What will the incoming 2027 care first insurance model look like for Albertans? Alberta's automobile insurance regulator, the Alberta Automobile Insurance Rate Board (AIRB), weighs in.Heather Mack, Manager of Education and Engagement at the AIRB, helps explain the care first system, so Albertans can decide for themselves whether the model is best....The regulatory system known as Care First Insurance will be implemented on January 1, 2027.Alberta's current automobile insurance system operates under a mixed model, giving individuals who are injured in crashes coverage through their insurance.Mack says the best picture of the current automobile insurance industry in the province is from their Excess Profit 2024 Report. "The report found that insurers, on average, lost about 20% from Alberta auto insurance.""So that means for every dollar that they're taking in on premium, they're actually spending 97 cents on claims, and then another roughly 27 cents on administration.""So we're finding that insurers are absolutely not making profit on the product right now, and we're starting to see other movements in the market that tell us it's just not healthy right now.".Tyler van Vliet from CRASH lawyers said about one insurance company operating in Alberta, "Definity is doing so well, in fact, that shortly after the Alberta government rolled out its plans for Care First, Definity purchased the Canadian operations of Travelers Insurance for a little over $3.3 billion. That doesn’t sound like a company in crisis."The numbers speak for themselves," van Vliet continues."Insurance is a profitable, multi-billion-dollar industry in Alberta. Insurance companies are for-profit entities.""The money that insurance companies are set to save from no longer compensating innocent accident victims will go directly to their bottom line and profits, not to the Albertans who have just had their rights taken away from them because billion-dollar insurance companies weren’t making enough money," he concludes.On the topic of insured lifetime medical coverage under the care first system the government is promising,"the regulations coming will deal with the actual coverage, the sub limits, it will deal with things like dispute resolution," Mack states..Meaning Albertans will have to wait and see the regulations under this system.When asked how the government would be able ensure these medical coverages, Mack said: "Let's say, you're receiving treatment, you had sort of a medium, maybe a whiplash injury, you're going through treatment and all of a sudden your insurer says, you're done, no more benefits.""Well, first of all, the law says that the insurer must pay out to the point where you have reached full medical benefit. So that will be up to medical professionals.""If the insurer then is in disagreement with the medical professional or your own opinion — because you know your body best, you'll be able to take that to a dispute resolution system that will happen within government."."So it won't be the insurers, it'll be a dispute resolution that's still to be set up in regulation."She says the government has yet to answer the following questions on the litigation process under the new system: "By allowing even a little bit of litigation, premiums will go up. So it's how much do you allow? And where is it beneficial for Albertans to actually still have that ability to sue? Because even though people call it a no fault system, it's kind of a misnomer because fault very much matters."It very much matters in the claims process, and particularly in setting your premiums, because at-fault drivers, even under the care first system will be paying more, because they'll be penalized by their insurer when they go for a renewal."The province says it will announce the regulation for the care first system in fall 2025.
