A hit and run insurance claim in New Brunswick is a claim against your own policy. The driver who hit you is gone, so Section D of your auto policy pays in their place, and Section B pays your treatment in the meantime. This page covers how Section D works, what you must report and when, the Facility Association for people without a policy, and how the claim is valued.
A Hit and Run Insurance Claim Is an Unidentified Motorist Claim Against Your Own Policy
A hit and run is any collision where a driver fails to stop and give their information. It is an offence under the Motor Vehicle Act. For the person hit, the usual source of compensation, the at-fault driver’s insurer, is missing.
The claim you file with your own insurer is an “unidentified motorist” claim. It is different from an “uninsured” claim, where the driver is known but has no policy. The same section of the policy covers both, but the evidence you need differs.
If you were not at fault, using this coverage should not raise your premiums. You paid for it. The firm has run hundreds of these claims and knows where insurers push back.
Section D Pays What the Missing Driver Would Have Owed, Up to the Policy Limit
Every standard auto policy in New Brunswick includes Section D. It responds when the other driver is uninsured or cannot be identified. Under it your own insurer steps into the missing driver’s shoes and pays what that driver would have been liable for, up to the policy limit.
The statutory minimum in New Brunswick is $200,000. Many drivers carry $1,000,000 or $2,000,000. Check your own policy for the limit, because it caps the claim.
A Section D claim is adversarial. Your insurer will question the severity of your injuries or argue you were partly at fault, because every dollar it pays is its own. Treat it as you would the other driver’s insurer. Do not give a recorded statement to your own adjuster without advice, and do not sign a release until the injuries are fully known.
Police and Insurer Must Be Notified at Once, and the Scene Documented
The reporting rules are strict, and a missed one gives the insurer a reason to deny. Report the collision to police immediately. Where the driver is unidentified, that usually means within 24 hours.
Then notify your insurer. The policy requires prompt notice of any potential claim, and for a hit and run that notice should go in writing as soon as possible. Photograph the scene, any debris and the damage to your vehicle. Take the names and numbers of any witnesses before they leave.
Physical evidence can identify the vehicle. Paint transfer on your car and security footage from nearby businesses both do it. If you were on foot, our New Brunswick pedestrian accident lawyers canvass local businesses for video. Every piece of evidence makes the claim harder to deny.
Section B Pays Treatment and Weekly Indemnity While the Claim Runs
Before the main claim settles, you are entitled to treatment. Section B is the no-fault part of the policy, and it pays regardless of who caused the crash. It covers physiotherapy, massage, chiropractic care and psychological counselling.
Section B also pays weekly indemnity if you cannot work: $250 per week or 80% of gross salary, whichever is less. You and your treating doctor each complete forms to access it. It is a separate process from the lawsuit.
Insurers send claimants for “Independent Medical Examinations” (IMEs) to justify cutting Section B off. The firm handles those disputes so benefits continue. Questions about your car accident claim go to the Moncton team.
Pain and Suffering Damages Require a Permanent Serious Impairment
To recover non-pecuniary damages (pain and suffering), your injury must meet a legal threshold: a “permanent serious impairment of an important physical, mental, or psychological function.” Insurers litigate this line hard.
If the injury is classed as “minor” under the New Brunswick Insurance Act, pain and suffering damages are capped at a statutory amount. Many injuries that look minor at first become chronic and meet the threshold later. The firm documents the long-term effect with treating physicians so the claim reflects it.
Meeting the threshold takes objective medical evidence and a clear link between the collision and your current limitations, not just your own account. The legislation is on the Government of New Brunswick website.
The Facility Association Covers Victims with No Policy of Their Own
If you were hit while walking and own no car and no policy, the Facility Association is the insurer of last resort. It gives every hit and run victim in the province a path to compensation, and it matters most for pedestrians and cyclists.
The Facility Association behaves like a private insurer. You still prove the unidentified driver was at fault and that you were injured. It investigates to confirm no other policy responds before it accepts the claim.
The firm files these claims regularly and meets the notice requirements the Association imposes. A pedestrian accident with no policy of your own is exactly the case it exists for.
Liability Is Proved by Corroboration and Reasonable Efforts to Find the Driver
In an ordinary collision you have the other driver’s statement and insurance details. In a hit and run the defendant is a blank. You must prove the collision happened and that the other driver was mainly responsible, and the insurer may suggest the crash was staged or that you caused it.
Corroboration decides these cases. A witness who saw the vehicle leave confirms your account. Without one, the vehicle damage has to tell the story: paint scrapings in a colour that is not yours prove contact. The firm retains accident reconstructionists where the mechanics are disputed.
You must also show “reasonable efforts” to identify the driver: calling police, checking for cameras, posting on local community boards for witnesses. An insurer that thinks you did not try can deny. Document each step.
The Lawsuit Has a Two-Year Limit and the Policy Has Shorter Ones
The general limitation period for a personal injury claim in New Brunswick is two years, counted from the day the injury was known or ought to have been known. Your own policy imposes shorter ones. Many require a written statement under oath within 90 days.
Miss an internal policy deadline and the claim can be denied before it reaches a courtroom. The firm tracks every notice from the day you retain it.
If the driver is later identified, say eighteen months on, the claim changes from Section D to an ordinary tort claim against that driver. Our Moncton injury lawyers re-plead the case when that happens.
The Claim Is Valued as Special Damages, General Damages and Future Care
Damages split into special and general. Special damages are out-of-pocket losses: lost wages, medical costs Section B did not cover, travel to appointments, and housekeeping or yard work you can no longer do. Keep every receipt, including mileage to physiotherapy and the cost of anyone you pay to do what you used to do yourself.
General damages are pain, suffering and loss of enjoyment of life. They are usually the largest part of a settlement. The firm values them against past New Brunswick decisions on similar injuries, and with over 40 years of practice and over 100 reported decisions it knows how the province’s judges set those figures.
Where injuries are permanent, future care costs are claimed too. Life care planners estimate decades of treatment so it is in the settlement. The fee is contingent, so the firm has the same interest in the final number that you do.
A Firm That Tries Cases Gets Better Offers
Insurers have in-house lawyers whose job is to lower payouts. A hit and run claim needs a firm willing to try the case if the offer is short. The firm’s record at trial is what moves the insurer’s offer.
The firm runs the file from investigation to settlement or trial: witnesses, medical records, experts, and every conversation with the adjuster. Offices in Moncton, Saint John and across the Maritimes. The team page lists the lawyers who will act.
FAQ
Will My Insurance Rates Go Up If I File a Hit and Run Insurance Claim in New Brunswick?
If you were not at fault, they should not. Section D is coverage you paid for. Insurers do not always record fault correctly, so have a lawyer confirm your no-fault status is on the file.
What If I Only Got a Partial License Plate Number?
Give it to police and to your lawyer. A partial plate with a vehicle make and colour narrows the search. It also shows the reasonable efforts the policy requires.
Can I Still Claim If I Was a Passenger in the Car?
Yes. Passengers are almost always innocent parties. You claim under the driver’s Section D, or your own policy if you have one, or through the Facility Association if neither applies. Liability is rarely contested for a passenger.
How Long Does a Hit and Run Insurance Claim in New Brunswick Take to Settle?
It depends on the injuries. The firm advises waiting until Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI) so future needs are known. A typical claim takes 12 to 24 months; a complex case or one that goes to trial takes longer.
Do I Have to Pay Upfront for a Lawyer?
No. All personal injury claims are on a contingency fee. No upfront costs, and the fee is a share of the recovery.