Car Insurance in Alberta: Coverage Rules, the Grid and the Care-First Reform

Alberta has a private, competitive car insurance market: any licensed insurer can sell every part of your policy. The province regulates prices more closely than most private markets, through the Grid Rating Program, which caps premiums for basic coverage, and the Automobile Insurance Rate Board (AIRB), which reviews insurers’ rates. On January 1, 2027, Alberta moves to the Care-First system and the Grid is repealed. This page explains the current rules, what the reform changes and the Alberta-specific risk that shapes most policies, hail. For how Alberta compares with other provinces, see average car insurance by province and the rest of our car insurance guides.

How the Alberta market works

For 2026, rate increases for good drivers who qualify are capped at 7.5%: a 5% cap plus a 2.5% rider for natural-disaster costs (Government of Alberta). For the cap, a good driver has no recent at-fault accident or Criminal Code, major or minor traffic conviction.

Mandatory coverage

Every registered vehicle in Alberta must carry at least $200,000 of third-party liability, direct compensation for property damage and Section B accident benefits. A serious injury claim can exceed the minimum, which is why many drivers buy a higher liability limit.

Section B accident benefits

These are the benefits until Care-First starts.

The Grid Rating Program (repealed January 1, 2027)

The Grid sets the most an insurer can charge for basic coverage. How it works, according to the AIRB:

• The Grid applies only to basic coverage: third-party liability (bodily injury & property damage tort), accident benefits, and direct compensation property damage (DCPD).
• The AIRB sets the rates for third-party liability and accident benefits, and the insurer sets the rate for DCPD.
• Insurers must compare their own rate for basic coverage with the Grid rate and charge the lower of the two.
• Drivers with serious records (such as several recent at-fault claims, a Criminal Code conviction or auto insurance fraud) can be charged the Grid rate instead of a lower rate.
• A small share of Alberta drivers are Grid-rated, mostly new and less experienced drivers.
• New drivers who have taken driver training start at Grid step -2, 10% below the base rate.
• Each year a Grid-rated driver goes without an at-fault claim in third-party liability coverage, the rate falls by 5%, down to a maximum of 60% below the base rate.
• Each at-fault claim raises a Grid-rated driver's rate by 5 steps, and convictions and at-fault claims also bring surcharges.
• The Grid is repealed effective January 1, 2027, with no replacement.

The AIRB publishes a Grid rate calculator.

Because one at-fault claim undoes several claim-free years, some Alberta drivers pay for minor damage themselves rather than claim.

The Care-First reform

The Alberta government announced on November 21, 2024 that the Grid would be repealed, as part of the move to the Care-First system. The Automobile Insurance Act (Bill 47) received royal assent on May 15, 2025, and Care-First starts on January 1, 2027.

Anyone renewing close to or after January 1, 2027 can confirm with their insurer which system applies to their policy.

Optional coverage and hail

Collision and comprehensive are optional unless the car is financed or leased. In Alberta, comprehensive carries extra weight because it pays for hail damage and collision does not. The difference between the two is explained in collision vs comprehensive insurance.

Under Alberta’s standard owner’s policy:

• Theft is covered by comprehensive, specified perils or all perils coverage.
• Collision or upset coverage pays only for a collision with another object or an upset, not for hail or theft.
• The deductible applies to each claim, except for loss caused by fire or lightning or theft of the entire vehicle.
• Comprehensive and specified perils coverage exclude theft by someone living in the insured's household, or by the insured's employee who drives, maintains or repairs the vehicle.
• A hail claim is not an at-fault claim in third-party liability coverage, so it does not move a driver on the Grid.

Rates across Alberta

Where the car is kept is one of the rating factors insurers use, so premiums differ between cities and rural areas for the same driver. The two largest cities have their own pages: car insurance in Calgary covers hail and the city’s other risks, and car insurance in Edmonton covers its winter and theft risks.

Buying and saving in Alberta

The Alberta market is competitive, so the price for the same driver can differ between insurers. Insurers selling car insurance in Alberta include TD Insurance, Intact, Aviva, Wawanesa, belairdirect and AMA (the Alberta Motor Association); how the major companies compare is covered in best car insurance companies in Canada. When comparing, it is worth confirming that each insurer has recognized your full Grid level.

Common discounts include bundling home and auto, insuring several vehicles, low annual mileage, anti-theft devices and usage-based (telematics) programs; how much each is worth varies by insurer. The levers that apply in every province are covered in our guide to lowering a car insurance premium, and the options for newly licensed drivers in car insurance for new drivers. Drivers who can’t get coverage elsewhere can apply through the Facility Association, which operates in Alberta.

Related reading

• Alberta income tax rates
• Car insurance cost by age
• Cost of living in Canada
• Car affordability calculator