Ontario Made Ten of Your Accident Benefits Optional in July
Nothing was taken from you. That's exactly why it's worth checking.
On July 1, Ontario changed what an auto policy has to include.
Three benefits remain mandatory: medical, rehabilitation, and attendant care.
Ten others became optional.
Nothing was removed from your policy that day. Your coverage renews exactly as it was unless you actively take something off in writing.
Which is the part worth understanding.
What moved to optional
Income replacement
Non-earner benefits
Caregiver benefits
Housekeeping and home maintenance
Dependent care
Lost educational expenses
Visitor expenses
Damage to personal items
Death and funeral benefits
Indexation
These still exist. They are still available. They now require you to choose them rather than receive them automatically.
Where this gets expensive
A cheaper quote is an easier quote to say yes to.
If someone offers you a premium meaningfully below your renewal, one of the first questions is whether the difference is a better rate or a shorter list of benefits.
Both are legitimate. They are not the same thing, and only one of them is still there after an accident.
What to actually check
Pull your most recent policy and find the accident benefits page.
Is income replacement still on it?
If you're the one who drives the kids, is caregiver still on it?
Is death and funeral still on it?
If you have strong coverage through work, some of these may genuinely duplicate what you already have. That's a reasonable conversation. An uninformed one isn't.
The Rate Board - week of Oct 17
Co-operators -3.73% · in effect since Sep 11
Allstate -1.64% · in effect since Sep 15
Pembridge -1.45% · in effect since Sep 15
The Personal -5.3% · takes effect Nov 28
Certas (Desjardins) -2% · takes effect Nov 28
A cut only reaches you if your renewal falls on or after the effective date. One day earlier and you wait a year.
✓ Confirm your accident benefits page before accepting any quote
✓ Compare benefit lists, not just premiums
✓ Removing a benefit requires your written instruction - so nothing changed by accident
Confirm the current rules at fsrao.ca before making changes.
Send me a photo of your accident benefits page and I'll tell you what's on it in plain English. No quote attached.