Our Commitment to Your Privacy

You can control how we handle your personal information. You have choices in this matter and can refuse to allow us to obtain, use or share your personal information. You can also withdraw previously given consent at any time.

However, depending on the situation, you may be limiting or even preventing our ability to provide you with the insurance product or service you desire. For example, if you do not allow us to obtain information about your driving record, it’s unlikely that we will be able to provide you with automobile insurance. We’re happy to discuss particular situations with you to help you with your decision.

Contact Information and Resources

We’re committed to treating you with respect and courtesy, and providing the highest level of service.

Please contact our Privacy Officer if you:

  • Wish to access your personal information
  • Wish to change your consent to the ways in which we may collect, use or disclose your personal information
  • Have a complaint about our privacy policies or the manner in which we’ve handled your personal information
  • Have any other questions about our privacy policies

We will respond to you promptly and do our utmost to resolve your concerns. To find out more about federal privacy laws, please contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner at 1.800.282.1376 or visit their website at www.priv.gc.ca.

We’re committed to providing our clients with excellent service. Doing business with a property and casualty insurance broker or a life insurance advisor involves giving information about yourself. To the extent your personal information is collected or stored, protection of your personal information is one of our highest priorities.

Both our company and the insurance industry in general have a solid track record of respecting your right to privacy and safeguarding your personal information. As a result of federal legislation, we’ve further strengthened our privacy commitment by informing you of why and how we collect, use and disclose your personal information. You can be assured that we’ll only handle your personal information in a manner that a reasonable person would consider appropriate in the circumstances.

Why Do We Collect Personal Information?

When you first become a client or whenever you acquire or renew an insurance product from us, we may need to collect some of your personal information. Common purposes for which we collect your personal information are to:

  • Enable us to acquire or renew an insurance policy for you
  • Assist you and assess your ongoing insurance needs
  • Assess your need for other insurance products, including financial products, and to offer them to you
  • Ensure your information is accurate and up to date
  • Protect us both against error or fraud

What Personal Information Do We Collect?

Personal information is information that identifies you as an individual client and relates specifically to you. Depending on the insurance product and purpose(s) for which we need to collect it, we may ask for the following personal information about you:

  • Basic information, such as your name, address, telephone and fax numbers, email address, birthdate, and marital status
  • Claims history
  • Credit and past payment records
  • Driver’s record
  • Details about your property, such as the value of your home and its contents
  • Medical information, although this information is only collected for individual life insurance applicants and shared with the insurer; it is not stored by our company
  • Employment information

While we may obtain this personal information from you, your personal information may also be obtained from:

  • Insurance companies
  • Other insurance brokers or agents
  • Credit organizations
  • Motor vehicle and driver licensing authorities
  • Financial institutions
  • Medical professionals

For Group Benefits insurance programs, we do not collect or use any personal information for the individual program members.

Who Do We Disclose Your Personal Information To?

For many of the purposes identified above, we will need to share your personal information with others in order to serve your needs. These other parties commonly include:

  • Insurance companies
  • Other insurance brokers or agents
  • Credit organizations
  • Professionals working with us, such as adjusters or lawyers
  • Financial institutions (e.g., the organization that carries your mortgage)

How Do We Protect Your Personal Information?

To protect your personal information and right to privacy, we will:

  • Not collect, use or disclose your personal information for any purpose other than those that we identify to you
  • To the extent we keep or store your personal information, we will only keep your personal information for as long as we need it to fulfil the stated purpose or as required by law
  • Maintain your personal information as accurately, completely and up-to-date as possible
  • Safeguard your personal information to the best of our ability
  • Respond to any request you may make to access or correct the personal information we hold about you
  • Obtain the appropriate consent from you for the collection, use or disclosure of your personal information

Consent

We might ask you for your express consent in writing, for example, in a signed consent or application form.

We may ask for your express consent in person or over the telephone.

We may determine that by seeking insurance through our organization, your consent has been implied for us to deal with your personal information in a reasonable manner.

There are also legal exceptions in which we will not need to obtain your consent or explain the purposes for the collection, use or disclosure of your personal information. For example, this could apply when there is an emergency situation, or if it is necessary for your protection or ours.

For more information, please contact our Privacy Officer, Bradley Wells, In-House Counsel, at 416.362.3630 or bwells@purvesredmond.com.