Care-First Alberta: Who Saves and Who Pays More in 2027
Care-First replaces Alberta’s court-based auto insurance system on 1 January 2027. The approved rate filings are now public, and they are not uniform. Private passenger premiums fall 13.7% on average, about $297 a year. Motorcycle premiums roughly double. Roughly one in ten private passenger drivers will see an increase rather than a decrease, partly because the Grid rating cap disappears at the same time. Your policy switches automatically; you do not need to do anything, but some drivers should shop before renewal.
Most coverage of Care-First stops at the government’s headline: better benefits, average savings of a few hundred dollars. That was a projection. In September 2026 the Alberta Automobile Insurance Rate Board published what insurers actually filed and the Board actually approved, class by class. This article works from those numbers.
What Care-First is
Alberta currently runs a tort system. You carry accident benefits through your own insurer, capped at $50,000 for medical and rehabilitation over two years, and if someone else caused your injuries you sue them for anything beyond that.
Care-First replaces that. The Automobile Insurance Act passed third reading in May 2025 and applies to collisions on or after 1 January 2027. From that date, benefits are paid by your own insurer regardless of fault, and most tort actions for bodily injury are barred.
The benefits are genuinely substantial. Medical and rehabilitation treatment becomes unlimited for as long as it supports recovery, replacing a cap of roughly 10 to 21 visits for common injuries. Income replacement runs up to $125,000 a year until retirement age. A permanent impairment benefit reaches $295,000, and a spousal death benefit up to $600,000. Everyone injured in a collision is covered, including at-fault drivers, pedestrians and cyclists, which the current system does not do.
What you give up
This is the part the government material moves past quickly, and you should understand it before January.
The right to sue narrows sharply. Under Care-First you can bring an action only in defined circumstances — principally where the at-fault driver is convicted of a serious offence such as impaired driving, dangerous operation, or fleeing police — or where your losses exceed what the policy pays.
Disputes about your benefits no longer go to court. They go to a new Alberta Automobile Care-First Tribunal, which is funded by insurers, cannot award costs, and whose decisions are final except on judicial review.
Alberta’s civil trial lawyers have opposed the model on exactly these grounds, arguing it transfers decision-making power to insurers while removing the court as a check. The government’s position is that litigation consumed money that should have gone to care, and that defined benefits paid within weeks beat an uncertain settlement years later. Both of those things can be true at once. Which matters more to you depends on whether you expect to be seriously injured and disputed, or lightly injured and treated.
What actually happens to your premium
Insurers could not price Care-First from experience, because there is none. The AIRB commissioned an independent actuarial costing from Oliver Wyman, turned it into mandatory benchmarks, and required every insurer to file average premiums at or below them. Here is what came back, approved.
| Vehicle class | Insured vehicles | Average change | Average dollars |
|---|---|---|---|
| Private passenger | 3,131,133 | −13.7% | −$297 |
| All-terrain and off-road | 164,014 | −24.2% | −$62 |
| Motorhomes | 29,543 | −14.8% | −$102 |
| Taxis and limousines | 969 | −4.5% | −$621 |
| Trailers | 38,977 | −4.7% | −$11 |
| Commercial and interurban | 310,419 | −3.1% | −$56 |
| Antique and collector | 55,078 | +10.7% | +$41 |
| Snow vehicles | 58,158 | +12.5% | +$33 |
| Service and public vehicles | 1,866 | +59.9% | +$1,104 |
| Motorcycles and mopeds | 166,317 | +100.1% | +$445 |
Private passenger vehicles are 3.1 million of roughly 4.1 million insured vehicles in the province, so most Albertans sit in the top row. Within that class, 88.2% see a decrease, 2.0% see no change, and 9.8% see an increase.
Why motorcycles double
Motorcycle premiums in Alberta are low today because they are priced mainly on the damage a rider does to other people, which is not much. The average Alberta motorcycle premium in 2025 was $412, with just $80 of that for accident benefits.
Care-First prices the care the rider receives. Motorcycle collisions produce serious injuries far more often than car collisions, so unlimited treatment and income replacement cost considerably more to provide. More than 90% of motorcycle policies are expected to rise by over 50%.
For context, the AIRB notes Ontario riders already pay around $1,050 for comparable accident benefits, so Alberta’s post-reform average of roughly $634 still sits below Ontario’s. That is accurate, and it will not feel like much comfort on a renewal notice that has doubled.
The Grid repeal, which is a separate change
The Grid has capped the maximum price for mandatory coverage since 2004, intended to protect new and inexperienced drivers. It disappears alongside Care-First.
It had drifted from its purpose: 51% of Grid-rated drivers were experienced drivers with at least ten years behind the wheel, being subsidised by everyone else. With Care-First cutting the bodily injury costs that drove Grid pricing, the government’s view is the cap is no longer needed.
The practical consequence is that if the Grid has been capping your premium, it stops. Your price will reflect your insurer’s own rating of you. For a minority of drivers — those with higher expected care costs who were also significantly subsidised — that can mean an increase of more than $500, even while the class average falls.
