. 33; O. Reg. 533/06, s. 13 (4).

(8) Despite subclause (2) (d) (i) and subsections (5) and (7), if the insurer provides the name and address of a contact person to whom documents are to be delivered, anything delivered to the insurer that is not addressed to the attention of the contact person at that address shall not be considered to have been delivered to the insurer until it is received by the contact person. O. Reg. 281/03, s. 33.

(8.1) Subject to subsection (7), subsection 22 (3) of the Electronic Commerce Act, 2000 applies to determine when a document delivered in accordance with clause (2) (e) is deemed to be delivered to the recipient. O. Reg. 533/06, s. 13 (5).

(8.2) Where subsection (3.3) or (3.4) applies, the recipient for the purposes of subsection (8.1) is the central processing agency. O. Reg. 533/06, s. 13 (6).

(9) A reference in this Regulation to a number of days between two events shall be read as excluding the day on which the first event happens and including the day on which the second event happens. O. Reg. 281/03, s. 33.

(10) Subject to subsection (11), if any provision of this Regulation requires a person to do anything within a time period expressed in days or business days, the time period is deemed to expire on the last day of the time period at 5 p.m. local time. O. Reg. 281/03, s. 33.

(11) If a time period in which a person is required to do anything expires on a day that is not a business day, the time period is deemed to expire on the next day that is a business day at 5 p.m. local time. O. Reg. 281/03, s. 33.

(12) For the purposes of subsections (10) and (11), if the person delivering a document or notice and the person to whom the document or notice is to be delivered are in different time zones, references to 5 p.m. local time shall be read as references to the time when it is 5 p.m. in one time zone and after 5 p.m. in the other time zone. O. Reg. 281/03, s. 33.

(13) A member of a health profession who receives a document under the authority of subsection (2.1) shall immediately notify the insured person by telephone of the substance of the document and send a copy of the document to the insured person by ordinary mail or fax. O. Reg. 546/05, s. 28 (2).

(14) An insurer shall not deliver documents to a member of a health profession in reliance on an authorization under subsection (2.2) unless the documents are expressly specified in the authorization referred to in that subsection. O. Reg. 546/05, s. 28 (2).