It has now been a little over a year since the Ontario government revised the statutory accident benefits regime by passing Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule – Effective September 1, 2010. O. Reg. 34/10 (SABS). This new regulation reduced the insurance benefits available to people injured in motor vehicle accidents.
While it is too soon to comment on the long-term effects this regulation will have on accident victims and health professionals in Ontario, this article will review some concerns that health professionals and claimants have raised recently.
This article was first published in The Health Professional magazine in September 2011. It reviews the effect of the September 1, 2010 changes to the accident benefits system for health care professionals.
After September 1, 2010, you have far less coverage if you have the misfortune of being involved in a motor vehicle collision. Your insurer may have informed you by now that you will have “more coverage options” when it comes time to renew your automobile insurance policy. The fact is, consumers will now have much less protection than they previously had, unless they purchase ‘Optional Benefits’ coverage.
This article was presented at a 2011 conference of law clerks. It describes the interaction between the tort and accident benefits systems.
Basically, anyone injured in a car accident in Ontario (even pedestrians and cyclists) will be entitled to certain potentially significant benefits from their own insurance company, regardless of who is at fault for the accident.
Last week, we wrote about catastrophic impairment. In simple terms, this is a legal term that determines what benefits a person may be entitled to if they are injured in […]
While some of the amendments are positive, we are concerned that these reforms do not reflect the reality that very few people in Ontario actually purchase optional increased accident benefits coverage. In effect, this will likely result in overall reduced insurance funding for persons injured in motor vehicle accidents. Whether there will be a corresponding reduction in insurance premiums has yet to be seen.