Section B in Nova Scotia

Section B in Nova Scotia is compulsory coverage inside every standard automobile policy issued in the province. Your own insurer pays it after a crash regardless of fault, and it operates as a contract obligation rather than a discretionary benefit. Adjusters describe it as assistance. It is a debt the policy already owes you.

What Section B in Nova Scotia Covers

Medical and rehabilitation benefits pay for reasonable expenses that provincial health insurance does not cover, including physiotherapy, chiropractic treatment, prescriptions, dental work and travel to appointments. Death benefits and a funeral allowance are payable to dependants of a person killed in the crash. A weekly income benefit replaces part of lost earnings while total disability lasts. Both the medical maximum per person and the number of years within which the expense must be incurred come from the standard policy form.

The Weekly Income Benefit and Its Limits

The income benefit is a percentage of gross weekly earnings, capped at a weekly maximum written into the policy. The cap has not tracked wages, so it replaces a small share of most people’s income. Payment starts after a waiting period, and the disability has to begin within a short window after the accident. The benefit continues on an own occupation test for a defined number of weeks, then only if you cannot engage in any occupation, which mirrors the shift described in the firm’s disability guide.

The Deadlines That Run From the Crash

Notice to the insurer and a proof of claim are both due within short periods measured from the accident, not from the day treatment was refused. The time to sue an insurer over a refused Section B benefit is also short. Actions on refused benefits are heard in the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia, whose forms and practice memoranda are published by the Nova Scotia courts.

What Section B Does to the Tort Claim

Section B is paid first and the claim against the at-fault driver runs separately, as set out in the guide’s opening chapter. Weekly income benefits already received are deducted from any loss of income award, and medical benefits paid can reduce the corresponding tort head. Nova Scotia also caps general damages for minor injuries by regulation, discussed on the Nova Scotia car accident page. Where more than one policy could respond, the order is in who pays Section B, and the neighbouring province rules are in Section B in New Brunswick and Section B in Prince Edward Island.

Where the Wording Comes From

The benefits are contractual, drawn from the standard policy approved under the Insurance Act, so the policy wording is what an adjuster is actually applying. The Act and the reported decisions interpreting Section B are on CanLII’s Nova Scotia collection. The firm opens Section B on injury files as part of what we can do for you. The injury law areas hub lists every claim type the firm takes.