Automobile insurance Accident Benefits are personal injury payouts that cover personal medical care, recovery, and income support if you are injured or killed in an automobile accident. Some are mandatory in an insurance policy, such as medical care, while many others, such as income replacement and death benefits, are now optional due to changes that took affect July 1, 2026.

Auto insurance benefits are not to be confused with automobile insurance coverage that every vehicle owner must purchase – in the form of an insurance policy. Coverage protects against financial liability and property damage. Examples are mandatory Third Party Liability and Uninsured Automobile insurance, and optional Specified Perils and Comprehensive insurance.

New mandatory and optional benefits

As of July 1, 2026, some accident benefits that were previously mandatory, meaning they were included in every Ontario auto insurance policy, will be optional.

As per the Insurance Bureau of Canada, here are the new mandatory and optional automobile accident benefits that are or can be included in a standard policy.

Mandatory – Medical, Rehabilitation and Attendant Care benefits

Only medical, rehabilitation, and attendant care benefits are mandatory in an auto insurance policy. This includes medical, rehabilitation and attendant care costs due to a “non-catastrophic” injury (for example, sprains and broken bones) or “catastrophic” injury – known as Catastrophic impairment (CAT) – such as if an accident renders you a paraplegic or you lose a limb or suffer complete loss of vision as a result of the accident. For more information on medical, rehabilitation and attendant care benefits, view the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule (SABS),

Optional benefits

As per the Automobile Insurance Bureau of Canada, all other accident benefits are optional and include:

• Income replacement: Helps replace income that you or another covered person lost because of an auto accident.
• Non-earner: This coverage can provide financial support to students or unemployed individuals while they recover from an auto accident that impacts their daily activities
• Caregiver benefits: If you, or another person covered by your policy (e.g., a child, an aging parent or another adult in your household who relies on you for daily care), is injured in an auto accident and can no longer provide care for a dependant, this benefit covers caregiving expenses.
• Lost educational expenses: If you cannot attend school or an education program because of an auto accident, this benefit can help to cover the costs you have incurred, such as tuition and books.
• Expenses of visitors: This benefit covers reasonable and necessary expenses for certain visitors, such as a spouse, child, grandchild, parent, grandparent or sibling, who visit you after you are injured in an auto accident.
• Housekeeping and home maintenance: Helps pay for housekeeping or home maintenance services if you, or another person included in your policy, are unable to perform these tasks because of auto accident-related injuries.
• Damage to personal items: This benefit can help cover the cost to repair or replace personal items damaged in an auto accident. Examples are clothing, prescription eyewear and hearing aids.
• Death benefits: If you, or another covered person, dies because of an auto accident, this benefit provides financial compensation to certain family members.
• Funeral benefits: Helps cover the cost of some funeral expenses if you, or another covered person, die due to an auto accident.
• Supplementary medical, rehabilitation and attendant care benefits: This benefit provides additional financial coverage for treatments, therapies, and caregiving beyond the limits provided by your mandatory standard policy benefits.

Additional changes to automobile insurance accident coverage in Ontario as of July 1, 2026:

• Even when a client has workplace benefits, the Insurance provider will become the first payor for most medical and rehab expenses (except medication),
• Optional benefits no longer apply to some people, such as pedestrians, cyclists and certain passengers who may have been previously covered. The newly optional benefits will only apply to:
  • The named insured
  • The spouse of the named insured
  • Dependants of the named insured and of the named insured’s spouse
  • Persons specified in the policy as drivers of the automobile

For customers with pre-July 1 contracts, the policy will renew automatically with your current coverage unless you agree to decline the benefits in writing.

More information

In Ontario, all automobile owners are required by law to carry a minimum level of automobile insurance. Refer to Automobile Insurance Coverage for more information on this topic.

Refer to the Insurance Bureau of Canada for more information on automobile insurance and the recent changes or contact your insurance provider. You can also view the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule (SABS) included in the Ontario Insurance Act.

								
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