How will a personal injury claim affect my insurance?

If you’re injured in a motor vehicle accident or if someone else is injured in an accident involving your vehicle, filing a personal injury claim is often the next step. That part is usually clear.

What is not always clear is what happens to your car insurance afterward and you may be wondering: Will your insurance premium go up? The short answer is that it depends. Read on to learn when that could happen.

How insurers decide whether your premium changes

Insurance companies don’t increase premiums just because a claim exists. They adjust premiums when something changes about how risky you look to insure. After a personal injury claim, insurers usually look at:

• Were you at fault for the accident

• Was this your first accident or one of several

• How serious was the collision

• How recently did other claims happen

• Did the accident involve injuries, damage or both

• Do you have accident forgiveness or similar protection

Think of it less as a punishment and more as a reassessment. If the claim suggests a higher chance of future accidents, your premium will likely go up. If it doesn’t, it often stays the same. Even if there is a change, it typically doesn’t happen right away. It will usually appear at your next renewal.

How personal injury claims affect auto insurance across Canada

Canada doesn’t have one single auto insurance system, but when it comes to injury claims, the basic structure is still similar. Generally, if you have accident benefits coverage, your own insurer pays you after an injury, regardless of who caused the crash. This means that filing an injury claim usually won’t raise your premium because you’re accessing the benefits your policy is meant to provide. Where provinces actually differ is in:

• How injury coverage is structured

• Whether it is public or private

• Whether it is mandatory

• How fault and claims are handled in practice

Ontario

In Ontario, statutory accident benefits coverage is mandatory in every auto insurance policy. These benefits are paid regardless of fault through the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule and that doesn’t automatically affect your premium. What matters more is whether you’re found at fault. The province uses its Fault Determination Rules to decide who is responsible after a crash. These rules cover common car accident situations like rear-end collisions, left turns, lane changes and parking lot accidents.

Under these rules, fault isn’t black or white. You can also be found partly responsible. When that happens, the accident still shows up on your record and it can still affect your premium. If you’re not at fault, an injury claim usually won’t change your rates. If you are even partly at fault, you’re more likely to see an increase at renewal unless you have accident forgiveness coverage and it was your first at-fault accident.

Alberta

In Alberta, your accident benefits are also paid through your own insurer, much like in Ontario. This means that filing an accident benefits claim usually won’t raise your premium because you’re accessing the benefits your policy is meant to provide, regardless of who caused the crash.

Fault itself is usually pieced together from things like the police report, what witnesses say, any photos or dashcam video and the damage to the vehicles. If you weren’t at fault, an injury claim usually does not change your premium. If you were at fault, it usually does.

British Columbia

British Columbia runs auto insurance through a public system run by the ICBC and uses a no-fault system for injuries. This means injury benefits are paid no matter who caused the crash. Because of that, filing an injury claim on its own won’t affect your premium. That will depend on how the ICBC determines fault for the accident.

Some drivers can also repay certain claims to reduce the long-term impact on their insurance rates, but this is typically an option for crashes that didn’t involve injuries or major damage.

Québec

In Québec, injury claims are handled through a public system run by the SAAQ. That means injury benefits don’t go through your private insurance provider, so they don’t affect your private insurance premium. This is because private insurers in Quebec only look at whether you caused damage to another vehicle or property.

Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador is the only province where accident benefits coverage (sometimes called Section B) is not mandatory. Instead, you can choose if you want them or not. If you add them, your insurer pays your injury benefits after a crash. If you don’t, you would have to rely on the at-fault driver’s liability insurance or pay for your own injuries and disability out of pocket.

At fault vs. not at fault

After an accident, insurance companies typically investigate what happened to assign fault and that usually determines whether your premium will increase. Let's compare:

An at-fault or partially at-fault accident can follow you and affect your rates for several years. Some insurers will look back as far as six years when deciding your premium. Unless you have accident forgiveness.

Accident forgiveness

Many policies have the option to include accident forgiveness coverage as an add-on. Accident forgiveness means your first at-fault accident won’t automatically lead to higher premiums. However, it doesn’t erase the accident from your record. It just stops it from being used against you for pricing as long as you stay with the same insurer.

