Saskatchewan is the only province in Canada that lets you choose your auto injury insurance. You already have one of the two, whether or not you have ever thought about it.
Unless you filed a declaration with SGI choosing Tort Coverage, you have No Fault Coverage. Most people do. And the coverage you hold on the day of the collision is the one you get, which is why this is worth five minutes now rather than after.
What is the difference?
No Fault pays far more, and mostly takes away your right to sue for pain and suffering. Tort pays much less, and keeps that right. Both are priced the same at the moment, and the figures below are SGI's for 2026, rising each year with the consumer price index.
| Benefit | No Fault Coverage | Tort Coverage |
|---|---|---|
| Income while you cannot work | 90 per cent of net income, on a gross salary up to $119,692 a year, to age 65 if needed | Up to $614 a week, for two years unless you cannot do any job at all |
| Medical and rehabilitation | Up to $8,524,604 | Up to $33,362, or $250,220 for a catastrophic injury |
| Permanent impairment | Up to $244,287, or $298,360 if catastrophic | Up to $16,682, or $216,858 if catastrophic |
| Suing for expenses above the benefits | Yes | Yes |
| Suing for pain and suffering | Only in limited cases | Yes, less a $5,000 deductible |
| Funeral benefit | $12,784 | $8,342 |
What No Fault Coverage pays
Income benefits start after the first seven calendar days. If you are catastrophically injured, that wait is waived and there is a guaranteed minimum annual benefit of $64,739.
Around the income benefit sit several others that people often miss:
- A caregiver or substitute worker benefit of up to $55,796 a year, if your main job was caring for children under 16 or for a disabled adult, or if your business needs someone to stand in.
- Loss of studies: up to $6,837 a year in elementary school, $12,703 in secondary school and $25,406 in post-secondary, plus lost scholarship income and unrefundable tuition.
- Living assistance for help at home, travel and meals for treatment, childcare while you attend it, and costs for family attending a seriously injured relative.
- A pension benefit of 10 per cent of total income benefits received, where you were between 18 and 65 and received income benefits for 24 months or more.
The permanent impairment payment arrives at the one-year anniversary of the collision with interest from the date of the crash. One line in SGI's own guide is worth knowing early: whiplash is not treated as a permanent impairment and does not qualify for that payment.
What Tort Coverage pays, and what it lets you do
The benefit package is much smaller. Up to $614 a week if you are totally disabled, half that if you are partly disabled, and medical and rehabilitation coverage of $33,362 outside a catastrophic injury.
What you get in exchange is the right to sue the person who caused the collision for pain and suffering, as well as for expenses above your benefits. That payment is reduced by a $5,000 deductible and by benefits you have already received. SGI's own worked example: a $20,000 pain and suffering award, less $3,000 already paid in permanent impairment benefits and the $5,000 deductible, pays out $12,000.
Can you sue if you have No Fault Coverage?
For expenses above your benefits, yes. That matters most to higher earners, because the income benefit stops at a gross salary of $119,692, and the difference is claimable from whoever caused the collision.
For pain and suffering, only in limited situations, which SGI sets out:
- The driver who caused the collision is convicted of impaired driving.
- That driver is convicted of an offence for being criminally negligent.
- The responsible driver dies and was impaired, in which case the estate can be sued.
- You were hurt by someone convicted of using a vehicle to harm you deliberately.
- A third party's negligence caused the collision. That includes vehicle manufacturers, repairers and parts suppliers, and licensed drinking establishments.
There is also no one to sue where nobody was responsible, a collision with a deer being the example SGI uses, or where you were responsible yourself. The benefits are still paid either way.
Two years, either way
If you are going to sue, under either coverage, SGI states it plainly: you must begin your legal action within two years of the collision. Deadlines for the benefits themselves come far sooner, and they are on our Saskatchewan SGI injury claim deadlines page.
The rule that can cost you your benefits
Under No Fault Coverage, your rehabilitation plan is not optional. SGI's guide says it twice: if you do not participate in your rehabilitation plan, SGI may not pay your benefits, including lost wages.
People miss appointments for reasons that have nothing to do with willingness. A shift nobody could cover, a car you no longer drive, a town an hour away, a week when you felt better. Any of those may be perfectly reasonable, and none of them speaks for itself a year later.
Go when you can. On the days you cannot, write down why, on the day.
If you disagree with SGI
The route depends on which coverage you hold.
No Fault Coverage. You can take the matter to mediation first, and if you are still unsatisfied, to either the Automobile Injury Appeal Commission or the Court of King's Bench. You can also go straight to either one without mediating.
Tort Coverage. A dispute about your benefits or about responsibility goes to court.
How to check or change which one you have
Ask SGI, or any motor licence issuer. If you have never filed a declaration, you have No Fault Coverage.
Changing it is free, takes a signed declaration form, and can be done as often as you like. You do not need to own a vehicle or hold a licence to choose. Parents and guardians choose for children under 18, and members of the same family can hold different coverages.
What you cannot do is choose after the fact. The coverage in place at the moment of the collision is the one that applies.
What should you write down, starting today?
- Which coverage you hold, and the date you checked. It decides everything else on this page.
- Every appointment in your rehabilitation plan, and every one you missed with the reason, on the day.
- What you cannot do at work. The task, the hours, what was offered instead and how it went.
- Your income, before and after. If you earn above the insurable maximum, the gap is claimable, and it has to be evidenced.
- Every call and letter from SGI. The date one arrived matters, because the routes above run on dates.
What to read next
Recovering after a car accident in Saskatchewan covers the whole route and is free to read. British Columbia, Manitoba and soon Alberta run without the choice at all: what ICBC owes you under Enhanced Care, what happens when MPI says no in Manitoba and what changes in Alberta in 2027. Anywhere else in Canada, start with the guides by province and territory.
Every figure here comes from a named source.
Last verified: September 2026.
Verified against: SGI's 2026 Guide to Choosing Personal Auto Injury Insurance, which sets out both packages, the right to sue under each, the appeal routes and the declaration process. The coverage itself is governed by The Automobile Accident Insurance Act and its regulations.
These amounts rise every year with the consumer price index. If you find something out of date on this page, write to Recovery@hurtsquare.ca and we will correct it publicly.
This is general information for people in Saskatchewan. It is not legal, medical or insurance advice. Which coverage suits you depends on your income, your family and your circumstances, and a decision you disagree with is worth advice before you accept it.
