PRIVACY POLICY

LEGISLATION

Federal legislation known as the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act and similar provincial legislation ("privacy legislation ") govern Neil G. McDonald Ltd. Brokers in collection, use and disclosure of personal information. Neil G. McDonald Ltd. Brokers has practices and procedures that satisfy the standards set out in privacy legislation.

In accordance with privacy legislation, Neil G. McDonald Ltd. Brokers follows Information Principles.

Neil G. McDonald Ltd. Brokers ’s Privacy Officer is accountable for compliance with standard Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act.
Where required, Neil G. McDonald Ltd. Brokers ' will explain why the collection of personal information is necessary.
Neil G. McDonald Ltd. Brokers will obtain your consent prior to collecting, using or disclosing your personal information. Exceptions arise where use or disclosure is required or permitted by law - for example, in the course of a criminal investigation.
Neil G. McDonald Ltd. Brokers collects the personal information necessary to administer insurance policies and fulfill the insurance placement requests.

Neil G. McDonald Ltd. Brokers will not use or disclose personal information for a reason other than the purpose for which it was collected. Neil G. McDonald Ltd. Brokers will retain personal information as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected and as required by law. In the even of financial/credit information the client/potential client can request to submit those items directly to the insurance carrier and will be provided the appropriate individual’s contact information to forward the information to.

Neil G. McDonald Ltd. Brokers makes best efforts to monitor and update the accuracy of personal information as needed to provide insurance coverage and respond to claims.

Neil G. McDonald Ltd. Brokers takes reasonable steps to safeguard personal information by using safe storage procedures and technological measures, which limit access to unauthorized employees, third parties not authorized by the client/potential clients and those who wish to do harm with the information.

Neil G. McDonald Ltd. Brokers recognizes your right to access your personal information. If access must be denied, according to privacy legislation, Neil G. McDonald Ltd. Brokers will provide an explanation of the denial.

Neil G. McDonald Ltd. Brokers ’s Privacy Officer welcomes enquiries about our Privacy Policy and privacy practices.

What is "Personal Information "?

Personal information is defined in legislation as information about an identifiable individual, excluding the name, title, business address or telephone number of an employee of an organization. Some examples of personal information Neil G. McDonald Ltd. Brokers may collect include your address, date of birth, e-mail address, medical history or driving record as well as other pertinent information.

When and Why Neil G. McDonald Ltd. Brokers Collects Personal Information

Neil G. McDonald Ltd. Brokers Collects Personal Information
All consumers who purchase insurance (or consider purchasing insurance) from Neil G. McDonald Ltd. Brokers do so with the guidance and assistance of a professional, licensed and independent insurance broker. Neil G. McDonald Ltd. Brokers collects your personal information to assess your insurance needs. Neil G. McDonald Ltd. Brokers may recommend that you consider a number of products from different companies. In order to recommend products, Neil G. McDonald Ltd. Brokers provides insurance companies with your personal information. Neil G. McDonald Ltd. Brokers will explain that this exchange of personal information is necessary for Insurers to assess your risk profile and provide an accurate quotation regarding the cost of the policy being considered.

The information collected by Neil G. McDonald Ltd. Brokers is dependant on the insurance coverage you should have. Some examples are provided to explain the type of information necessary to provide automobile and property insurance.

The Collection of Personal Information for Automobile Insurance
If you want to purchase automobile insurance, provincial governments require that you provide information set out on the Automobile Application form. This application form is used by all insurance companies and is approved by government. The Automobile Application form varies from province to province but all provincial governments gather similar information, such as your name, address, how the vehicle will be used, accident history and your history of convictions arising from operating an automobile. In some provinces you will be required to answer questions about your health, with respect to your ability to safely operate a vehicle.

The Collection of Personal Information for Property Insurance
To provide property insurance, insurance companies require information regarding the property, as well as your past experience renting and owning property. Where there is a mortgagor or any other person with an interest in the property, you must disclose this information.

How Neil G. McDonald Ltd. Brokers Uses and Discloses Personal Information

Neil G. McDonald Ltd. Brokers uses and discloses the personal information collected for various purposes:

to assess an application for a property and casualty insurance product;
to communicate with a customer regarding an insurance policy;
to confirm information provided by a customer;
to evaluate and settle a claim;
to detect and prevent fraud;
to offer and provide products and services to meet customer needs;
to analyze risk and business results; and
as may be required or authorized by law.