The AIRB’s own answer to this is worth quoting in substance rather than paraphrase, because it is unusual advice from a regulator: drivers facing an increase are unlikely to be with the cheapest insurer, and should shop the market. Removing the Grid makes insurer pricing differences visible for the first time, which is precisely what makes shopping worthwhile.
What you need to do
Nothing, procedurally. Every Alberta policy converts automatically on 1 January 2027, including mid-term policies that have not reached renewal. Any collision on or after that date is handled under Care-First regardless of when your policy was written.
What is worth doing:
- Check which class you are in. If you insure a motorcycle, a snowmobile, an antique vehicle or a private bus, budget for an increase now rather than discovering it at renewal.
- Find out whether the Grid has been capping you. Your broker can tell you. If it has, your January price is an open question and comparison matters more than usual.
- Re-examine optional coverage. Care-First does not change collision, comprehensive or your liability limit — insurers were barred from altering those in the implementation filing. Those are still your decisions.
- Compare at your first post-January renewal. The reform resets every insurer’s pricing simultaneously, which is the rarest condition in insurance: the cheapest insurer for you before January may not be the cheapest after.
Where a broker helps here
This transition produces an unusual amount of dispersion. Two insurers applying the same mandated benchmarks to different books of business will land on different prices for the same driver, and the Grid’s removal widens that spread further.
Aaxel Insurance Brokers is a RIBO and AIC-licensed independent brokerage with branches in Calgary and Edmonton, and we place Alberta auto across a panel of insurers rather than one. If your renewal falls in the first quarter of 2027, that is the one worth putting through the market. Request a call back or call 1-866-358-2860.
Frequently asked questions
1. What is Care-First auto insurance? Alberta’s new auto insurance system, starting 1 January 2027. It replaces the court-based tort model with defined benefits paid by your own insurer regardless of fault, and bars most lawsuits for bodily injury.
2. When does Care-First start? 1 January 2027. It applies to collisions on or after that date, whatever date your policy was written.
3. Do I need to do anything before January? No. Every Alberta policy converts automatically, including mid-term policies. You will see the premium change at your next renewal.
4. Will my premium go down? For most drivers, yes. Approved filings put private passenger vehicles at an average 13.7% reduction, about $297. Within that class 88.2% of vehicles see a decrease, but 9.8% see an increase.
5. Why did my motorcycle premium double? Motorcycle rates were low because they were priced on damage to others. Care-First prices the care the rider receives, and motorcycle collisions cause serious injuries far more often. The approved average increase is 100.1%, or $445.
6. Can I still sue after a collision? Only in limited cases — principally where the at-fault driver is convicted of a serious offence such as impaired driving, dangerous operation or fleeing police, or where your losses exceed what the policy pays. The broad right to sue for bodily injury ends.
7. What happens if my insurer denies my treatment? Disputes go to the Alberta Automobile Care-First Tribunal rather than the courts. It is funded by insurers, cannot award costs, and its decisions are final subject to judicial review.
8. What benefits does Care-First provide? Unlimited medical and rehabilitation treatment for as long as it supports recovery, income replacement up to $125,000 a year until retirement, a permanent impairment benefit up to $295,000, and a spousal death benefit up to $600,000.
9. Does fault still matter? Yes, for pricing. At-fault collisions and convictions still go on your record and still raise your premium. Fault no longer determines whether you receive benefits.
10. What is the Grid and why does it matter? A cap on the maximum price for mandatory coverage, in place since 2004. It is repealed alongside Care-First. If it was capping your premium, your price will now reflect your insurer’s own rating, which can mean an increase even though the class average falls.
11. Will Care-First cover me as a pedestrian or cyclist? Yes. Everyone injured in an auto collision receives benefits, including pedestrians, cyclists and at-fault drivers — a group the current system largely leaves out.
12. Does Care-First change my collision or comprehensive coverage? No. Insurers were not permitted to change those coverages in the Care-First implementation filing. Your liability limit and deductibles remain your own decisions.
Sources
Every figure in the draft traces to one of these, all opened and read rather than taken from a snippet. For a YMYL financial topic a visible source list is one of the strongest trust signals available, and here it is also the article’s main competitive advantage — nobody else is citing the approved filings.
| Source | What it supports | Date |
|---|---|---|
| AIRB Care-First Consumer Premium Impact Report | Every number in the premium table, the 88.2/9.8% split, the Grid analysis, motorcycle and Ontario comparison | 8 Sep 2026 |
| Alberta.ca — Care-First auto insurance | Benefit amounts, right-to-sue exceptions, current-system comparison | 21 Sep 2026 |
| AIRB — Alberta’s auto insurance system | Tort vs Care-First mechanics, automatic conversion, how to prepare | 17 Sep 2026 |
| Alberta.ca — Enabling better auto insurance | The Tribunal, Automobile Insurance Act provisions | — |
Disclaimer
This article explains Alberta’s Care-First auto insurance system as set out in published government and AIRB material as of October 2026. Regulations and guidance continue to be issued ahead of the 1 January 2027 launch; verify current details with the AIRB or the Government of Alberta. Premium figures are class averages from approved rate filings, not quotes — your own premium depends on your insurer, vehicle, coverage and driving record. This is general information, not legal or insurance advice.
