Western Underwriting Managers LTD.






Principles in Summary At Western Underwriting Managers Ltd. we are aware of the importance of maintaining the privacy of our customers. We take this responsibility very seriously. The Federal Government passed the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (commonly referred to as PIPEDA) in order to ensure that an individual’s personal information is not misused. The intent of this legislation is embodied in the following ten principles we have adopted: 1. Accountability – We are responsible for personal information under our control and have designated a Privacy Officer to ensure that our entire operation complies with the requirements of the privacy legislation. 2. Identifying Purposes – We will identify the purposes for which personal information is collected at or before the time the information is collected. 3. Consent – We will only collect, use or disclose your personal information with your knowledge and consent, and as accorded by law. 4. Limiting Collection – We will only collect personal information that is necessary for our defined purposes. This information will be collected by fair and lawful means. 5. Limiting Use, Disclosure and Retention – We will not use or disclose personal information for purposes other than for which it was collected, except with your consent or as required by law. We will keep your personal information only as long as necessary for the fulfillment of those purposes. 6. Accuracy – Personal information will be as accurate, complete and up-to-date as is necessary for the purpose for which it is used. 7. Safeguards – We will protect personal information by security safeguards that are appropriate to the sensitivity of the information. 8. Openness – We will make specific information about our policies and practices relating to the management of personal information readily available to our customers. 9. Customer Access – Upon request, a customer will be informed of the existence, use and disclosure of his or her personal information and will be given access to that information. A customer can challenge the accuracy and completeness of the information and have it amended as appropriate. 10. Challenging Compliance – A customer can challenge compliance with the above principles with our designated Privacy Officer. COLLECTING, USING AND DISCLOSING INFORMATION ABOUT YOU We collect, use and disclose your personal information in order to provide you with the insurance protection that you have requested or in the case of a claimant to provide you with the compensation to which you are entitled. In order to do this, we use your personal information for the purpose of: establishing and maintaining communications with you; underwriting risks on a prudent basis; investigating and paying claims; detecting and preventing fraud; offering and providing products and services to meet your needs; compiling statistics and acting as required or authorized by law (the “Identified Purposes”). We take a global view of the Identified Purposes. In other words, we are not collecting personal information just for any one of the purposes, e.g. underwriting your policy. We are collecting the personal information for all of the Identified Purposes, so in effect you can expect that although we may initially use the data for underwriting your policy, we may later use it for claims purposes, and vice versa. We only collect personal information that we require to provide you with the insurance protection that you have requested and to administer any claims that you may have. The type of personal information that we hold depends upon the type of your dealings with us, but may include: name, address, telephone number, date of birth, family status, marital status, occupation, medical and health records, assets, liabilities, income, credit rating, whether or not credit was extended or refused, credit and payment records, an individual’s previous insurance experience including claims history, and an individual’s previous driving record. We only use such information for the Identified Purposes. By providing your broker or us with personal information, we consider that you do so with the knowledge and understanding that it is collected, used and disclosed for the Identified Purposes. Given the nature of the general insurance industry, consent may be implied in some circumstances. For example, we sometimes provide insurance or amendments to existing policies over the telephone, on short notice or with little written documentation. In these circumstances, it is impossible to obtain express written consent from you. By dealing with us on insurance related matters, we infer that we have your consent for the collection, use and disclosure of personal information necessary for the Identified Purposes. You may withdraw your consent subject to legal or contractual obligations and on reasonable notice. Withdrawal of consent may limit our ability to provide you with the requested product or service. If you want to withdraw your consent, you should contact our designated Privacy Officer first to understand the implications of such withdrawal, and then if you choose to proceed, to give the requisite notice. Accessing Your Personal Information You have a right to submit a written request to access your personal information that is in our possession and make corrections to it. Such a request is to be made to our designated Privacy Officer, at the address listed below. We will respond to your request within 30 days or advise you if additional time is required to respond to your request. There may be situations in which we are legally prohibited from allowing you access to your personal information. For example, we would be so prohibited if allowing you access to your personal information would likely reveal personal information about another person or other confidential information. If this is the case, we will advise you why, subject to any legal restrictions. We may also charge you for providing access to personal information, however we will only do so after advising you of the approximate cost. We will amend personal information that is demonstrated to be inaccurate or incomplete. Further Information and Contact If you have a question or complaint regarding our privacy policies or procedures, you may contact the individual accountable for our personal information protection compliance: Privacy Officer Western Underwriting Managers Ltd. 720 –666 Burrard Street Vancouver, British Columbia V6C 2X8 If you make an inquiry or lodge a complaint, and are not satisfied with the outcome of that, you may address your concerns to the: Privacy Commissioner of Canada 112 Kent Street Ottawa, Ontario K1A 1H3