Were you aware that all automobile policies in Canada include the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule? If you ever end up in a car accident and have an injury as a result, Statutory Accident Benefits make it possible for you to get access to financial support and healthcare.
However, if you don’t have all the information you want about the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule, you might not know what help you can get in this time of need.
This can be stressful, especially if you’ve recently gotten into a car accident.
Fortunately, in this article, we’ll cover everything you need to know about the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule, including what it is, what benefits are available, and more.
What Is the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule?
The Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule, which is also called SABS, is a type of no-fault insurance. It is part of automobile coverage that’s standard and is mandatory for anyone who gets an automobile insurance policy.
You can get specific benefits if you’ve been injured in a car accident, no matter whose fault it is that the accident occurred.
You can get coverage that pays for any health costs that aren’t covered by the government or OHIP so you can get assistance when recovering from your injury or injuries.
Additionally, you can get assistance with expenses that are related to income.
The Ontario Insurance Act regulates the benefits you get through this benefits schedule. As for the resolving of claims with the statutory accident benefits, AABS (the Automobile Accidents Benefits Services) does this.
Summarizing the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule
When it comes to the benefits you get through the benefits schedule for statutory accidents, they include attendant care, medical and rehabilitation, non-earner benefit, caregiver, income replacement, and death and funeral.
Attendant Care
If you need to hire long-term aid services after your statutory accident, these will be covered by the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule. For example, if you experience an injury that requires you to have aid long-term, you can receive this benefit.
Note that you can get this type of financial assistance whether the attendant care is being carried out in your home or at a healthcare facility.
For non-catastrophic injuries, this maximum amount of coverage is $65,000, and for catastrophic injuries, the maximum amount of coverage is $1 million.
Medical and Rehabilitation
Medical and rehabilitation benefits are also available if you end up in an accident with injuries and you’re covered by the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule. These benefits can include the coverage of physio, medication, hospital, surgical procedures, etc.
They can also include psychological treatment, occupational therapy, and chiropractic treatment.
Additionally, if OHIP doesn’t cover a treatment you need as a result of the car accident, this treatment might also be covered through SABS.
Note that if you have private disability insurance or benefits available through your workplace, these would cover the medical and rehabilitation costs first.
Then, once you used one or both of these providers, you would be able to use the SABS benefits to cover these types of costs.
For non-catastrophic injuries, you can get $65,000 for the coverage of attendant, rehabilitation, and medical care. For catastrophic injuries, this amount is $1,000,000.
Note that you can change these amounts to be higher with optional benefits.
Non-Earner Benefit
If your injuries make it impossible for you to have a normal lifestyle after your accident (for example, you end up with a disability), and you aren’t eligible for income replacement because you don’t qualify as a self-employed person or student, you may be eligible for the non-earner benefit.
Note that the test for proving that you can no longer have a normal lifestyle after your accident will be quite strict. Fort his reason, it may be smart to consult with a lawyer to ensure that you can receive the non-earner benefit.
Additionally, if you weren’t earning before, you may also be eligible for this benefit. The amount you would get through this benefit is $185 a week.
In terms of how long non-earner benefits last, new legislation has made it no longer the case that these benefits are payable for the entirety of your life as long as you kept qualifying.
This changed in June 2016, as laws regarding SABS changed significantly then.
Now, the maximum duration of receiving these benefits is 2 years. However, note that this has reduced the waiting period. It used to be 6 months and now it’s 4 weeks.
Caregiver
If you have catastrophic injuries that make it impossible for you to provide care that’s full-time to a dependent, you might qualify to get assistance paying for the cost of hiring help. This is what’s called the caregiver benefit.
Through the Caregiver Benefit, you can get a maximum of $200 every week for the first dependent. If you have additional dependents, you can get $50 every week for each dependent.
Note that this is only in the case of catastrophic injuries unless you extended the benefit to cover non-catastrophic ones.
Income Replacement
If you aren’t able to return to work because of the injuries you experienced after your accident, you can replace your lost income with this benefit. This can be helpful in assisting you in meeting your financial responsibilities until you’re able to return to work.
This benefit begins one week after the accident has occurred. It will cover 70% of your gross income, with a limit of $400 every week. However, it’s possible to increase this amount to $600, $800, or $1,000 a week.
Death and Funeral
Even though it is never planned, sometimes people meet their untimely demise when involved in a car accident. If this were to, unfortunately, occur to you, the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule would cover expenses related to your funeral.
