The origins of the Joint Report  |   Plan ahead: keep it handy
Collision without injury: take it out of the glove compartment
Direct Compensation Agreement (DCA): an indispensable tool
Compensation per se  |   Clearing up some misconceptions

Clearing up some misconceptions

It's the third party responsible who pays for my damages

• Whether or not you are responsible for the accident, it's always your insurance company that pays you for the damage to your vehicle, even if you are not at fault. Contrary to the practice before 1978, your insurance company is no longer reimbursed by the insurance company of the driver responsible for the amount of the compensation paid to you.

I prefer to call the police for a collision; it's safer that way

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• Unless someone has been injured in the accident, you don't need to call the police for a simple fender bender. Just complete a Joint Report with the contact information of the two drivers involved in the accident and report the accident to your insurer.
• Even if the police do come to fill in a police report, they never determine the fault of the each driver in the accident. It's always your insurer who does so when the claim is settled.

Material damage : a no-fault plan

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• When you're involved in an accident, your insurer always determines your degree of fault in the accident and compensates you accordingly. If you are not responsible for the accident, your insurer compensates you for the damage to your vehicle. If you are responsible, your insurance company will compensate you if you have coverage for this kind of damage (Section B). You will then have to pay the deductible stated in your policy.
• The No-Fault plan in Quebec applies only to compensation for bodily injury. This is handled by the Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ), which pays compensation for your injuries, whether or not you are responsible for the injuries you suffered.

The Joint Report acknowledges fault

• The Joint Report is a document that enables the parties involved in an automobile accident to identify themselves and describe the circumstances of the accident to their respective insurers.
• Establishing the fault of each driver is never arbitrary; it is based on accident scenarios set out in the Direct Compensation Agreement.