Filing an auto insurance claim in Québec, from the accident to the cheque

An auto insurance claim follows a fairly predictable sequence: the notice of loss, the investigation, the estimate, the repair or total loss, then the payment. Each step follows rules set by the standard Q.P.F. No. 1 form, approved by the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), and explained by the Groupement des assureurs automobiles (GAA). Here is the path from the accident to the cheque, and what you can do if you disagree.

At the scene, safety first

If anyone is injured, the GAA recommends calling the paramedics and the police immediately. Injuries do not go through your insurer: they fall under the SAAQ's public plan, where you can file a claim for compensation, including online, and obtain a claim number.

For a simple fender-bender without injuries, there is no need to call the police: the joint report (constat amiable) is enough to report the accident to your insurer. Our guide to the Direct Compensation Agreement explains how to fill it out and how fault is set.

Two situations, however, call for contacting the police, according to the GAA:

• Theft of the vehicle. The police issue a report that you use to file your claim. If you cannot obtain it, report the loss directly to your insurer.
• Hit and run, that is, when a person involved in the accident leaves the scene without identifying themselves.

In every case, photograph the vehicles and the scene, and keep the towing invoice: these are documents your insurer will ask for.

Notify your insurer without delay

The Q.P.F. No. 1 is explicit: as soon as an insured person becomes aware of a loss that could be covered, they must inform the insurer. If this obligation is not met and the insurer suffers harm as a result, the insured person loses their right to compensation.

The GAA advises calling your insurer or your broker as soon as possible, with your policy number in hand, and describing the circumstances as precisely as you can. You then send your supporting documents: joint report, photos, police report number, towing invoice.

At the insurer's request, the contract also requires you to inform it as soon as possible of the probable cause of the loss, the nature and extent of the damage, the location of the vehicle, the rights of other persons and any other insurance contracts that may apply. You must declare under oath that this information is true. A person who makes a false declaration loses their right to compensation for the damage connected with the peril to which that declaration relates.

A claims adjuster (expert en sinistre) is then assigned to your file. According to the GAA, the investigation checks, among other things, the validity of your contract, the protections required for you to be compensated and, for a collision, your share of fault under the Direct Compensation Agreement.

Protect the vehicle until it is examined

Between the accident and the examination of the vehicle, the Q.P.F. No. 1 sets a few simple rules:

• do not abandon the vehicle without the insurer's consent;
• protect it against any further loss or damage, as far as possible and at the insurer's expense, failing which the resulting damage remains your responsibility;
• make no repairs and remove nothing useful for assessing the damage until the insurer has examined the vehicle within a reasonable time, except to protect it or with the insurer's written consent.

The estimate and the choice of repair shop

Before any repair, the damage is estimated. The GAA explains that this work belongs to an automobile damage estimator, who assesses the costs according to current repair techniques and the options in your contract. The GAA issues a qualification certificate to these estimators, sets estimating standards and keeps a register of qualified estimators. Based on the estimate, the insurer decides whether the vehicle will be repaired or declared a total loss.

For the repair, the GAA is clear: you can deal with the repair shop of your choice. Make sure it is competent and that the work follows the estimate agreed upon with your insurer, which can also recommend a shop if you wish. If a deductible applies, you pay it to the repairer.

Then there is the question of parts. The Q.P.F. No. 1 provides for materials of the same kind and quality, taking depreciation into account. For body parts, the form provides that the insurer bases itself on the manufacturer's original parts when the vehicle is less than 2 years old or has less than 40,000 km; otherwise, it can base itself on similar parts. You can ask for original parts if they are available, by saying so when you report the loss: the insurer will then tell you the additional costs you will have to pay. Option 43A of endorsement Q.E.F. No. 43 instead provides for new original parts, with no deduction for depreciation.

A replacement car during repairs

A rental is not automatic. Without an endorsement, the Q.P.F. No. 1 provides for travel expenses only when the entire vehicle is stolen, for holders of B1, B3 or B4: up to $3,000 per loss and per vehicle, for expenses incurred starting 72 hours after the theft is reported.

For other losses, endorsement Q.E.F. No. 20, “Travel expenses,” comes into play. It reimburses, on receipts and up to the maximum written in the endorsement, the rental of a vehicle of a similar category, taxis, public transit or other unusual travel expenses, if the damage exceeds the deductible. The coverage begins when the vehicle can no longer be driven or, if it can still be driven, when it is handed over to the repairer, and it ends with the repair, the replacement or a settlement agreement.

