Bill 47, the draft Automobile Insurance Act, prepared to usher in the anticipated private no fault insurance scheme to Alberta was released by the Provincial Government on March 24, 2025. While many of the details remain unknown until the release of anticipated regulations, the draft bill is far more detailed than other bills the Government has issued in recent years which have almost all of the content contained in regulations.
Here are the top 10 key takeaways from our review of Bill 47.
1. Numerous Benefits
Under Part 2, Division 3, proposed benefits include income replacement benefits for full time, part-time, unemployed and temporary earners, as well as loss of studies benefits, caregiver benefits, retirement income benefits, permanent impairment benefits and death benefits. All of the income replacement benefits will continue until:
- June 30 after the claimant turns 65; or
- June 30 five years after the insured became entitled to benefits, whichever is later.
In addition, Division 2 of Part 2 provides for coverage for prescribed treatments, medications and medical aids as did prior section B benefits. Division 4 includes some sort of “Permanent Impairment Benefit” for assessed permanent impairments arising from a motor vehicle accident, and Division 5 includes a “death benefit” for spouses or dependants of the deceased insured. Only if there are no spouse or dependents to receive the death benefit, will it be payable to the parents or adult children of the deceased insured.
As of now, however, the value, maximums and exceptions to these benefits remain unknown, as
those matters will be determined by regulation. Other parts of the bill suggest that there are maximums placed on the weekly or monthly earnings for which reimbursement can be claimed, but again, those remain unknown until the regulations are released.
There will be no benefits payable to anyone entitled to WCB as a result of the Accident. This means that the WCB will no longer be able to make any subrogated claim for the benefits they pay out to workers injured in motor vehicle accidents.
The Bill does provide some reimbursement benefits for claimants who are working without pay in a family enterprise for a period of 180 days, to have someone else take on those duties while the claimant is unable due to his injuries. However, this benefit will not be payable if the insurer determines that the claimant was not capable of being employed in an alternate occupation prior to the accident.
There is also a benefit available when a full time caregiver is injured and unable to provide care to their children under 16 years old or other persons in their home who are unable to work. If the accident causes the death of the caregiver, the Bill anticipates that the benefit will remain payable to the Estate or the beneficiaries of the claimant in some respect, in accordance with the as yet unknown regulations.
2. Denial of Benefits
Pursuant to s. 47, the insurer can refuse to pay benefits if it determines that the insured wilfully caused the accident, or wilfully caused their own injury or death. The insurer can also refuse to pay if the Insured is convicted of an offence under the Criminal Code, or under a prescribed offence under the Traffic Safety Act ("TSA") or other non specified Acts. The inclusion of TSA offences, which could include such provisions as speeding, distracted driving, unsafe left turn or following too closely, seems to remove much of the benefit of these “no fault” benefits. In many cases, these infractions are simply the elements of negligence on which “fault” would normally be determined. While we don’t yet know what the prescribed offences will be, this could be a fairly draconian exclusion to benefits entitlement leaving many Albertans completely unprotected in the case of a motor vehicle accident related injury. In his press conference, the Minister mentioned distracted driving as an example of an offence that might be prescribed.
The insurer is also entitled to deny benefits if the insured is found to have knowingly provided false or inaccurate information to the insurer that is material to the benefit being claimed.
3. Future Care
Although the Bill anticipates that health care benefits will be payable as long as required, it also provides, in s. 10(2) that if the insurer obtains a medical assessment that concludes that any service, equipment, medication or supply prescribed for the claimant is “not likely to contribute to the further improvement of the insured or that the insured has reached maximum medical recovery from bodily injury”, the insurer is not required to continue paying for or reimbursing the claimant for the expense. However, s. 10(4) then seems to contradict this, and suggests that where the claimant suffers from a long term, permanent injury, such care will continue even after the claimant reaches maximum medical improvement. Long term permanent injury is not defined in the Bill.
