Ontario Auto Insurance Changed Today. Here's What It Means If You're a Private Client.
July 1, 2026 — the day the SABS reforms take effect — is also the right moment to ask whether your coverage was actually built for your life.
READING TIME: 5 Minutes
BRAMPTON, ON - Today is Canada Day.
It is also the day Ontario's auto insurance system changed in a way that most drivers won't fully understand until they need to make a claim.
As of July 1, 2026, the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule — the framework that governs what every Ontario auto policy must cover if you're injured in a collision — has been restructured. Some benefits that were previously automatic are now optional. Some coverage that drivers assumed they had needs to be actively chosen and added.
For the average Ontario driver, this warrants a conversation at renewal.
For a private client — an entrepreneur, a business owner, an executive, a high-income professional with significant assets and complex financial obligations — it warrants a different conversation entirely.
What Changed Today
The core of the reform is a shift in how accident benefits are structured. Certain benefits that previously came standard in every Ontario auto policy now require a deliberate decision at renewal.
The benefits that remain mandatory in every policy include medical and rehabilitation coverage and attendant care — the foundation of what responds if you're seriously injured. That baseline stays in place.
What has moved into the optional column includes income replacement, caregiver benefits, housekeeping and home maintenance, non-earner benefits, death and funeral benefits, and dependant care. Each of these requires an active selection and an additional premium.
There is also a meaningful change in how coverage applies. Optional accident benefits under the new structure will generally cover only the named insured, their spouse, dependants, and listed drivers on the policy. If someone is driving a vehicle and isn't listed on the policy in the right way, the optional benefits they assumed they had may not respond.
For the full breakdown of every benefit category and what moved where, Maverick's SABS 2026 guide covers it in detail at maverickinsurance.ca/sabs-2026
“The reform itself isn't alarming — the framework is still there and the core benefits remain. What concerns me is that most people won't notice what changed until they're in a claim situation and find out that a benefit they assumed was automatic wasn't actually in place. That's the conversation I want to have before renewal, not after an accident."
— Bram Bains, Maverick Insurance Brokers
Why the Private Client Picture Is Different
The general consumer conversation around this reform focuses on income replacement and caregiver benefits — the basics of financial survival after a serious injury. That conversation matters. But for a private client, the stakes look different and the gaps are in different places.
Income replacement at $400 to $1,000 per week was never designed for a high-income household.
The standard income replacement benefit tops out at $1,000 per week. For a business owner generating significantly more than that, or an executive with a compensation structure that includes bonuses, equity, and other income beyond base salary, $1,000 per week is not true income replacement. It's a gesture.
The right response for a private client is a combination of robust long-term disability coverage through a separate policy and a clear understanding of what the auto policy does and doesn't do in that scenario. Maverick works alongside trusted life and disability specialists within our network who can review those gaps and make recommendations — if that conversation hasn't happened recently, this is the right moment to have it. Reach out and we'll bring the right person to the table.
Liability — not accident benefits — is the primary exposure for most private clients.
The accident benefits conversation is important. But the more consequential conversation for a high-net-worth household has always been on the liability side. If you're involved in a serious accident and someone is severely injured, the claim against you is what keeps going long after your own recovery is complete.
Today's reform is a useful reminder to look at the full auto policy picture — and for private clients, that means starting with third-party liability limits and excess liability coverage, not just the accident benefits schedule.
The Chubb 2025 Wealth Report found that 81% of high-net-worth individuals carry no excess liability insurance. 68% are concerned about the size of a verdict against them. The SABS reform doesn't change those numbers, but it creates a natural moment to have the conversation that addresses them.
“Every private client I work with has a liability conversation waiting to happen. The accident benefits reform gives us a natural opening to review the full auto picture — not just what changed on July 1, but whether the underlying liability structure was adequate to begin with. For most households, it's both conversations at once."
— Bram Bains, Maverick Insurance Brokers
Optional benefits now apply only to listed individuals — and private clients have more complexity here.