Upcoming changes in Ontario and Alberta

Both the Ontario and Alberta governments have been reviewing how their auto insurance systems handle injury claims, mainly to control costs and spell out more clearly what benefits people can expect after a crash. Here's what you should know:

Ontario

Ontario is changing which accident benefits are included by default in auto insurance. Right now, many supports are automatically part of your accident benefits coverage. Starting July 1, 2026, only medical costs, rehabilitation expenses and attendant care benefits will remain mandatory coverage.

Other injury benefits, like income replacement benefits, caregiver support and non-earner benefits, will become optional coverage and you will need to add them to your policy. If you decide not to, you may end up with less financial support after a crash. This may lead to more people relying on lawsuits to recover what they have lost, which could push damage awards higher.

Alberta

Alberta passed new legislation in 2025 to reshape how injury claims are handled, with changes scheduled to take effect in 2027. The core structure will stay familiar. Injury benefits will still be paid through your own insurer and fault will still be used when setting premiums.

What will change is how injuries are compensated and (hopefully) how often claims turn into lawsuits. Alberta currently leads the country in lawsuits and legal fees for bodily injury claims. The new Care-First model is designed to move more injury recovery into the benefits system, set clearer limits on what is paid and reduce the role of legal disputes for many types of injuries.

When should you file an injury claim?

If injuries are serious, filing a claim is almost always the right move. Injury costs can become very high, very quickly. Accident benefits can help cover things like medical treatment, rehabilitation and income replacement. If the damage is minor and you were at fault, it can be worth asking:

• Can I pay for this myself?

• Will my premium increase and by how much?

• Do I have accident forgiveness?

• Am I allowed to repay the claim later?

If you file several at-fault claims close together, it can make your insurance coverage a lot more expensive. It may also lead to non-renewal or even the cancellation of your insurance policy. A BrokerLink broker can help you think through your options before you decide.

When injury claims turn into lawsuits

Most injury claims never turn into lawsuits. They are handled through no-fault benefits or public systems and they end there. Sometimes, though, a person who is seriously injured chooses to file a tort claim against the driver who caused the crash. But you can only bring one if you were not fully responsible for the accident. From an insurance point of view, a tort claim means more cost and more risk. For the at-fault driver, it can mean the claim:

• Stays on their record longer

• Is treated as more serious

• Is more likely to affect future premiums

• May affect whether their insurer renews their policy

This won’t change how fault is assigned and it doesn’t mean every lawsuit leads to higher rates. It simply reflects how insurance providers tend to respond when a claim turns into a drawn-out legal fight instead of a regular insurance claim.

Three things people often misunderstand about injury claims and insurance

After an accident, people often assume the worst about what will happen to their insurance. Let’s clear some of these up:

Filing an injury claim does not automatically raise your premium

Many people avoid filing a claim because they assume their insurance will go up just for asking for help. In most cases, that’s not actually how it works. What usually affects your premium is whether you were found at fault for the accident, not whether you were injured or needed care.

No-fault systems do not mean nobody is responsible

No-fault systems change how claims are paid, not how responsibility is assigned. Insurers still decide who caused the crash and that decision is what affects your driving record and future rates.

Most injury claims do not involve lawsuits

The vast majority of injury claims are handled through accident benefits or public systems and never involve legal action. Lawsuits tend to arise only in more serious or disputed cases. For most people, it means paperwork and follow-ups, not lawyers and courtrooms.

Contact BrokerLink today

If you’ve been in an accident and you’re unsure what a claim might mean for you, reach out to BrokerLink. Our licensed brokers can review your policy, explain your options and help you understand any possible long-term impact before you decide what to do. We can even walk you through the claims process to cancel a personal injury claim.

You can reach us by phone, email or in person at any one of our locations throughout Canada. And if you’re also in the market for car insurance, don’t hesitate to take advantage of our free online quote tool, which can provide you with a competitive quote in minutes.

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Disclaimer: This article is for general information only. How a personal injury claim affects your insurance will depend on your own circumstances. For personalized advice, please speak with a licensed insurance broker or personal injury lawyer in your province.