Glossary of Car Insurance Terms in Québec

Car insurance vocabulary in Québec has one particularity: it comes from a standard contract. Every insurer uses the same form, Q.P.F. No. 1, approved by the Autorité des marchés financiers. Knowing its words means reading your own policy faster and comparing quotes that are genuinely comparable.

Québec also has institutions of its own: a public plan that compensates injuries on a no-fault basis, a Direct Compensation Agreement between insurers, and a central claims file. Several terms you will read on sites from the rest of Canada therefore do not apply here as such.

The definitions below are deliberately short. Each entry gives the English term first, followed by the French term you will meet on Québec paperwork. On July 30, 2026, the AMF published a new French version of Q.P.F. No. 1, whose English version and effective date are still to come; we flag the vocabulary changes it brings. For practical questions, see our FAQ.

A

Actual cash value (valeur au jour du sinistre, valeur marchande)

The value of your vehicle at the time of the loss, taking its age and condition into account, not its purchase price. Q.P.F. No. 1 caps the value of damage payable by the insurer at this amount and uses it as the basis of the indemnity for a total loss. According to Infoinsurance, the insurer sets it using comparable models available on the market, hence the everyday term “market value.”

All perils (tous risques)

Protection 1 of Section B, the broadest: under Q.P.F. No. 1, it covers damage caused by any type of peril, except the contract’s exclusions. The AMF explains that it mainly covers the damage addressed by Protections 2 and 3, namely collision or upset and perils other than collision or upset. In the new French version of the form, it becomes protection B1.

All perils other than collision or upset (accidents sans collision ni versement)

Protection 3 of Section B, known in French as “accidents sans collision ni versement.” It covers damage that does not result from a collision or an upset, including theft, fire, malicious mischief, falling or flying objects and projectiles, as well as a collision with a person or an animal. According to the AMF, it also covers glass breakage.

AMF (Autorité des marchés financiers)

The body that regulates Québec’s financial sector, including private car insurance. The AMF approves the wording of policies and endorsements, receives each insurer’s rate manual, keeps the Register of firms and individuals authorized to practise, and informs consumers through its Information Centre, toll-free at 1-877-525-0337. The Fichier central des sinistres automobiles belongs to it.

Annual kilometres (kilométrage annuel)

The distance you drive the vehicle in a year, which the insurer asks you to estimate. According to the AMF, your premium may be lower if you don’t travel long distances, and you must notify your insurer if a new job means driving farther to work. With a telematics program, the distance driven can be sent directly to the insurer.

B

Broker (courtier)

A damage insurance representative who offers you the products of several insurers. According to the AMF, a broker must be able to obtain quotes from at least three insurers, whereas an agent offers the products of a single insurer. Both are authorized to offer car insurance, as are damage insurance firms, including online. Check their authorization in the AMF’s Register.

C

Cancellation (résiliation)

Ending the contract before it expires. You can cancel at any time by written notice, which takes effect when the insurer receives it; the insurer will generally keep a penalty, calculated using the Cancellation table. The insurer can cancel for any reason during the first 60 days, then only for a significant increase in risk or non-payment, with no penalty, according to the AMF and Q.P.F. No. 1.

Civil liability (responsabilité civile)

The obligation to make good the harm you cause to others. In car insurance, it is the mandatory coverage of Section A, at least $50,000 according to the SAAQ, which pays for property damage your vehicle causes to others and handles your defence. In Québec, injuries fall under the public plan; outside Québec, according to the AMF, this coverage also includes bodily injury.

Claim (réclamation)

A request for an indemnity that you submit to your insurer after a loss. Q.P.F. No. 1 requires you to report the loss as soon as you become aware of it, to provide the information and documents requested, and not to have the vehicle repaired before the insurer has examined it. Reporting and claiming are two separate steps: GAA advises reporting every accident, even without a claim.