4. Permanent Impairment
The most important thing to know about this new benefit that will be payable, is that we don’t know how it will be calculated. Pursuant to s. 38, it will be determined by the Insurer in accordance with the as yet undrafted regulations. However, if the claimant who has sustained a permanent impairment dies of his accident related injuries before 90 days after the accident, then the permanent impairment benefit will not be payable. However, if the claimant dies ON OR AFTER 90 days from his accident related injuries, the insurer cannot recover any permanent impairment benefit already paid. This suggests that the benefit remains payable (even if not yet paid) if the claimant dies after 90 days, but that is not particularly clear in the Bill.
5. Catastrophic Injuries
There are some special provisions for claimants who suffer catastrophic injuries in motor vehicle accidents. For example, under s. 49, if a claimant returns to his prior employment then his income replacement benefits cease. However, if a claimant who suffers from catastrophic injuries returns to work at his prior employment, his benefits are merely suspended, which we presume means that if they later become unable to work due to their injuries, such benefits may recommence. Unfortunately, “catastrophic injury” is not defined in the Bill. Its definition will likely follow in the regulations.
6. Information Collection without Consent
Sections 56 and 58 require any current or former employer or health care provider of the claimant to provide information upon request by the insurer, including any information related to the claimant’s employment, or copies of their health care charts. These requests do not appear to require any consent from the claimant. An application can be made to the court to enforce this right of information and the application can be made ex parte.
7. No Lump Sum Payments
Other than the prescribed lump sum benefits (perhaps like the unknown permanent impairment benefit or death benefit), pursuant to s. 65 of the Bill, the insurer and the claimant are not allowed to enter into any agreement which would allow for the lump sum payment out of periodic future payments.
8. Tort Bar
Of course, the Bill provides a tort claim bar in s. 4 of the Bill. Part 3 of the Bill sets out the Tort Bar exceptions. The first exception is that a claimant can sue if the potential Defendant caused the accident and was convicted of an offence under the Criminal Code, prescribed sections of the TSA or other Acts. Again, the Bill does not indicate what sections of the TSA might trigger the exception, but depending on what is included, it is not clear how valuable the trade off represented by the tort bar is to Albertans, as many such offences, as noted above are really just the basis of many negligence claims.
The claims that are allowed to proceed are generally limited to claims for general damages and pecuniary or exemplary damages. The Claimants general damages claim must be reduced by any amount of Permanent Impairment benefit paid out to the claimant under s. 36. The insurer is also entitled, in the same circumstances, to bring a subrogated claim for the amount that they have paid out to the insured.
s. 81 of the Bill also allows claimants to bring tort claims for loss of income, cost of care and other related pecuniary losses in excess of the maximums prescribed by the regulations, which remain unknown.
The Bill also allows tort claims to continue against auto manufacturers or parts manufacturers and suppliers, garages, social hosts, commercial hosts and municipalities.
9. Severance of Joint Liability
In several sections, the Bill severs the joint liability in the Contributory Negligence Act and makes clear that any action brought outside of the Tort Bar is for the proportional share for the Defendant is determined to be liable, and there is no ability by Defendants to claim contribution from other tortfeasors under that act.
10. The Alberta Automotive Care-first Tribunal
Decisions made by insurers under the Bill can be appealed to this newly constituted Tribunal, whose members will be appointed by the Minister. The Tribunal is afforded all of the powers of a public inquiry under the Public Inquiries Act. The Tribunal can hold hearings, conduct inquiries and investigations, facilitate settlement or mediation and it is not subject to the same rules of evidence as a court would be. Decisions of the Tribunal are final– there is no statutory appeal to the courts. While the Tribunal, like any other statutorily created administrative body is subject to Judicial Review, the time limit to bring a JR application from the Tribunal is 30 days, rather than the 6 months regularly afforded by the Rules of Court.
The Bill may well not make it to proclamation in its current form. The Bill currently anticipates amending the Insurance Act as of January 1, 2027. If you have questions, please contact Christine Pratt, KC at cpratt@fieldlaw.com or 780-423-7671.