Death of a Spouse by Car Accident > Can Surviving Spouse Receive a “Dependent Benefit” and also the Spousal Death Benefit?

If your spouse dies in an Ontario car accident, you may be entitled to the $25,000 Spousal Death Benefits pursuant to Section 25 of theStatutory Accident Benefits Schedule (“SABS”),

If you receive the spousal death benefit, can you also receive a $10,000 “dependent benefit” pursuant to Section 25(2)2 of the SABS?

We think the answer is “yes”, if you can prove that you were dependent on your deceased spouse.

There do not appear to be any decisions at the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (“FSCO”) or case law dealing with the current wording of the legislation.  However, looking at the development of the Death Benefits section of the SABS over time, decisions and case law of prior versions of this legislation and related publications, it does appear that a surviving widow(er) can likely receive both the $25,000 spousal death benefit and also the $10,000 dependent benefit, if the surviving spouse was primarily dependant on the deceased.

Mark Koyama
Toronto Insurance Litigation Lawyer