Ontario applies a statutory deductible to most awards for pain and suffering in motor vehicle cases. It is set by statute, indexed every January, and removed from the award before you receive it. Above an indexed threshold the deductible no longer applies.
How it works
Compensation for pain and suffering in a motor vehicle case is reduced by a fixed amount set by statute. The reduction happens after the award is decided.
Once the award rises above an indexed threshold, the deductible stops applying entirely. That creates a sharp step: two awards a few thousand dollars apart can produce very different amounts reaching the injured person.
What makes it feel unfair
A jury deciding a case is generally not told that the deductible exists. They award what they consider appropriate, and the reduction is applied afterwards.
For smaller awards the effect is severe. An award below the deductible produces nothing at all under that head of damages.
What it does not touch
The deductible applies to damages for pain and suffering. Income loss, both past and future, and the cost of future care are separate heads of damage and are not reduced by it.
That is why the way a claim is built matters. Documenting income loss and future care properly is not an accounting exercise, it is the part of the claim the deductible cannot reach.
Before any of this applies
A pain and suffering claim in a motor vehicle case must first clear the statutory threshold. If it does not, that head of damages is unavailable regardless of the deductible.
Deadlines that apply to you
These are the dates that end claims. Check them first.
To recover for pain and suffering after a motor vehicle collision, the injury must have caused death or a permanent serious impairment of an important physical, mental or psychological function.
Insurance Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. I.8, s. 267.5(5)
Ontario subtracts a fixed statutory deductible from most pain and suffering awards in motor vehicle cases.
Insurance Act, s. 267.5; O. Reg. 461/96, s. 5.1(1); FSRA 2026 Automobile Insurance Indexation Amounts Guidance (AU0129DEC)
Once a pain and suffering award rises above the indexed threshold, the deductible no longer applies.
Insurance Act, s. 267.5(8.3); FSRA 2026 Automobile Insurance Indexation Amounts Guidance (AU0129DEC)
Questions we get every week
That is how the legislation operates. The award is determined and the statutory reduction is applied afterwards.
No. It applies to damages for pain and suffering. Income loss and future care costs are not reduced by it.
The amounts are indexed and republished annually, so the figure that applies depends on when the award is made.
Where this applies
Car Accidents
After a car accident in Ontario you usually have two separate claims running at the same time: accident benefits from your own insurer regardless of who caused the crash, and a claim against the driver at fault.
Read moreCatastrophic Injury
In Ontario, a catastrophic impairment designation raises the combined medical, rehabilitation and attendant care limit from $65,000 to $1,000,000 and removes the time limit.
Read moreAccident Benefits
Accident benefits are paid by your own auto insurer regardless of who caused the collision.
Read more