You can use the Service québécois de changement d'adresse to notify the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec of your change of address. Thanks to the Service québécois de changement d'adresse, you can notify many government services of your new address in a single, secure operation.
You should have on hand your claim number (compensation for accident victims) and your driver's licence.
A person injured in a road accident may qualify for various indemnities paid by the Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec.
Income replacement indemnity
This indemnity compensates an accident victim for his or her real loss of income if the person becomes unable to resume employment or regular activities.
Job loss indemnity
This indemnity takes the form of an extension of the income replacement indemnity and may be granted to an accident victim who held a job at the time of the accident and lost it because of the accident, but is now fit to return to work.
Lump-sum indemnity for students
This indemnity is payable to students who lose a school year or academic term because of injuries sustained in an automobile accident.
Lump-sum indemnity: loss of enjoyment of life, mental suffering and pain
An injury sustained in an accident (and the resulting physical impairment or damage to appearance) may lead to after-effects such as loss of enjoyment of life, mental suffering and pain.
The Société may pay a lump-sum indemnity that varies according to the severity of the injury and its after-effects.
Care allowance
This indemnity is paid to an accident victim whose main occupation was taking care (without remuneration) of children under the age of 16 or persons ordinarily unable to hold any kind of employment and who becomes unable to continue taking care of them because of an accident.
Care expenses may also be reimbursed to
- a person who, because of an automobile accident, becomes unable to take care of children under the age of 16 or persons ordinarily unable to hold any kind of employment;
- a person who is able to take care of children under the age of 16 or persons ordinarily unable to hold any kind of employment, but is momentarily prevented from doing so because he or she must seek medical or paramedical care in connection with the accident or undergo a medical examination required by the Société.
Indemnities related to the rehabilitation of an accident victim
If the Société considers it essential for an accident victim’s rehabilitation, it may reimburse the cost of alterations to a home or vehicle and job training or workforce reintegration.
Note
The indemnities paid by the Société are not subject to seizure, except for the income replacement indemnity, which may be seized for support debts.
Outlays on personal care at home
The Société may reimburse outlays on personal care at home for accident victims whose physical or mental condition makes it impossible for them to care for themselves or carry out essential activities of daily life without assistance.
Substitute labour costs for a family business
The Société may reimburse the cost of hiring a person to replace an accident victim who had been working without pay in a family business.
Availability allowance
This allowance may be paid in cases where an accident victim has to be escorted by another person when going for treatment or for a medical examination required by the Société.
Reimbursement of expenses related to medical and paramedical care as well as travel expenses required to obtain such care
Taxi or automobile expenses and parking expenses are reimbursed only if mass transit is not available for the required travel or cannot be used due to the person’s state of health.
Ambulance transport
Usually in Québec, the Société is billed directly by the ambulance service. However, if the accident victim receives the bill, the Société may reimburse the expenses incurred for transport from the site of the accident to the hospital.
Clothing or protective helmet
The Société may reimburse the cost of dry-cleaning, repair or replacement of clothing or a protective helmet that was damaged in an accident.
Purchase of medication
The Société may reimburse the cost of prescription medication as well as
- professional fees (for physiotherapy, occupational therapy, chiropractic care, acupuncture, psychological treatment, etc.);
- the cost of eyeglasses, prostheses or orthoses;
- the cost of medical reports.
Reimbursement of certain other expenses
Upon receipt of vouchers, the Société will reimburse certain other expenses incurred due to an accident under the terms and conditions fixed by regulation, provided the expenses are not already covered by a social security plan.
Processing of a claim for compensation
When a claim for compensation is received, the Société registers the claim and the documents submitted with it, assigns the claim to a compensation officer, and sends the claimant an acknowledgment of receipt indicating the name of the compensation officer in charge of the claim.
The compensation officer telephones the claimant to convey all pertinent information concerning the claim. The compensation officer then studies the claim, gathers all the necessary information, authorizes payment of indemnities and sends the written decision to the claimant by mail.
Rehabilitation services
Victims of road accidents may suffer from disabilities affecting their capacity to function independently on various levels (personal life, work, social life, education, etc.). The Société has established a process to provide them with support and assist them in accessing rehabilitation services.
Under this process, the Société’s counsellors evaluate the individual’s needs;
- work with the individual to develop an action plan;
- determine which means and resources will be of use to the individual;
- assist the individual throughout the process.
Counsellors can
- reimburse services rendered to the individual by private clinics, rehabilitation centres and educational institutions;
- assist the individual in re-entering the workforce, in cooperation with the individual’s employer, other employers or employment centres;
- work with social service agencies to provide the individual with needed assistance in respect of housing, transport and home help.
