How Does No-Fault Insurance Work In Alberta?

Published on December 21st, 2022

Accidents are pretty common in the different provinces of Canada. According to recent statistics from Alberta Transportation, there have been approximately 142,596 accidents in Alberta. Simply put, Alberta has approximately 400 accidents per day. This is why it is essential to have an auto insurance policy.

Provinces like British Columbia and Saskatchewan have already adopted a no-fault auto Insurance system, with the Alberta government doing it recently. However, according to a poll last year, only 20% of the Albertans supported this system, and 61% of all the people wanted to continue with at-fault insurance.

So, what’s no fault insurance in Alberta? Let’s find out.

Meanwhile, one cannot miss out on having adequate insurance while driving in Canada. If you’re looking for affordable rates in Calgary, visit https://www.surex.com/Insurance/auto-car/calgary

What Is No Fault Insurance And Why Is It Important?

Whenever two parties are involved in an accident, there is a certain percentage of fault assigned to both drivers. But with Alberta no fault insurance, if your vehicle is damaged or you are hurt in an accident, your insurance broker will pay for all your losses even if you were responsible for the accident. Also, if you are the victim of an accident caused by an irresponsible driver, your insurer will pay for all the damages, and you won’t recover the same from the at-fault driver.

Simply put, if you have no fault insurance, each driver’s insurance broker will pay all the damages or hospital charges. With this insurance, you won’t be able to sue the other driver or hold the driver accountable for all your damages, pain, or your future healthcare costs.

Your insurance broker will handle your payouts completely and will decide your settlement. They will also decide the type of healthcare you require and determine the amount for your treatment costs and lost wages.

Before this no fault insurance system, Alberta had the tort insurance system, where the driver at fault was held accountable for the entire accident. The victim could sue the driver for all the damages to their vehicle replacement income and medical care.

How Will Your Insurance Broker Determine Who Is At Fault?

Even though your insurance broker deals with you, it doesn’t mean they won’t find out if you are at fault. After the accident, both insurance companies will use their fault determination rules to identify which person is at fault.

During the accident, anyone can be found at fault, the percentage ranging from 0 to 100 depending on how the accident occurred.

So your Insurance broker will be carrying out their separate investigation apart from the local authorities. However, they will only consider what they feel is correct when it comes to fault determination.

So do not assume that as the police found you not at fault, your insurance broker will pay the entire amount. They might see things differently and find places to blame you partially. So if they find out that you were partially to blame, they will only pay a portion of your claim.

Your insurance broker will refer to a document known as the “meat chart ” to determine the amount of money they will pay for different kinds of injuries. For example, after the accident, if you have a broken hand or leg, regardless of how severe the injury is, or even if you missed many days of work, you would receive the same amount.

Simply put, everyone with no fault insurance will receive the same reimbursement for a broken hand or leg, regardless of the pain and mental agony that you went through.

Benefits Of Having No Fault Insurance

Quick Payouts: As the fault doesn’t matter, you can quickly get the medical claims after the accident.
Broad Coverage: Other than your hospital and medical bills, no fault insurance in Alberta will also pay for household services and child care.
Few Lawsuits: Even though this is beneficial for your insurer’s image, as you won’t be filing any lawsuits. Moreover, they can save a lot on litigation and lawyer charges.

Why Are Most Albertans Against No Fault Auto Insurance?

Initially, no fault auto Insurance was introduced to make dealing with a car accident easier and much more cost-effective as both parties receive their payments from their insurance brokers. However, this is not the case, and it does not play out well for the victim.

Your insurance broker will investigate thoroughly and determine your percentage of fault in an accident. Therefore in most cases, the not-at-fault party or the victim does not get the entire reimbursement.

Initially, no fault auto Insurance was introduced to combat the high premium costs. However, according to reports, the system is one of the highest-cost auto Insurance jurisdictions.
No fault auto Insurance treats both the victim and the at-fault driver the same way. There is no accountability and personal responsibility for bad drivers.
No fault auto Insurance is also not favored by most hospitals and medical professionals as it does not support the best medical treatment for the injured person.
This new system will no longer settle insurance-related cases in the courts. However, a new body like Workers Compensation Board will be created, which will be monitored by private insurers.

How To Handle An Accident?

If you find yourself in an unfortunate accident, here’s how you can handle it.

Firstly you have to ensure that no one is injured on the scene. If the injury is severe, immediately call the police and the nearest hospital.
Next, you have to get in touch with your insurance broker and let them know about the accident as soon as possible.
You need to submit critical information like the time of the accident, the location, the model of each car, the vehicle’s license plate number, and the other drivers’ contact details.
You also need to submit pictures of any damages to each vehicle.
You can write it down or record the details of the accident on your phone while everything is fresh.
Once local authorities show up, ensure you get the details of the officer in charge.

Endnote

If you are worried about no fault insurance in Alberta affecting your insurance premiums and are not getting the proper reimbursement, you can always contact an online insurance brokerage.

They will help you out with the best interest rates available in the market.

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