Someone crashed into my car. Who pays for the damage, and what if the other driver is uninsured?

Key points

• For a qualifying Quebec collision with identified owners, seek the non-fault DCA share from your own insurer, even without collision cover.
• An identified other vehicle being uninsured is not itself a DCA exclusion; unidentified hit-and-run requires a different check.
• DCA non-fault payments have no deductible; purchased collision or all-perils may cover your fault share, with applicable deductible rules.
• SAAQ has limited uninsured-loss property assistance; strict eligibility, assessment, deductible and maximum rules apply.
• For SAAQ hit-and-run assistance, report to police within48hours and notify SAAQ within60days; limited legal excuses require individual assessment.
• Notify your insurer promptly, preserve proof and allow inspection before ordinary repairs; ask about valuation and necessary replacement transport.
• Separate damage arbitration from fault/coverage disputes; get written reasons, use complaints/AMF where appropriate and protect court deadlines.

Someone hit my car. Who pays in Quebec?

Someone hits your car in Quebec. Report it to your own insurer promptly. For a qualifying collision, Quebec’s Direct Compensation Agreement, or DCA, makes your insurer the route for your not-at-fault share. That can apply even without optional collision coverage. A known uninsured vehicle and an unidentified hit-and-run need different checks.

Sources: S1, S2, S6

When does the agreement apply?

The agreement generally covers a Quebec collision involving at least two vehicles whose owners are identified. Exceptions include collisions involving only vehicles with the same owner. The other vehicle being uninsured does not, by itself, rule out the agreement. Ask your insurer to confirm the identities, applicable rule and fault percentage in writing.

Sources: S2, S3

What if I share responsibility?

The DCA not-at-fault payment comes through your liability coverage, without a deductible. Your at-fault share needs purchased collision or all-perils coverage. Under the agreement, the collision deductible is proportional to your responsibility. Reasonable, necessary loss-of-use expenses can also qualify. Keep receipts and confirm replacement transport before committing to a rental.

Sources: S2, S5

What if it was an unidentified hit-and-run?

If the responsible vehicle’s owner remains unidentified, do not assume the DCA applies. Check your purchased collision or all-perils coverage and deductible. Ordinary coverage for perils other than collision does not cover another car striking yours merely because yours was parked. Preserve camera footage, witnesses and police details; identifying the owner may change the route.

Sources: S2, S5, S6

Can SAAQ help with car damage?

Quebec’s public automobile insurer, commonly called SAAQ, has a limited property-damage route for some hit-and-run victims who are not insured for that loss. Eligibility includes required liability insurance and registration; other exclusions apply. A company cannot use this route. The owner’s unlawful driving can also exclude a claim. This is separate from bodily-injury compensation.

Sources: S1, S7

What are the urgent SAAQ steps?

Report the accident to police within forty-eight hours and give SAAQ detailed notice within sixty days. Do not repair before the public insurer’s designated expert assesses the damage. Limited legal exceptions can excuse late notice or reporting, so get advice if you missed a deadline. Do not assume that makes the claim hopeless, or that an extension is automatic.

Sources: S1, S7

How much can SAAQ pay?

SAAQ covers only the share for which you are not responsible. There is a property ceiling of ten thousand dollars and a deductible of at least five hundred dollars. The deductible can be higher depending on the vehicle’s value. Ask for the calculation and reasons. This is not a promise to replace your car or repay your loan.

Sources: S1, S7

What should I send my insurer?

For an insurance claim, send the accident details promptly, then the documents requested. Preserve photos, footage, witness details and receipts. Protect the car from further damage. Allow a reasonable inspection opportunity before ordinary repairs or removing evidence, unless you have written consent. Tell your insurer before signing a private settlement or release.

Sources: S5, S8, S6

What if I disagree about the repairs or value?

Standard valuation uses the car’s actual cash value, subject to your endorsements. Get the estimate and supporting comparables. For a disagreement about damage, value or repair adequacy, the policy provides arbitration on your written request. Each side normally pays its own expert and shares arbitration costs. Fault or coverage disputes require a different analysis.

Sources: S5

How do I challenge a refusal?

Get written reasons. Complain to your insurer, then request transfer to Quebec’s financial regulator, the AMF, if unresolved. Its mediation is voluntary. Where the DCA applies, a court challenge is against your insurer. A property refusal by the public insurer has a civil-court route, separate from the injury-benefits tribunal process. Get help choosing the right proceeding.