If you are not at fault in a collision covered by the Direct Compensation Agreement, the loss resulting from the vehicle being immobilized can also be compensated, provided it is justified. In every case, check with the claims adjuster before renting, and keep your receipts.

The settlement, from repair to total loss

According to the GAA, your insurer must compensate you within 60 days of receiving your notice of loss or, if it asked for them, the information and supporting documents. In the case of theft, it generally waits 30 days before paying, in case the vehicle is found.

A vehicle is generally declared a total loss when the cost of repairs exceeds its value. The GAA specifies that the insurer considers the cost of repairs, the age of the vehicle, its general condition and its market value. The basic indemnity then corresponds to the “actual cash value”: the AMF points out that your insurance covers the value at the time of the loss, not the price paid at purchase. Once the indemnity is paid, the insurer has the right to recover the vehicle.

The insurer must also give the vehicle a status that is registered with the SAAQ: “irrécupérable” (unrecoverable), if it can no longer be put back on the road, or “gravement accidenté” (seriously damaged), if it can be rebuilt, in which case it must be inspected by a garage mandated by the SAAQ before it can be driven again.

If the value offered seems low, the GAA indicates that it is up to you to document your file and demonstrate the value of your vehicle. Gather, for example, ads for comparable vehicles and your maintenance invoices. Options 43C to 43F of endorsement Q.E.F. No. 43 change the calculation in a total loss (value agreed in advance, compensation without depreciation, replacement value). Our guide to the financed, leased or used vehicle compares these options with replacement insurance.

If you disagree

Start with the claims adjuster: ask for the reasons for the decision in writing and provide your documents. If the disagreement concerns the nature, extent or value of the damage, or whether the repair is sufficient, the Q.P.F. No. 1 now in force provides for arbitration. You send a written notice stating the reason for the disagreement, the insurer must accept it and acknowledge receipt within 15 clear days, each side chooses an expert and, failing agreement, the experts submit the dispute to a neutral arbitrator. Each party pays its own expert and half of the arbitration costs, unless the arbitrator decides otherwise, and in the meantime the insurer must pay the part that is not disputed. The new version of the form published by the AMF, which is not yet in force, does not carry over this procedure.

For any other dispute, the AMF describes a four-step approach:

1. Gather your documents and note your arguments.
2. Contact the insurer or the representative to make your case.
3. File a formal complaint with the company, which must send you an acknowledgment of receipt, handle the complaint fairly and offer to transfer your file to the AMF.
4. If the final answer does not satisfy you, ask for that transfer. The AMF will assess whether its conciliation or mediation services may apply.

The AMF specifies that this process cannot get you damages, for example for missed workdays. For a question along the way, the Centre d'information sur les assurances (Info-Assurance), run by the GAA with the Insurance Bureau of Canada, answers free of charge and can, in some cases, intervene with the insurer. Finally, the Q.P.F. No. 1 sets a 3-year deadline for bringing an action arising from the contract, from the time the right of action began to exist.

The claim at a glance

Step	Who you deal with	What to keep
At the scene	The other driver, the police if there are injuries, a theft or a hit and run	Joint report, photos, witnesses' contact information, police report number
Notice of loss	Your insurer or your broker	Policy number and claim number
Investigation and estimate	Claims adjuster, estimator	Written estimate
Repair or total loss	Repair shop of your choice, insurer	Invoices, rental receipts
Disagreement	Insurer, then the AMF	Written exchanges, arbitration notice

A claim goes better when you know your contract before the accident: Chapter B protections, deductible, endorsements Q.E.F. No. 20 and No. 43. We are neither an insurer nor a broker: we explain, and our licensed partner presents quotes to you.

Sources

• Groupement des assureurs automobiles (GAA), gaa.qc.ca: settling an auto claim (what to do at the time of the accident, your claim, damage estimate, repair), oversight of estimating, Centre d'information sur les assurances.
• Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), lautorite.qc.ca: Q.P.F. No. 1 in force and its new version, endorsements Q.E.F. No. 20 and No. 43, the page on replacement cost and replacement insurance, the page on filing a complaint and the four-step complaint checklist.
• Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ), saaq.gouv.qc.ca: online services for road accident victims.

Pages consulted on September 29, 2026.