Section B in New Brunswick

Section B in New Brunswick is mandatory. Every standard automobile policy issued in the province includes the accident benefits, and the insurer owes them whether or not the crash was your fault. They are the coverage that pays for treatment while the fault question is still being argued, which usually takes years.

What Section B in New Brunswick Covers

The coverage has three parts. Medical and rehabilitation benefits pay for treatment that provincial health insurance does not: physiotherapy, chiropractic care, prescriptions, dental repair, private nursing and travel to appointments. Death benefits and a funeral allowance are payable to dependants. A weekly income benefit replaces part of lost earnings during total disability. The medical part carries a maximum per person and a window of years from the crash within which the expense must be incurred, both set by the standard policy form.

The Weekly Income Benefit

The income benefit pays a percentage of gross weekly earnings up to a weekly maximum fixed by the policy, and the maximum is low enough that most earners are underinsured by it. Payment begins after a short waiting period, and the disability must start within a set number of days of the crash. Benefits run for a defined number of weeks on a test of inability to do your own job, and continue past that point only if you cannot do any occupation. A person not employed at the time can qualify for a lower weekly amount on a test of inability to perform household duties.

The Deadlines That Run From the Crash

The standard policy requires written notice to the insurer shortly after the accident and a proof of claim within a further short period, both counted from the crash rather than from a refusal. The window to sue an insurer that refuses a Section B benefit is shorter than the ordinary limitation period for a court claim. Missing a notice deadline is often curable; missing the deadline to sue is not.

How Section B Affects the Claim Against the at-Fault Driver

Section B pays first and the tort claim runs alongside it, as the guide’s opening chapter explains. Income benefits already paid are deducted from any loss of income award against the driver at fault, so the two do not stack. New Brunswick also limits general damages for minor personal injuries by regulation, which the New Brunswick car accident page addresses. Which insurer answers in the first place is covered in who pays Section B, and the neighbouring rule is in Section B in Nova Scotia.

Where the Wording Comes From

The benefits come from the standard automobile policy approved under the Insurance Act, not from a benefits schedule a province publishes separately. The Act and the decisions applying it are on CanLII’s New Brunswick collection. The injury law areas hub lists every claim type the firm handles.