Collision or upset (collision ou versement)

The common name of Protection 2 of Section B, which the Q.P.F. No. 1 in force calls “collision and upset.” It covers damage caused by a collision, including with the ground, a person or an animal, and by a partial or total upset. According to the AMF, it compensates your damage in an accident for which you are at fault, and in a hit and run.

Credit score (cote de crédit)

A measure drawn from your credit file that some insurers use to set the premium. According to the AMF, these insurers consider that people with a good credit score are more careful drivers and take better care of their vehicles, and they give a discount based on the client’s financial situation. Infoinsurance specifies that your insurer can use it only with your consent. Ask each insurer if it does.

Creditor (créancier)

The lender financing your vehicle. The Declarations of Q.P.F. No. 1 name the “creditor entitled to the indemnities under Section B, to the extent of the creditor’s interest”: an indemnity for damage to the vehicle can therefore be paid to the creditor up to what you owe. Endorsements Q.E.F. No. 23a and Q.E.F. No. 23b deal with notice to the creditor and coverage granted to the creditor.

D

Deductible (franchise)

The amount left for you to pay on a loss covered by Section B: the insurer pays the value of the damage less the deductible. The higher it is, the lower the premium, according to the AMF. Q.P.F. No. 1 does not apply it to damage caused by lightning or fire, and you pay none when you are not at fault in a collision covered by the Direct Compensation Agreement.

Demerit points (points d’inaptitude)

Points the SAAQ enters in your driving record when you are convicted of certain offences. The threshold depends on the licence and your age: 4 points for a learner’s or probationary licence, then 8, 12 or 15 depending on age. Reaching it revokes the licence. For sanction purposes, points stay on record for two years and, according to the SAAQ, they increase the annual cost of your licence.

Depreciation (dépréciation)

The loss of a vehicle’s value with time and use. According to the AMF, car insurance generally covers the actual value of the vehicle at the time of the loss, not its purchase price. Q.P.F. No. 1 also allows the insurer to take depreciation of parts into account in a repair. The replacement cost endorsement (Q.E.F. No. 43) and replacement insurance (Q.P.F. No. 5) serve to offset it.

Direct Compensation Agreement (Convention d’indemnisation directe)

An agreement binding auto insurers, which the Automobile Insurance Act requires GAA to establish. Each insured is compensated by their own insurer, according to their degree of non-responsibility set with the Driver’s Fault Chart. According to GAA, it applies to a collision in Québec between at least two vehicles whose owners are identified. If you are not at fault, you are compensated without collision coverage and with no deductible.

Driving record (dossier de conduite)

The record the SAAQ keeps on every driver. It mainly contains your licence classes and status, your demerit point bracket and points, your offences, medical restrictions and driving experience. The SAAQ provides your own record free of charge, and an insurer can obtain it with your consent. Infoinsurance lists it among the factors that influence the premium.

E

Endorsement (avenant)

A document that modifies the insurance contract, officially called “Quebec Endorsement Form,” or Q.E.F. It can add coverage, such as renting a vehicle after a loss (Q.E.F. No. 20) or replacement cost (Q.E.F. No. 43), or restrict it. Its wording is approved by the AMF, and every endorsement that applies must be named in your Declarations.

Exclusion (exclusion)

A clause that removes a specific peril or type of damage from the contract. Section B of Q.P.F. No. 1 excludes, for example, mechanical failure, rust, freezing, breakdown and normal wear and tear, as well as damage occurring while the vehicle is rented to someone else or used as a taxicab, unless the insurer agrees to cover it in the Declarations or by endorsement. Read that list before you sign.

F

FCSA (Fichier central des sinistres automobiles)

The central automobile claims database, owned by the AMF and managed by GAA. It tracks the losses in which each policyholder was involved over the past six years, whether or not a claim was made, and insurers consult it when you apply. Each loss is attributed to the custodian of the vehicle, the person at the wheel. You can obtain your claims history statement from GAA.