Many private client households have vehicles in corporate names, household staff who occasionally drive, adult children on the policy, or multiple vehicles across different structures. The new restriction on who optional benefits apply to makes it more important than ever to confirm that the right people are listed in the right way on the right policies.
A vehicle in a corporate name insuring a personal driver. An adult child who comes home for the summer. A household employee who uses a vehicle for errands. Each of these has always required careful structuring. The reform tightens the rules around who benefits apply to and makes that structuring more consequential.
What Private Clients Should Be Asking Right Now
The timing of this reform — effective on the same day policies renew across the province — means many people will encounter the new structure at their next renewal without a full understanding of what changed.
Here are the right questions to raise before that conversation happens:
What optional benefits are currently on my policy and what has dropped off?
Don't assume the policy that renewed this year looks the same as last year. Ask specifically which benefits are now listed as optional and whether they were added or removed.
Is my income replacement benefit actually calibrated to my income?
If you have one, what is the weekly limit and does it reflect what you actually earn? If you don't have disability coverage elsewhere, this matters significantly.
Do you have personal disability or life coverage outside of your group benefits plan?
Group plans have limits and they don't follow you if you change employers or exit a business. For private clients with significant income and financial obligations, a standalone disability or life policy is worth a separate review. Reach out and we'll bring the right person to the table.
What is my current third-party liability limit?
For a private client, $1 million or $2 million is a starting point, not a destination. The right number for a high-net-worth household is a conversation with a private client advisor, not defaulting to the standard policy limits.
Do I have excess liability coverage above my auto and home policy limits?
If the answer is no, that is the most important gap to close — regardless of what the SABS reform changed.
Are all drivers on my policy listed correctly?
Given that optional benefits now apply only to listed individuals, confirming who is on the policy and how they're listed is not an administrative detail. It's a coverage decision.
The Broader Picture
Ontario's auto insurance system has always been complex. Today's reform adds a layer of optionality that puts more responsibility on the individual driver — and by extension, on their advisor — to build a policy that actually reflects their life.
For a private client, the difference between a policy that was built deliberately and one that was renewed on autopilot is measurable. It shows up at claim time, in the limits that respond and the benefits that don't.
“Today is the right day to make a call. Not because the sky is falling — it isn't. But because the system just changed, and the clients who review their coverage now will be in a meaningfully different position than those who find out what changed after they need it."
— Bram Bains, Maverick Insurance Brokers
Further Reading
These pieces from the Maverick Insights library go deeper on the conversations this reform opens up:
On liability and what your limits actually protect:
The Liability Conversation Most Private Clients Haven't Had — Most private client households are carrying $1 million or $2 million in liability. Here's why that number deserves a closer look.
On the coverage that protects your household beyond the standard policy:
The Coverage Most Successful Families Don't Know They're Missing — Chubb Family Protection and Intact Prestige Guard exist for the risks nobody wants to talk about — until they have to.
On what a private client advisor actually does differently:
What a Private Client Advisor Actually Does — The difference between a policy that was built around your life and one that was renewed on autopilot.
The full SABS 2026 breakdown:
maverickinsurance.ca/sabs-2026 — Every benefit category, what changed, and what to review before your next renewal.
This article is for informational purposes and does not constitute legal or insurance advice. Coverage options vary by insurer and are subject to review by the carrier claims team upon activation. Speak with a licensed broker to review your specific policy and circumstances.\
About Maverick Insurance Brokers
Maverick Insurance Brokers is an independent private client advisory based in Brampton, Ontario. Founded by Bram Bains, Maverick serves entrepreneurs, business families, and community leaders across Ontario — providing direct access to a trusted advisor across home, auto, high-value assets, and commercial insurance. Maverick is a member of the MIB Broker Distribution Network and an official partner of the Brampton Honey Badgers (CEBL).
Maverick works with Canada's leading private client carriers — including Chubb and Intact Prestige— to deliver insurance programs built around the assets, lifestyle, and risk profile of each client.
Maverick Insurance Brokers has been recognized by Insurance Business Canada and Canadian Underwriter as a voice in the private client advisory space in Ontario.
for more information visit - maverickinsurance.ca
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