Additional examples of Neil G. McDonald Ltd. Brokers ’s use and disclosure of personal information are provided below:

Neil G. McDonald Ltd. Brokers may use personal information to conduct statistical studies on information of groups of policyholders to improve understanding of claim trends, price adequacy and financial results and forecasts.
As part of the front line underwriting and claims handling process, Neil G. McDonald Ltd. Brokers also transfers personal information to other insurance companies/statistical bodies to verify the accuracy of information provided in an application for insurance or to help identify insurance fraud.
Unfortunately insurance fraud is a reality that leads to higher insurance premiums for everyone. Where circumstances suggest a false or exaggerated claim we will conduct a careful investigation.
When a claim arises, Neil G. McDonald Ltd. Brokers uses personal information to investigate the claim, assess damages and make the appropriate payments. Where legal action arises, Neil G. McDonald Ltd. Brokers may need to share personal information with its legal counsel.
Neil G. McDonald Ltd. Brokers is required by various provincial statutes to provide information regarding automobile applications, claims and premiums to the Superintendent or an appointed statistical agency. Such data is used by regulators to conduct statistical studies and research. This provides regulators with a better understanding of consumers' experiences with insurance.
Neil G. McDonald Ltd. Brokers may also use aggregate data to conduct statistical studies. For example, we may analyze claims data to determine the proportion of accidents involving vehicles in one area compared to another.

Neil G. McDonald Ltd. Brokers never sells personal information, or other information relating to you, to any organization, including charities or direct marketing groups.

Requests to Access Personal Information

You may request access to your personal information that is held by Neil G. McDonald Ltd. Brokers . To do so, please contact the Privacy Officer by letter or e-mail as set out below. Access requests must be in writing. We will reply to your request within 30 days.

Please note, Neil G. McDonald Ltd. Brokers may charge reasonable costs in providing access to and copies of personal information and will inform you if such costs arise.

Neil G. McDonald Ltd. Brokers may refuse access where:

such access would hinder an investigation relating to the enforcement of any law, including alleged fraud;
the information is protected by solicitor-client and/or litigation privilege;
to do so would reveal confidential commercial information - where possible, Neil G. McDonald Ltd. Brokers will provide access after severing the confidential information;
it is prohibitively costly to provide the information;
the information contains references to other individuals - where possible, Neil G. McDonald Ltd. Brokers will provide access after severing the references to other individuals; or
the information was created in the course of a formal dispute resolution process, such as mediation or arbitration.

For Further Information

This Privacy Policy sets out Neil G. McDonald Ltd. Brokers ’s commitment to safeguarding your personal information. The examples clarify Neil G. McDonald Ltd. Brokers ’s collection, use and disclosure of personal information, however, do not represent a complete list of circumstances in which Neil G. McDonald Ltd. Brokers must collect, use and disclose information to administer insurance policies.

We may update our Privacy Policy to adhere to changes in legislation or to improve service to our policyholders. Please contact our Privacy Officer for changes and further details.

If you would like more information regarding Neil G. McDonald Ltd. Brokers ’s Privacy Policy and practices, please do not hesitate to contact our Privacy Officer.

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CONSENT

Implied Consent
Consent can be implied or express. Implied consent is inferred from the circumstances, including the relationship between the parties and the nature of the interaction. For example, when you contact an insurance broker to obtain automobile or property coverage, it is reasonable for the broker to presume your implied consent to share personal information with the insurer to assess and meet your insurance needs. Similarly, it is reasonable for the Insurer to presume your implied consent to disclose your personal information to your broker, in order to assess an application or administer an insurance policy.

What is Express Consent?
When Neil G. McDonald Ltd. Brokers handles sensitive personal information, Neil G. McDonald Ltd. Brokers obtains express written or verbal consent. Sensitive information includes medical information or financial records for claims involving personal injury or income loss. In these circumstances, the sensitive personal information is not required or collected until a claim is made and it becomes necessary to obtain such information to determine entitlement to benefits. Express consent is obtained at the time of the claim. Exceptions to Consent
Privacy legislation sets out situations in which consent is not necessary. Some examples of when it is not necessary for Neil G. McDonald Ltd. Brokers to obtain consent include when the information is:

disclosed to our lawyers;
used to collect debts owed by policyholders; or
used during an investigation of potential fraud, other policy breaches, or other illegal acts.

Withholding or Withdrawing Consent
You may withhold or withdraw your consent upon reasonable notice to Neil G. McDonald Ltd. Brokers , however, this may affect Neil G. McDonald Ltd. Brokers ’s ability to provide insurance or seek necessary insurance. Where the withdrawal of consent or withholding of personal information prevents Neil G. McDonald Ltd. Brokers from providing adequate customer service, Neil G. McDonald Ltd. Brokers may be unable to process your claim for payment, may cancel an existing policy, or may be unable to honour the withdrawal or withholding of consent.

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