G

GAA (Groupement des assureurs automobiles)

The body to which every auto insurer doing business in Québec must belong. Its mission is to guarantee access to car insurance and to facilitate claims settlement: it establishes the Direct Compensation Agreement, manages the Fichier central des sinistres automobiles, designed the joint report, oversees automobile damage appraisers and revises the standard contract, which the AMF approves.

Glass breakage (bris de vitre)

Damage to the windshield or the vehicle’s other windows. According to the AMF, glass breakage is covered by Protection 3 of Section B, perils other than collision or upset, and therefore by Protection 1, all perils. Protection 4 covers it only if it results from a peril it lists, such as hail or theft. Endorsement Q.E.F. No. 13c can restrict Protection 3 for the vehicle’s glass.

I

Indemnity (indemnité)

The amount the insurer pays you after a covered loss. Under Section B, Q.P.F. No. 1 sets it at the value of the damage less the deductible, without exceeding the vehicle’s actual cash value, unless an endorsement provides otherwise. The insurer must pay it within 60 days after the loss is reported or the documents it requested are received; it may also choose to have the property repaired or replaced.

Infoinsurance (Info-Assurance)

An information service on property and casualty insurance, car and home, run jointly by the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) and GAA. Its site, infoassurance.ca, explains buying insurance and settling claims, and its Insurance Information Centre answers consumers at 514-288-4321 or, elsewhere in Québec, 1-877-288-4321.

Insurer (assureur)

The company that issues the contract, collects the premium and pays the indemnities. Every auto insurer doing business in Québec must be a member of GAA, according to Infoinsurance. They all sell the same standard contract, but each chooses its classification criteria and sets its premiums, under the AMF’s oversight. Hence the price gaps for the same coverage.

J

Joint report (constat amiable)

A form designed by GAA that drivers fill out together after a collision with no injuries. It identifies the parties and speeds up the claim, without being an admission of liability. According to GAA, it avoids calling the police for a fender bender, and your insurer uses it to establish your share of responsibility under the Direct Compensation Agreement. GAA recommends keeping a copy for six years.

L

Long-term lease (location à long terme)

A contract under which you rent a vehicle for a set period rather than buying it. For Q.P.F. No. 1, a person who has the vehicle under a lease of at least one year is considered its owner. According to the AMF, taking out car insurance is essential even for a vehicle leased long term, and the lease agreement will likely require insurance for damage to the vehicle.

Loss (sinistre)

In the vocabulary of Q.P.F. No. 1, “a risk that occurs and causes damage”: a collision, a theft, a fire. The contract requires you to report any loss that may be covered as soon as you become aware of it, and GAA advises doing so even without a claim. Every reported loss is entered in the Fichier central des sinistres automobiles, under the name of the custodian of the vehicle.

O

Occasional driver (conducteur occasionnel)

A person who drives your vehicle from time to time without being its main user, such as a child who borrows the family car. According to Infoinsurance, a young person who uses the family vehicle can be added to the parents’ policy. Q.P.F. No. 1 requires you to report other people who drive the vehicle, and the AMF asks you to notify the insurer if you often lend yours.

P

Policy period (période de police)

The period during which the contract is in force. The Declarations of Q.P.F. No. 1 give its start and end dates, at 12:01 a.m. standard time at the named insured’s address. A loss does not end the contract. On expiry, it renews automatically for the same premium and the same period, unless you or the insurer give notice otherwise.

Premium (prime)

The amount you pay the insurer in exchange for the contract’s coverage. According to the AMF, it depends on, among other things, your age, your driving record, how you use the vehicle, where you live, the vehicle itself, and the coverage and deductible you choose. If the insurer wants to change it at renewal, Q.P.F. No. 1 requires notice no later than 30 days before the expiry date.

Principal driver (conducteur principal)

The person who drives the vehicle most often, and whom the insurer uses to set the premium. Ask your insurer how it defines the term. An inaccurate declaration is costly: Infoinsurance cites as an example of fraud a parent declared as principal driver to pay less, when that role belongs to a novice teenager. Q.P.F. No. 1 then allows the insurer to seek annulment or to reduce the indemnity.

