SABS
The Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule, the Ontario regulation governing first-party accident benefits paid by an injured driver’s own insurer.
What it means in practice.
SABS sits alongside the tort claim against the at-fault driver. Ontario also imposes statutory deductibles on non-pecuniary tort awards below threshold amounts.
SABS is Ontario’s Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule, O. Reg. 34/10 under the Insurance Act. It sets the benefits an injured person claims from their own car insurer after a crash, whoever was at fault, alongside any lawsuit against the other driver.
Medical, rehabilitation and attendant care benefits have fixed limits. An impairment that is predominantly a minor injury is capped at $3,500 for medical and rehabilitation benefits; most other injuries share a $65,000 limit; a catastrophic impairment raises it to $1,000,000.
The Schedule changed on 1 July 2026. For policies entered into or renewed from that date, income replacement, non-earner and caregiver benefits, other expenses, and death and funeral benefits must be offered as optional benefits. A renewed policy keeps its previous amounts unless the named insured agrees in writing to change them.
How it works, step by step.
| Benefit | What the Schedule says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Minor injury | Medical and rehabilitation benefits capped at $3,500, plus HST for accidents from 3 June 2019. | O. Reg. 34/10, s. 18(1) |
| Other injuries | Medical, rehabilitation and attendant care benefits together capped at $65,000 per accident, plus HST. | O. Reg. 34/10, s. 18(3)(a) |
| Catastrophic impairment | The combined limit rises to $1,000,000, plus HST. | O. Reg. 34/10, s. 18(3)(b) |
| Income replacement | The weekly base amount starts from 70% of gross weekly employment and self-employment income; the benefit is the lesser of that base and the amount fixed by the optional benefit. | O. Reg. 34/10, s. 7 |
| From 1 July 2026 | Parts II, IV, V and VI (income replacement, non-earner, caregiver, other expenses, death and funeral, optional benefits) must be offered as optional benefits. | O. Reg. 34/10, s. 2(1.0.1), as amended by O. Reg. 383/24 |
| Who the optional benefits cover | Only the named insured, their spouse, the dependants of either, and drivers listed in the policy. | O. Reg. 34/10, s. 4.1(2) |
A worked example.
A policy renewed after 1 July 2026
- Income replacement, non-earner, caregiver
- Continue as optional benefits at the previous amounts, unless declined or changed in writing
- Other expenses, death and funeral
- Same rule: optional, previous amounts continue
- Medical and rehabilitation, minor injury
- $3,500 plus HST
- Medical, rehabilitation and attendant care
- $65,000 plus HST; $1,000,000 if catastrophic
- People covered by optional benefits
- Named insured, spouse, dependants, listed drivers
A passenger or pedestrian who is none of those people cannot rely on the named insured’s optional benefits after 1 July 2026, so checking whose policy applies matters more than it did.
O. Reg. 34/10, Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule (current to 25 September 2026)