Albertans still unclear about auto reforms. How brokers can help 

Most Albertans feel confident they’ve chosen the right auto insurance, but they remain largely in the dark about what changes are coming, Laurie Balfour, executive director of the Alberta Insurance Rate Board, told attendees of the Insurance Brokers Association of Alberta’s Convention 2025 in Banff, Alta. 

Sixty-nine per cent of Albertans are confident in their auto insurance purchase decisions. But only 28% said they’d heard about the province’s good driver rate cap, the insurance rate regulator’s latest annual consumer survey found. AIRB’s survey canvassed the views of more than 1,000 people, with 631 responding to an online survey and 369 answering a telephone survey.

“The low insurance literacy coupled with high confidence is a recipe for poor decision-making,” Balfour said. “We do think that there’s an opportunity here for the consumer to be more educated, to make a more confident decision, and make an informed choice. Especially when we’re going into the Care First [model], they’re going to have questions.” 

The current iteration of the good driver rate cap prohibits premium increases above 5% until 2027, when the government’s hybrid no-fault — or Care First — insurance model is set to come into place.

The government says about 80% of Alberta drivers are “good drivers,” essentially meaning they have no at-fault claims, no criminal code traffic convictions, and no major traffic convictions within specified timeframes. An additional 2.5% natural catastrophe surcharge is currently in effect until 2026. It is unclear whether it will be renewed. 

In previous iterations of the AIRB’s survey, only 28% of consumers had heard of Direct Compensation for Property Damage (DCPD), which Alberta adopted as a mandatory coverage in 2022. 

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“Albertans may not be purchasing the insurance that they need, or getting the coverage that they need,” Balfour said. 

Brokers  

With many still lacking a clear understanding of the current insurance system, that’s where brokers come in. But a segment of insureds aren’t reaching out to their brokers with questions. 

When Albertans were asked how they felt about their premiums, 35% said they were fair and reasonable in 2025. (Within the last 10 years, that figure was highest in 2017 at 61% and lowest in 2021 at 11% — around the time the previous government removed its rate pause).  

“We’ve been building back [sentiment] since, and we do have very high hopes for Care First to reduce the premiums for Albertans,” Balfour said.

But when asked if they’d reached out to their broker about why their premiums increased, only 53% answered affirmatively. And when asked if they were happy with their brokers’ response, only 58% said yes. 

Those figures have decreased from 79% and 85%, respectively, since 2021.  

“We’ve really been working with insurers over the last couple of years in order to get increased information and resources out to the customer and to the broker to explain what’s happening with the rating program, especially with those people who are excluded from the [good driver] rate cap,” said Balfour. “Because let’s face it, if you ask any Albertan if you’re a good driver, everyone puts up their hand, right? People forget that they had that accident four or five years ago, and it’s still following them on their auto insurance.” 

Albertans are also unaware of who regulates their auto insurance. The majority (80%) of respondents couldn’t identify AIRB. Guesses included other insurance companies like Aviva, Wawanesa, Hub International, or external parties like Blue Cross, Service Alberta, and even former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.  

“We improved [awareness] by 3% this year,” said Balfour, adding the average benchmark for growing awareness is 1% to 2% each year. 

Alyssa DiSabatino

Alyssa Di Sabatino has been a reporter for Canadian Underwriter since 2021, covering industry trends, market developments, and emerging risks.