Probationary licence (permis probatoire)

The licence the SAAQ issues after the learner period, the driving course and passing the exams, held for 24 months before you obtain your driver’s licence. Its holder is subject to a 4-point demerit bracket and to the zero-alcohol rule, regardless of age. Infoinsurance recommends notifying the agent or broker as soon as lessons begin, without waiting for renewal.

Public Automobile Insurance Plan (régime public d’assurance automobile)

The plan run by the SAAQ that compensates injuries and deaths caused by a traffic accident, on a no-fault basis. According to the SAAQ, it protects all Quebecers anywhere in the world, and no one can sue the person responsible for an accident over those injuries. Property damage is left to private insurers. According to the AMF, the current program came into effect on March 1, 1978.

Q

Q.P.F. No. 1 (F.P.Q. n° 1)

Short for “Quebec Automobile Insurance Policy Form (Q.P.F.) No. 1 – Owners’ Form,” the standard contract every insurer uses to insure a vehicle. Approved by the AMF, it contains Section A, which is mandatory, and Section B, which is optional. On July 30, 2026, the AMF published a new French version titled “Assurance pour les propriétaires d’un véhicule”; its English version and effective date are still to come.

R

Rating (tarification)

The method an insurer uses to set its premiums. According to the AMF, insurers are free to choose their classification criteria and the level of their premiums, but must file the rate manual they use with the AMF, which can assess the soundness of their system and suggest improvements. That is why the same coverage can cost more or less from one insurer to another.

Renewal (renouvellement)

Continuing the contract at expiry. Under Q.P.F. No. 1, it happens automatically, for the same premium and the same period, unless notice is given otherwise. An insurer that wants to change the premium or not renew must notify you no later than 30 days before the expiry date, via your broker, if any. To switch insurers without a fee, the AMF advises informing yours before your policy ends.

Replacement cost (valeur à neuf)

A form of indemnity that ignores depreciation: after a total loss, you receive enough to replace the vehicle with a new one. You get it through endorsement Q.E.F. No. 43, always with the same insurer as your car insurance. According to the AMF, you can then choose the dealer or receive a lump sum, and parts replaced in a repair are new original manufacturer parts.

Replacement insurance (assurance de remplacement, Q.P.F. No. 5)

A contract separate from your car insurance that complements it against depreciation. According to Infoinsurance, it pays the difference between the actual cash value and the cost of a new vehicle or new original parts, provided your main policy has paid first. It is sold for a fixed term. According to the AMF, dealers will no longer be able to offer it as of January 1, 2027.

Replacement warranty (garantie de remplacement)

The former name of replacement insurance, still in common use. In 2009, the AMF determined that the automobile replacement warranty is an insurance product subject to its oversight; the product has since been offered as Q.P.F. No. 5. If you are offered a “warranty” when buying a vehicle, ask whether it is this insurance or another type of protection, and who issues it.

S

SAAQ (Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec)

The body that runs the Public Automobile Insurance Plan, issues driver’s licences and keeps each driver’s driving record, with its demerit points. The SAAQ compensates injuries and deaths caused by a traffic accident, on a no-fault basis. It does not insure property damage: that is left to private insurers, under the AMF’s oversight.

Section A (chapitre A)

The mandatory part of Q.P.F. No. 1, covering civil liability for damage caused to others by an insured vehicle. It also covers, under the Direct Compensation Agreement, damage to your own vehicle in a collision for which you are not responsible. The legal minimum is $50,000, according to the SAAQ. In the new French version of the form published in July 2026, it becomes “protection A.”

Section B (chapitre B)

The optional part of Q.P.F. No. 1, covering damage to your own vehicle and its disappearance. You choose one or more protections, from all perils to specified perils, each with its own deductible. According to the AMF, a financing or lease agreement will likely require it. In the new French version of the form published in July 2026, it becomes “protection B,” divided into B1 to B4.

