Insurers Push to Gut Albertans’ Right to Sue Under “Care First”

This week, Canada's insurance industry showed its hand — loud and clear. The Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC), representing some of the wealthiest companies in the country, released a report arguing that Alberta drivers could save money on insurance if the government fully eliminates their right to sue at-fault drivers — even in serious criminal cases.

Under the UCP’s proposed Care First no-fault system (set to roll out January 1, 2027), most injured drivers will lose the right to seek compensation through the courts. Instead, they’ll be forced to rely entirely on insurance companies for care, treatment, and income support — companies that are more interested in their bottom line than your recovery. The only exceptions to this no-lawsuit policy? Criminal convictions or situations where your medical costs (which, importantly, must be approved by the insurers themselves) blow past the insurer’s caps.

But even this narrow window for legal accountability is too much for Canada’s insurers. According to them, letting a few injured people sue dangerous or criminally reckless drivers might cost the industry too much money. MNP, commissioned by IBC, warns that just preserving this sliver of legal rights could raise premiums by a mere $132 per year. That’s the price they put on your right to justice.

The insurance lobby is now pressuring the Alberta government to “course correct” — a thinly veiled call to remove your right to sue entirely, just like in Manitoba. Their message? If Albertans want cheaper insurance, they’ll have to hand over total control to private insurers, trust them to treat injury victims fairly, and keep quiet — no matter how severe the harm or how reckless the driver.

BOTTOM LINE: this isn’t about making the system more affordable. It’s about making it more profitable — for them. The UCP’s Care First scheme already takes away too many rights from innocent Albertans. Now the insurance industry wants even more. Don’t let them sell out your future in the name of “savings” that may never come.

Read the full article at Canadian Underwriter here: https://canadianunderwriter.ca/news/auto/alberta-weighs-in-on-insurer-renewal-responsibilities/

Read the full MNP Policy Report, “Impacts of Tort Access on Driver Premiums in the Care First Model” here: https://betterautoalberta.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Impacts-of-Tort-Access-on-Driver-Premiums-in-the-Care-First-Model.pdf