ALBERTA'S MINOR INJURY CAP

In 2004, the Alberta government introduced a piece of legislation called the Alberta Minor Injury Regulation, which placed a cap on the compensation available to an individual who sustained minor injuries in a motor vehicle accident (the “Cap”). This bold move was taken in an attempt to balance the rights of injured victims, with the increasing costs of providing and purchasing insurance. In the years prior to the introduction of the Cap, insurance companies lobbied the government for a change, arguing that, as a result of an increase in personal injury claims and subsequently, a spike in their costs to settle these claims, they had no choice but to increase insurance premiums. The insurance companies promised the government that by limiting the money that goes to injured Albertans by putting a cap on payouts for “minor injuries”, that they could reduce their own costs and consequently, lower insurance premiums to the general public. This scheme proved successful, and the Cap was created.

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