Sources: S1, S9, S7

How long do I have to take legal action?

The policy’s legal-action period is three years from when the right of action arises. Do not assume the clock starts only when a denial arrives. Complaints do not interrupt the court deadline, and the public insurer’s notice requirements are much shorter. Get the correct date checked early, while you still have time to act.

Sources: S5, S8, S9

Your next steps

1. Report promptly to your insurer and police as required; preserve photographs, witness details, footage and receipts.
2. Confirm identities, DCA or optional cover, fault allocation, deductible, repair/valuation basis and necessary transport.
3. If uninsured for a hit-and-run loss, contact SAAQ immediately before repairs; obtain legal help for a refusal or approaching deadline.

Sources and publication

Full primary-source research: 6 September 2026. Targeted production checks: 8 September 2026. Publication-date checks and any source-access limitations are separately recorded; these dates do not imply that every source was reviewed again.

• S1. Quebec — Automobile Insurance Act

  1; 84–89; 115–121; 141.1–149. Actual official 74-page web PDF, consolidation updated 7 April 2026; relevant provisions read 6 September 2026. Direct download failed; numbered web text retained. Post-consolidation Gazette audit not certified..
  Own-insurer recourse where DCA applies, civil-law challenge, SAAQ property scheme and limits, separate unknown-vehicle notice/report exceptions, inspection and exclusions.

• S2. Quebec — Direct Compensation Agreement, A-25 r.4

  Introduction; sections 1–13; Driver’s Fault Chart general rules 1–2. Actual official text updated 1 April 2026 read; current GAA-linked 13th edition updated 18 May 2009 also downloaded and substantive sections read. No claim that every fault diagram was visually audited..
  Quebec collision with identified owners, exclusions, own-insurer non-fault share, contents and loss of use, deductible allocation, subrogation against uninsured third parties; GAA arbitration is between bound parties.

• S3. GAA — Direct Compensation Agreement, official current download

  Printed pages 1–6: Introduction and sections 1–13; chart general rules. Current GAA link retrieved 6 September 2026. Actual PDF downloaded; 13th edition updated 18 May 2009, corroborated against current official regulation..
  Source copy and rules governing car property damage; other-driver insurance is not a stated eligibility condition where identified-owner DCA conditions apply.

• S4. AMF — Approved automobile-insurance forms

  QPF1 and FPQ1 current 15 January 2025 entries; forthcoming French revision updated 30 July 2026. Actual live AMF English/French indexes read 6 September 2026. New French form has a future effective date to come; English version to come..
  Current January2025 owner policy applies as the approved reference; a posted future draft is not current cover. Check actual contract and endorsements.

• S5. AMF — Quebec Automobile Insurance Policy, QPF1

  Section A3.2.2; Section B3.2, 4.1 and 6; Reporting a loss and submitting a claim 1–6, printed pages 20–26. Actual 34-page official web PDF dated 15 January 2025 read in relevant parts 6 September 2026. Direct PDF download failed; numbered text preserved. Printed article4.4 retains old CPC article numbers: not repeated as current procedural law..
  Optional all-perils/collision, other-perils distinction; prompt notice, evidence and inspection; actual cash value; narrow damage arbitration and costs; three-year right-of-action prescription, not three years after denial in every case.

• S6. GAA — Auto claims settlement: claim

  Collision, theft or hit-and-run, liability, and why recourse is against own insurer. Current official industry body page downloaded and relevant body read 6 September 2026. Its other-loss and home-policy shorthand not used as universal legal rules..
  Practical evidence and insurer contact; unknown hit-and-run uses purchased all-perils/collision; identified-owner DCA; own-insurer dispute.

• S7. SAAQ — Hit-and-run property compensation

  Eligibility, exclusions, deductible/maximum, applying before assessment, refusal challenge. Actual official web page read 6 September 2026, page updated 1 October 2025; actual four-page guide 4295 20 (2024-01) also read through web. Direct responses were invalid HTML, not downloaded guide PDFs..
  Limited SAAQ property route; 48-hour police and 60-day SAAQ steps, minimum deductible500 and maximum10000; Act exceptions control over simplified guide; civil court route distinct from injury review.

• S8. Quebec — Civil Code

  2470–2474; 2879–2880; 2883–2884; 2925–2926. Actual official 554-page web PDF updated 7 April 2026; specified articles read 6 September 2026, not the entire Code. Direct download failed..
  Prompt notice and prejudice condition, documents and reasonable-time exception, payment/subrogation, three-year personal-right rule and accrual rather than universal denial-date trigger.