Specified perils (risques spécifiés)

The common name of Protection 4 of Section B, which the Q.P.F. No. 1 in force calls “specific perils” and its new French version “risques énumérés seulement.” It covers only the perils named in the contract, including theft and attempted theft, fire, lightning, hail, windstorms, rising water and earthquakes. According to the AMF, it does not cover malicious acts.

T

Telematics (télématique)

Technology that records how you drive, through a chip installed in the vehicle or an app on your phone, to calculate your premium. According to the AMF, the result can be a discount or an increase, and the driving of other people who use the vehicle also counts. Your insurer must undertake not to use the data to deny a claim or to stop insuring you.

Theft (vol)

The disappearance of the vehicle or its equipment. Theft is covered by Protections 1, 3 and 4 of Section B, but not by Protection 2. Q.P.F. No. 1 provides for the reimbursement of certain travel expenses, up to the stated maximum, if the entire vehicle is stolen. For some frequently stolen models, the AMF says an insurer may require an anti-theft or tracking device (Q.E.F. No. 45).

Total loss (perte totale)

When the insurer judges that the vehicle is no longer worth repairing, generally because the cost of the work exceeds its value, according to Infoinsurance. Q.P.F. No. 1 then sets the value of the damage at the actual cash value, unless a replacement cost endorsement or replacement insurance applies. If your research on comparable models suggests a different value, you can discuss it with the insurer.

Towing (remorquage)

Moving an immobilized vehicle with a tow truck. After a loss, the Q.P.F. No. 1 in force requires you to protect the vehicle against further damage, at the insurer’s expense, and its new French version expressly names towing costs when the loss is covered by protection B. Breakdown, on the other hand, is excluded from Section B: roadside assistance falls instead under an endorsement (Q.E.F. No. 33).

V

Vandalism (vandalisme)

Damage deliberately caused to your vehicle by someone else, which Q.P.F. No. 1 calls “malicious mischief.” It is covered by Protection 3, perils other than collision or upset, and by Protection 1, all perils. According to the AMF, Protection 4, specified perils, does not cover it. Personal property stolen from the car, such as a computer, is covered instead by your home insurance.

Vehicle use (usage du véhicule)

How you use your vehicle: pleasure, commuting, business, delivery or passenger transportation. Q.P.F. No. 1 requires you to report any change in use and excludes, unless the insurer agrees otherwise, losses that occur while the vehicle is rented to others or used as a taxicab. According to the AMF, delivering goods or carrying passengers for pay must be reported to your insurer.

Sources

• Autorité des marchés financiers — Q.P.F. No. 1 – Owners’ Form (version of January 15, 2025), the new French version Assurance pour les propriétaires d’un véhicule, and the endorsement forms: lautorite.qc.ca (accessed September 29, 2026)
• Autorité des marchés financiers — Automobile insurance (Professionals section), on the plan, the Direct Compensation Agreement and rating: lautorite.qc.ca (accessed September 29, 2026)
• Autorité des marchés financiers — consumer pages on auto insurance (cost, telematics, replacement cost and replacement insurance, cancellation, drivers and delivery people): lautorite.qc.ca (accessed September 29, 2026)
• Autorité des marchés financiers — notice of July 30, 2026 on insurance sold by dealers and news release of March 27, 2009 on automobile replacement warranties (both in French): lautorite.qc.ca (accessed September 29, 2026)
• Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec — Québec’s Public Automobile Insurance Plan in Brief, Demerit Points, Driving Record Request and Drinking and Driving: What the Law Says: saaq.gouv.qc.ca (accessed September 29, 2026)
• Groupement des assureurs automobiles — Direct Compensation Agreement, FCSA, Joint Report, access to insurance and damage appraisal: gaa.qc.ca (accessed September 29, 2026)
• Infoinsurance, a joint initiative of IBC and GAA — pages on premium factors, replacement insurance, total loss, young drivers and fraud (in French): infoassurance.ca (accessed September 29, 2026)