A collision involving your vehicle: at fault, or not?

A car accident is stressful enough — and figuring out who’s at fault only adds to it. So who decides? Whether it’s a little fender-bender or a serious crash, and no matter the damage, the same process determines who’s responsible.

Bodily injury: the “no-fault” system applies

First, an important point: no-fault compensation applies only to bodily injury. Under this system — “no-fault” — any Quebec resident hurt in a car accident is compensated by the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec, at fault or not.

Property damage: your insurer weighs your liability

Worth knowing, too: police don’t need to attend if no one’s hurt, and in any case they don’t determine who’s responsible. That’s the insurers’ job, and they do it using the Direct Compensation Agreement (DCA).

The DCA includes the Driver’s Fault Chart, which lays out a range of accident scenarios (based on the Highway Safety Code) and the share of liability for each. For instance:

• The driver ahead brakes hard and you rear-end them. Under the DCA, you’re 100% liable — the Highway Safety Code requires you to keep a safe following distance.
• You’re backing out of a mall parking spot and clip another driver. Both cars are damaged. Liability splits 50/50.

So each driver’s share of liability is set by the Driver’s Fault Chart. At fault or not, every policyholder is paid for damage to their own vehicle by their own insurer, based on their liability and the coverage they bought.

At fault or not: what it means for your payout

Here’s how it plays out for damage to your vehicle. If your insurer finds that:

• You’re not at fault: even without collision coverage, you’re paid for the damage under the civil liability coverage in your policy (Section A), and you pay no deductible.
• You’re at fault: you’re paid for the damage if you carry Collision or All-Perils coverage (Section B), and you’ll pay your deductible. If you carry civil liability only (Section A alone), the repairs are on you.

Be sure to check with your broker — we’ll walk you through it.

Want to know more, or have questions about your car insurance? We’d be glad to hear from you.