No-Fault Auto Care and Seniors Reform

Summary#

• Bill 27 updates several finance-related laws in Alberta. It mainly reshapes auto insurance benefits and lawsuits after crashes, adjusts seniors’ benefits, and expands the province’s investment tools for tech and innovation.
• It strengthens “care regardless of fault” in auto insurance and narrows when people can sue after a crash.
• It raises Alberta Seniors Benefit amounts and income thresholds, and changes how they are indexed.
• It lets two provincial innovation bodies make equity investments and follow binding ministerial directions.
• It changes oversight rules for insurers and the Automobile Insurance Rate Board (AIRB), and allows the Minister to set fee schedules and treatment rules.

Key changes

• Auto insurance: clearer “no‑fault” benefits; limited lawsuits; optional extra coverage; new medical assessment system; electronic claims system.
• Seniors: higher maximum cash benefits and higher income cutoffs; indexing changes.
• Innovation: Alberta Enterprise Corporation and the research/innovation corporation can invest directly (equity, joint ventures) to grow access to capital and support intellectual property (IP).
• Insurance oversight: AIRB membership and tools updated; government’s power to freeze premiums by order is repealed; the Minister can set fees, rules, and require insurers to give customers key policy information.

What it means for you#

• Drivers and passengers

  • If you are hurt in a crash in Canada or the U.S., your benefits are paid regardless of who caused it. Which insurer pays is set by simple priority rules.
  • You can buy optional “excess compensation” coverage if you want benefits above the standard amounts.
  • Suing another driver is limited. You may sue for pain and suffering (and punitive damages) only if the at‑fault person is found guilty of certain listed offences. You may sue for out‑of‑pocket costs only if they exceed the standard benefit limits.
  • If your insurer delays or wrongly denies compensation and later reverses that, it must pay interest.

• People injured in crashes

  • Covered expenses include health services, medications and supplies, medical equipment, accessibility supports, travel/lodging/meals to get treatment, help with daily living, caregiver costs, and some family enterprise help.
  • The Minister can set “programs of care” (treatment rules) that insurers must follow and pay for.
  • Medical assessments will be done by approved assessors chosen through a government-run process. Insurers generally cannot send you to other types of exams about your injury.
  • Income replacement, student/minor, caregiver, and retirement benefits are clarified (for example, when you must choose between benefits, how long benefits last, and when they end if you can work again). You may only receive the greater of overlapping benefits, not both.

• Caregivers

  • You may receive a caregiver benefit if you mainly care (unpaid) for a child under 16 or a person who cannot work, and you cannot continue due to injury. If you live with a spouse/partner, payment only continues while they also cannot provide care due to illness, disability, work, or studies.
  • The caregiver benefit ends when the child turns 16 or the dependent can work, when you can resume care, or after the election period if you choose income replacement.

• Seniors (Alberta Seniors Benefit)

  • Maximum annual cash benefits go up starting July 1, 2026, with ongoing annual indexing from January 1, 2027.
  • Non‑deductible income amounts increase to about $23,020 (single) and $34,460 (couple), which means more seniors may qualify or qualify for higher amounts.
  • Rules and thresholds for special‑needs items are updated, with clearer categories and maximums.

• Entrepreneurs and startups

  • The Alberta Enterprise Corporation and the provincial research/innovation corporation can invest directly (equity, partnerships) to improve access to growth capital, support commercialization, and help protect and monetize IP.
  • Ministers can issue binding directives to these corporations.

• Insurance customers

  • The Minister can require insurers, agents, or adjusters to give you specified information about your policy or quote, in a set format and timeline.
  • The Minister can designate certain practices as unfair or deceptive.
  • The AIRB can issue public guidelines; its membership size changes; new regulation powers can set expense and profitability targets for insurers.

• Health care providers

  • You must provide insurers with requested injury-related information “as soon as reasonably practicable,” and follow any set formats in regulation.
  • Fees and payment rules for services and medical assessments may be set by Ministerial order.

Expenses#

No publicly available information.

Proponents' View#

• Makes auto insurance simpler and faster: injured people get care and income support without long fault fights.
• Lowers lawsuit and legal costs, helping stabilize premiums over time.
• Clear medical assessment process and treatment guidelines aim for more consistent, evidence‑based care.
• Seniors get higher benefits and higher income thresholds, offering better help with rising costs.
• More tools to grow Alberta’s tech and innovation sectors through equity investments and IP support.
• Stronger consumer protection: clearer policy information and rules against unfair insurer practices.

Opponents' View#

• Further limits the right to sue after crashes; some victims may feel under‑compensated for pain and suffering or losses capped by benefit limits.
• Centralized medical assessments and minister‑set treatment rules could feel insurer‑ or government‑driven, not patient‑driven.
• Expanded Minister powers (fees, directives, unfair practice designations) may weaken independent oversight and create uncertainty.
• Repealing government power to freeze premiums removes a quick tool to curb sharp increases.
• Public investment mandates (equity, partnerships) may risk taxpayer money or crowd out private capital.
• Higher seniors’ benefits and broader eligibility could raise program costs without clear funding details.