Insurance Act amendments to prevent accident benefit claims by public transit passengers where there is no collision.

On May 12, 2011, the Ontario Insurance Act was amended to prevent accident benefit claims by public transit passengers except where the public transit vehicle collides with another automobile or any other object.

At the same time, corresponding changes were made to the Ontario Insurance Act to make it clear that in these circumstances (where no accident benefits can be claimed by public transit passengers), the driver and owner of the public transit vehicle will not be considered a ‘protected defendant’–so that the public transit driver/owner can be sued without the various Insurance Act impediments (such as the threshold/deductible, etc.).

These minor amendments to the Ontario Insurance Act are set out in Schedule 21 of Bill 173, the Better Tomorrow for Ontario Act (Budget  Measures), 2011.

Presumably, these changes were made to prevent public transit passengers, such as TTC passengers, from making applications for accident benefits in situations were there is sudden braking but no actual collision.