BrokerExamOn July 1, 2026, O. Reg. 383/24 rewrote how Ontario’s Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule (SABS, O. Reg. 34/10) applies to every auto policy in the province. Benefits that every policy used to include automatically are now optional coverages the customer must choose to buy. RIBO’s guidance of December 2, 2025 confirms the changes reach all new and existing customers as of that date, not just policies coming up for renewal.
What became optional
Under s. 2 (1.0.1) of the SABS, the benefits in Parts II, IV, V and VI “shall be offered as optional benefits under every contract evidenced by a motor vehicle liability policy entered into or renewed on or after July 1, 2026.” Four groups of benefits are now offered as optional coverages:
- Income replacement, non-earner and caregiver benefits (Part II). Under the new s. 4.1, every insurer must offer these as optional benefits, and the rules in Part II apply only if the customer buys them.
- Payment of other expenses (Part IV): lost educational expenses, visitors’ expenses, housekeeping and home maintenance, and damage to clothing, glasses and hearing aids.
- Death and funeral benefits (Part V).
- The additional optional benefits (Part VI), which were already optional before the reform.
What stayed mandatory
Medical, rehabilitation and attendant care benefits (Part III) remain part of every policy. The monetary limits in s. 18 are unchanged by the reform: $3,500 where the impairment is predominantly a minor injury, $65,000 for medical, rehabilitation and attendant care combined outside the minor-injury limit, and $1,000,000 where the person sustained a catastrophic impairment. Each limit is stated plus applicable HST for accidents occurring on or after June 3, 2019, with amounts paid under the Minor Injury Guideline deducted from the $3,500.
RIBO’s guidance of December 2, 2025 also confirms a payment-order change: insurers are the first payor for medical and rehabilitation expenses, excluding medication, as of July 1, 2026. Before the reform, extended health plans paid first and the auto insurer covered the remainder.
The transition rules
Three transition rules in s. 2 of the SABS matter for anyone advising a customer, and all three turn on the July 1, 2026 date:
- Renewals carry existing coverage forward. Under s. 2 (1.0.2), a policy renewed on or after July 1, 2026 keeps the benefits it had, deemed to continue as optional benefits in the amounts previously payable, unless the named insured and the insurer agree in writing to decline or change them. Nobody loses coverage at renewal by silence.
- Customers can change mid-term. Under s. 2 (1.0.3), a named insured and an insurer may agree in writing to change optional benefits on a policy entered into before July 1, 2026, and the December 2, 2025 guidance confirms customers can opt out of optional coverages at any time after that date.
- The covered group narrowed. Under s. 2 (1.0.4), the optional benefits apply only to the named insured, their spouse, the dependants of either, and the persons specified in the policy as drivers. Before the reform, accident benefits followed a wider definition of insured person. This applies to all policies on July 1, 2026, irrespective of renewal date.
Is the reform on the Level 1 exam?
RIBO has not published whether the reformed SABS is graded exam content, and its Level 1 exam page does not mention accident benefits at all. The exam does carry 15 unscored pilot questions alongside the 100 graded ones (RIBO’s exam page states this), so new material can appear in a sitting without counting toward the grade.
The Consolidated Examinee Resource, which RIBO publishes “for the convenience of examinees during the exam”, is post-reform. As of August 31, 2026, the edition RIBO serves is dated May 1, 2026 inside the document, and its OAP 1 carries the optional-benefits framing with the July 1, 2026 language. If you are studying accident benefits, study the reformed version. An older study note that treats income replacement or death benefits as automatic coverage describes the law as it stood before July 1, 2026.
The full reformed text is on this site at O. Reg. 34/10, the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule, with the transition rules in s. 2 and the optional-benefits rule in s. 4.1.
Where this shows up in practice questions
The personal auto practice section tests accident benefits against the reformed schedule, with each question citing the provision it turns on: mandatory medical and rehabilitation coverage on one side, optional income replacement on the other.