The amount of this benefit, if you make close to or exactly $30,000, $45,000, or $60,000 a year, is $25,000 to your spouse and $10,000 to each of your dependents. As for the funeral, this amount is a maximum of $6,000.
However, with the optional benefits, you can make these amounts greater.
Catastrophic Impairment Benefits Under SABS
If you were to end up in a situation in which you suffered a catastrophic injury (paralysis, brain damage, loss of limb), because of an auto accident, you would be able to receive catastrophic impairment benefits under SABS.
In a situation such as this, you would receive a maximum of $1 million for the total coverage of attendant, rehab, and medical care. Note that there is a policy option where you can increase the maximum amount to $2 million.
How Do I Apply for SABS Benefits?
To apply for SABS benefits, you first have to let your insurer know, as soon as possible after the accident you’ve experienced, about any injuries you’ve experienced as a result of the accident. Then, your insurer will provide you with forms.
After you receive these forms, complete and return them to your insurer. In the car accident claim, you’ll apply for the SABS benefits.
SABS FAQs
In this section, we’ll cover the most frequently asked questions regarding the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule. If you have any additional questions about SABS, you’ll likely find the answers here, which will help you understand what to do if you end up injured in a car accident.
Usually, it’s your insurer who pays for the benefits provided through SABS. However, if you’re a pedestrian who was injured by being hit by a car, then you will file your claim, not with your insurer, but with the one that insures the vehicle that was the reason for your injuries.
The minor injury guideline is important to understand when you’re filing for benefits through SABS. If your injuries count as being minor, the cap for them is $3,500. If you’ve experienced strains, sprains, or whiplash, insurance companies might consider these to be minor injuries.
It can also help to know what types of impairments are covered by Catastrophic Impairment. These impairments include tetraplegia, paraplegia, severe impairment of the use of a leg or an arm, and severe impairment of the mobility that’s ambulatory of a leg or an arm.
Additionally, they include the amputation of a leg or an arm and the loss of vision in both eyes.
They also include a traumatic brain injury that causes lower moderate disability (a year or more after the accident has occurred) and lower severe or upper severe disability (six months at least after the accident).
Additionally, they include a traumatic brain injury that causes a vegetative state (a month after the accident or more).
They can also include impaired neurological functioning and a range of impairments that severely limit the person in terms of functioning.
Note that this is not an exhaustive list. To understand these impairments further, check out this information from BrookSide Psychologists, where you can learn more about other Catastrophic Impairment types.
When you get optional benefits through SABS, you’ll get a coverage amount that’s greater than what you get with a standard policy. Some of these include Attendant Care, Rehabilitation, and Medical benefits. You can also change the amount.
We’ve already discussed that you can increase your catastrophic injuries amount. Additionally, you can increase your non-catastrophic injuries amount so that it’s $130,000 instead of $65,000.
There is also the Housekeeping and Home Maintenances Expenses benefit. Usually, you only get this benefit if you’ve experienced Catastrophic Impairment.
However, if you choose to have it as an optional benefit even when you have not experienced Catastrophic Impairment, your recovery time can be a bit easier to deal with and the maintenance of your household will be easier.
You can also increase the coverage of the Death and Funeral benefits. In this case, you can make the coverage amount $8,000 for funeral expenses, $20,000 for an eligible dependent, and $50,000 for an eligible spouse.
You can also increase your Income Replacement Benefits. Instead of getting a maximum of $400 every week, you can get a maximum of $1,000 every week.
Through the Housekeeping and Home Maintenance Expenses Benefit, you can get a maximum of $100 every week if you have experienced a catastrophic impairment. However, you can extend this benefit to getting coverage in the case of non-catastrophic impairment.
If you’ve experienced pain and suffering, you can deduct a certain amount for court, which is awarded to you in compensation for that pain and suffering. This is called the Tort Deductible. The amount of this deductible is $36,905.40.
You have the option to reduce the deductible by an amount of $10,000. This is regardless of the annual indexation.
In Conclusion
Now that you understand the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule, you know what it is, what benefits there are, what catastrophic impairment is, how to apply for SABS benefits, and the answers to many of the FAQs related to SABS.
If you have any additional questions, we can help. At Insurdinary, we’re experts who know about insurance.
We’re also a financial comparison platform that can help you make these important financial decisions in your life, regarding insurance, credit cards, bank choices, and more.
To learn more about how we can help you, contact Insurdinary now.
