Care First Auto Insurance and Bill 27: What Changes in 2027

Alberta will move to a Care First automobile insurance system on January 1, 2027. The core legal framework was established through the Automobile Insurance Act, formerly Bill 47, which received royal assent in 2025. In 2026, the Financial Statutes Amendment Act, formerly Bill 27, amended that framework by clarifying benefit entitlements, authorizing a Program of Care and an electronic data platform, refining dispute and tribunal rules, and making related changes to the Insurance Act.

The new system changes how injury claims are organized. Enhanced medical, rehabilitation, income support, and permanent impairment benefits are intended to be available without requiring an injured person to first pursue a conventional tort claim. The legislation also limits the circumstances in which an injured person can sue an at fault driver for bodily injury, while creating internal review and tribunal processes for disputes about benefits and treatment.

Insurers, health care practitioners, brokers, employers, and injured Albertans are preparing for new forms, care pathways, decision processes, and benefit structures. The transition is significant because Care First changes both the benefits available after a collision and the route through which disagreements are resolved. The government has described lower premiums and faster access to care as policy objectives, but those objectives are not the same thing as a guaranteed outcome in every claim or policy renewal.

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