Alberta has come to the conclusion that the single biggest reason for insurance premium increases in the province is the increasing cost of personal injury claims. To counter this, the province has introduced Bill 47, the Automobile Insurance Act, which provides better support benefits immediately to those injured, without the need to sue.
Those improvements, examined by the Insurance Portal in November 2024, are expected to be codified in the future, in as-yet undeveloped regulations. In a late March 2025 press conference announcing the release of Bill 47, Alberta’s finance minister, Nate Horner, was unable to elaborate on what circumstances or violations would prevent a perpetrator from accessing care or under what circumstances litigation might be necessary. “You want everyone to get care regardless,” the minister said. “But there will be exemptions for those that egregiously cause an accident.”
In addition to establishing when benefits are payable, Bill 47 directs insurers to pay compensation benefits regardless of who is at fault for the accident. It sets out what insurers need to pay, discusses income replacement, permanent impairment and death benefits, and establishes a requirement that insurers help their clients, setting out medical examination process rules to make claims. Those announcing the release of the legislation say it is “enabling,” meaning the details will be set out in regulations which have not been developed yet.
The legislation also requires insurers to notify their customers, in writing, about decisions that impact their benefits. “Proposed legislation would establish a process to require an internal review of that decision if requested by the claimant,” the government’s briefing on Bill 47 states. The legislation also establishes an Alberta Automobile Care-first Tribunal which allows Alberta drivers to dispute care and treatment decisions made by their insurance companies. At the press conference about Bill 47, Minister Horner was unable to discuss what this process would look like.
“Insurance companies will have to work with us,” he said. “We’ve been clear about the savings that we think this will provide. They are under a lot of pressure right now from the hailstorm question and the like, rising cost and tariff concerns. There’s a lot of increased costs on that side that government like ours can’t really influence. But I think the insurance companies will see that if they’re unable, there (are) many public insurers across the country.”
The Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC), issued a statement following the announcement, congratulating the government, but also pointing out that the 7.5 per cent rate cap still in place for “good drivers” in the province will not bring insurers who’ve already left, back to the province.
“Today the Alberta government introduced legislation that, if passed, will underpin the largest transformation of the auto insurance system in provincial history, and improve and expand access to care for drivers who suffer injuries after a collision,” the IBC wrote in a statement following the government’s announcement.
“Care-based auto insurance systems work by replacing costly legal battles with more efficient access to benefits and improved premiums,” they add. “The success of these reforms will be determined by the extent of litigation that the government permits. The more lawyers are involved in Alberta’s Care-First system, the less likely that drivers will save. Other provinces and international jurisdictions have recognized this, and it is imperative that Alberta follow suit.”