• S9. AMF — Making a complaint

  Complaint to firm, final written response, transfer to AMF, voluntary mediation, court deadline warning. Actual current webpage read 6 September 2026; linked complaint form updated 5 August 2026. Direct download failed; web text retained..
  Insurer complaint first; AMF transfer and voluntary assistance do not interrupt the legal-action deadline.

• S10. Legal Hotline — Canada

  Service FAQ; contact; footer. Live site checked 6 September 2026..
  Canada number 1-855-529-1555; free AI general information; separate lawyer matching; Platfirm AI service. No response-time, booking guarantee or outcome claim used.

Full transcript

Someone hits your car in Quebec. Report it to your own insurer promptly. For a qualifying collision, Quebec's Direct Compensation Agreement, or DCA, makes your insurer the route for your not-at-fault share. That can apply even without optional collision coverage.

A known uninsured vehicle and an unidentified hit-and-run need different checks. The agreement generally covers a Quebec collision involving at least two vehicles whose owners are identified. Exceptions include collisions involving only vehicles with the same owner.

The other vehicle being uninsured does not, by itself, rule out the agreement. Ask your insurer to confirm the identities, applicable rule, and fault percentage in writing. The DCA not-at-fault payment comes through your liability coverage, without a deductible.

Your at-fault share needs purchased collision or all perils coverage. Under the agreement, the collision deductible is proportional to your responsibility. Reasonable, necessary loss of use expenses can also qualify. Keep receipts and confirm replacement transport before committing to a rental.

If the responsible vehicle's owner remains unidentified, do not assume the DCA applies. Check your purchased collision or all perils coverage and deductible. Ordinary coverage for perils other than collision does not cover another car striking yours merely because yours was parked.

Preserve camera footage, witnesses, and police details, identifying the owner may change the route. Quebec's public automobile insurer, commonly called SAAQ, has a limited property damage route for some hit-and-run victims who are not insured for that loss. Eligibility includes required liability insurance and registration, other exclusions apply.

A company cannot use this route. The owner's unlawful driving can also exclude a claim. This is separate from bodily injury compensation. Report the accident to police within 48 hours and give SAAQ detailed notice within 60 days. Do not repair before the public insurer's designated expert assesses the damage.

Limited legal exceptions can excuse late notice or reporting, so get advice if you missed a deadline. Do not assume that makes the claim hopeless, or that an extension is automatic. SAAQ covers only the share for which you are not responsible. There is a property ceiling of $10 ,000 and a deductible of at least $500.

The deductible can be higher depending on the vehicle's value. Ask for the calculation and reasons. This is not a promise to replace your car or repay your loan. For an insurance claim, send the accident details promptly, then the documents requested. Preserve photos, footage, witness details, and receipts.

Protect the car from further damage. Allow a reasonable inspection opportunity before ordinary repairs or removing evidence, unless you have written consent. Tell your insurer before signing a private settlement or release. Standard valuation uses the car's actual cash value, subject to your endorsements.

Get the estimate and supporting comparables. For a disagreement about damage, value, or repair adequacy, the policy provides arbitration on your written request. Each side normally pays its own expert and shares arbitration costs. Fault or coverage disputes require a different analysis.

Get written reasons. Complain to your insurer, then request transfer to Quebec's financial regulator, the AMF, if unresolved. Its mediation is voluntary. Where the DCA applies, a court challenge is against your insurer. A property refusal by the public insurer has a civil court route, separate from the injury benefits tribunal process.

Get help choosing the right proceeding. The policy's legal action period is three years from when the right of action arises. Do not assume the clock starts only when a denial arrives. Complaints do not interrupt the court deadline, and the public insurer's notice requirements are much shorter.

Get the correct date checked early, while you still have time to act. For free general legal information, Legal Hotline's Canada number is on your screen now. Legal Hotline is not a law firm. Its information line uses AI. Lawyer matching is a separate service, subject to availability and acceptance.

For advice on your own situation, speak with a lawyer in your province. In immediate danger, contact emergency services.

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Legal Hotline is not a law firm. Its free information line uses AI to provide general legal information. Lawyer matching is separate, subject to availability and acceptance. For advice about your circumstances, consult a lawyer in your province or territory.

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