We start with your gross earnings at the time of your injury. We get this information from you and your employer(s). If you work a set schedule for an hourly wage, we will use this information to set your rate. If your earnings vary for any reason, we look at your three-month earnings to determine your average. With that information we're able to calculate your annual earnings.

If you are self-employed and have Personal Optional Protection, we have separate information available.

We subtract your estimated federal and provincial income taxes from your gross earnings. We do that because your income taxes are your responsibility.

We also subtract your estimated CPP contributions and EI premiums from your gross annual earnings. These are not payroll items that we cover or manage for you.

- Federal/provincial taxes
- CPP contributions
- EI premiums

That leaves us with a calculated net earnings amount. It will be similar to your take-home pay from your employer.

The coverage we provide is 90% of this amount, so you can multiply this figure by 90% to determine roughly how much you'll receive.

= Your net annual earnings
X 90%

We divide that by 52.14, the exact number of weeks in a year, to get your weekly wage rate.This amount may not equal exactly 90% of your usual weekly take-home pay. For an explanation of what might account for the difference, check out our list of factors that affect wage-loss benefits.

÷ 52.14 weeks
= Your approximate weekly wage-loss rate