The following services are covered:
- functional rehabilitation: evaluation and treatment of physical, cognitive and emotional disabilities;
- support for re-entry into the workforce: adapted work stations, vocational training, on-the-job training, vocational guidance, support during the job search;
- support for school integration: adapted study stations, pedagogical support, academic reorientation, training;
- support for social integration: home adaptation, adapted automobile, home help, specialized equipment, shelter assistance.
The clientele and the conditions are indicated individually for each service, since they may differ in each case.
The amounts of the various indemnities for accidents occurring between January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2011 are indicated below.
Income replacement indemnities
The terms and conditions for payment of this indemnity are as follows:
- the indemnity corresponds to 90% of the net income calculated on the basis of annual income;
- the first 7 days following the accident are not covered;
- the maximum insurable earnings are $64,000;
- when an accident victim who is already receiving an income replacement indemnity reaches age 65, the indemnity is reduced by
- 25% on the individual’s 65 th birthday,
- 50% on the individual’s 66 th birthday,
- 75% on the individual’s 67 th birthday.
The indemnity stops being paid as of the individual’s 68 th birthday.
Job loss indemnity
This indemnity is paid for a period calculated based on how long the disability lasts. The indemnity may be paid from 30 days up to a maximum of 365 days, beginning from the deemed end-date of the individual’s disability.
Lump-sum indemnity for students
This indemnity is
- $4,695 per school year missed at the elementary level;
- $8,615 per school year missed at the secondary level;
- $8,615 per term missed at the postsecondary level, up to $17,229 per year.
The indemnity is paid in a single instalment at the end of the missed school year or term. The right to receive the indemnity ceases at the expected end-date of the studies under way at the time of the accident or at the end of the school year during which the victim turns 16, as applicable.
Lump-sum indemnity: loss of enjoyment of life, mental suffering and pain
To determine the amount of the indemnity, the individual’s medical condition is evaluated based on the information entered in the record and, if necessary, by one or more experts in the relevant specialties.
In most cases, the indemnity is paid in a single instalment. However, a preliminary instalment may be paid to the individual before the final evaluation if the medical information in the record justifies doing so.
The maximum amount is $219,671.
Care allowance
For an accident victim whose main occupation was taking care (without remuneration) of children under the age of 16 or persons ordinarily unable to hold any kind of employment, the indemnity may total a weekly maximum of
- $392 for 1 person;
- $440 for 2 persons;
- $485 for 3 persons;
- $534 for 4 persons or more.
Care expenses may be reimbursed to
- a person who, because of an automobile accident, becomes unable to take care of children under the age of 16 or persons ordinarily unable to hold any kind of employment;
- a person who is able to take care of children under the age of 16 or persons ordinarily unable to hold any kind of employment, but is momentarily prevented from doing so because he or she must seek medical or paramedical care in connection with the accident or undergo a medical examination required by the Société.
Expenses are reimbursed upon presentation of vouchers and on certain conditions, up to the following maximum weekly amounts:
- $119 for 1 person;
- $157 for 2 persons;
- $198 for 3 persons;
- $236 for 4 persons or more.
Only the additional care expenses incurred due to the accident can be reimbursed.
Outlays on personal care at home
The Société determines the personal care needs, short term or long term, and the amount of the reimbursement.
The maximum amount reimbursed per week is $784 for an accident victim whose state of health requires continuous care.
Substitute labour costs for a family business
The weekly maximum is $783 for the first 180 days.
Availability allowance: escorting an accident victim who is going for treatment or for a medical examination required by the Société
The maximum amounts are $35 for availability of 4 hours or less and $70 for availability of more than 4 hours to escort an accident victim.
Professional fees
The amounts granted for professional fees are as follows:
- physiotherapy and occupational therapy: maximum of $36 per prescribed treatment;
- chiropractic care: maximum of $31 per prescribed treatment;
- acupuncture: maximum of $26 per prescribed treatment;
- psychological treatment: maximum of $65 per prescribed treatment.
To find out the amounts granted for other types of professional fees, call the Société’s information line.
Purchase of eyeglasses, prostheses or orthoses
The amounts granted for the purchase of eyeglasses, prostheses or orthoses are as follows:
- eyeglasses: $100 for frames, plus the actual cost of lenses;
- contact lenses: maximum of $110 for replacement and maximum of $300 for purchase;
- prostheses or orthoses: costs incurred, based on the maximum prescribed by regulation, where applicable.
Clothing or protective helmet
The reimbursement may total a maximum of
- $25 for an initial medical report;
- $70 for a medical assessment report;
- $70 for a medical progress report;
- $65 for a medical after-effects report.
