As of today, July 1, 2026, one of the most significant changes to Ontario’s auto insurance system in decades takes effect. Under Ontario Regulation 383/24, which amends the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule (the SABS, O. Reg. 34/10), most of the accident benefits that have been built into every Ontario auto policy for years are no longer automatic. From today, only a small core of benefits remains mandatory, and most of the rest become optional coverage that you have to choose and pay for. Here is what has changed, who is affected, and what you should do about it.
What Has Changed
Until now, every Ontario auto insurance policy included a standard package of accident benefits that applied after a collision regardless of who was at fault, covering everything from income replacement to caregiving and funeral costs. The reform reclassifies most of those benefits from default coverage to optional coverage. The intent, according to the government and the regulator, is to give drivers more choice and the ability to lower their premiums by paying only for the benefits they want. The trade-off, which we return to below, is a real risk of being underinsured.
What Stays Mandatory
Three benefits remain mandatory in every Ontario auto policy:
- Medical benefits
- Rehabilitation benefits
- Attendant care benefits
The standard limits for these benefits are unchanged: $3,500 under the Minor Injury Guideline, $65,000 combined for non-catastrophic impairments, and $1,000,000 for catastrophic impairments. It is worth understanding that even the mandatory coverage can fall short in a serious case. The $65,000 non-catastrophic limit covers both treatment and attendant care, and for a badly injured person it can be used up well before recovery is complete.
What Becomes Optional
Most other accident benefits are now optional, which means that unless you buy them, you will not have them after a crash. The benefits that have become optional include:
- Income replacement
- Non-earner benefits
- Caregiver benefits
- Housekeeping and home maintenance
- Death benefits
- Funeral benefits
- Expenses of visitors
- Lost educational expenses
- Damage to clothing and personal items
Income replacement deserves particular attention. Under the old system, anyone unable to work because of a car accident could generally access income replacement automatically. From today, if you have not purchased that coverage, it will not be there, and it is often the benefit people need most.
Your Auto Insurer Now Pays First
A second important change concerns the order of payment. Your auto insurer will now generally be the first to pay for medical and rehabilitation treatment after a collision, ahead of your workplace or private extended health plan. Under the old rules, injured people often had to exhaust their workplace or private health benefits before the auto insurer would step in. OHIP continues to cover hospital and physician services as it always has. This change should speed access to care and preserve your private benefits for other needs, though the usual requirement that treatment be reasonable and necessary, along with any policy exclusions, still applies.
Who May Lose Access to Coverage
This is the change that concerns us most. The now-optional benefits are available to a narrower group of people than before, generally the named insured, the drivers listed on the policy, and certain dependants in the household. The practical result is that some people who used to be covered may no longer have access to these optional benefits. That can include pedestrians and cyclists struck by a vehicle, and some passengers, who are strangers to the policy involved. If you or someone in your household does not carry the optional benefits, an injured pedestrian or cyclist may find that coverage is simply not available to them. Households with cyclists, and anyone who does not own a vehicle themselves, should think carefully about this gap.
The Choice, and the Risk
There are two sides to this reform, and we think both are worth stating plainly.
On one hand, drivers now have genuine flexibility. If you already have strong income replacement and extended health coverage through your employer, paying again for overlapping auto benefits may not make sense, and the reform lets you avoid that. Premium savings are a real possibility.
On the other hand, the benefits that are easiest to drop to save money, such as income replacement, are frequently the ones that matter most after a serious crash. Any loss that your accident benefits do not cover has to be pursued through a tort claim against the at-fault driver, which is slower, less certain, and more expensive than accessing your own benefits. Someone with no income and no income replacement coverage can be pressured into an early, low settlement simply because they cannot afford to wait. The decisions you make at renewal now carry consequences that used to be handled automatically.
The Deadlines Have Not Changed
The reform does not change the key deadlines, which remain strict. You must notify your insurer of your intention to claim within seven days of the accident, submit the Application for Accident Benefits (the OCF-1) within 30 days of receiving the application package, and bring any dispute to the Licence Appeal Tribunal within two years. Our guide on how to apply for accident benefits after a car accident walks through the process in detail.
What You Should Do
- Review your auto policy now, and again at renewal. Do not assume that “the same as last year” means the same coverage. On renewal, your existing coverage generally continues automatically unless you agree in writing to change it, but this is the moment to decide what you actually need.
- Talk to your broker about the optional benefits, income replacement in particular, and confirm what your policy will and will not cover.
- Check your household. Consider whether dependants, and cyclists or pedestrians in your family, would have access to benefits under your policy or anyone else’s.
- Check for overlap with your workplace or private health and disability coverage before deciding to drop anything.
- After a crash, act quickly and keep records, and get legal advice early so nothing is lost to a missed deadline. Our overview of the steps to take after a car accident in Ontario is a useful starting point.
How We Can Help
Davidson Cahill Morrison LLP has acted in motor vehicle and insurance matters for decades, on both sides of these disputes, and that experience gives us a clear view of how this reform will play out in practice. If you have been injured in a collision, we can help you access the accident benefits you are entitled to, challenge a denial at the Licence Appeal Tribunal, and pursue a tort claim against an at-fault driver for losses your benefits do not cover.
If you have questions about how these changes affect you, or you have been hurt in a car accident, our car accident lawyers can help. Contact us to arrange a consultation.
