Choosing an Insurance company

Regardless of how you buy insurance, your Policy will be issued by an insurance company.
Before accepting an insurance company recommended to you by your agent or broker or choosing
an insurance company yourself, contact the insurance regulator in your province or territory to
confirm that the insurance company is licensed to do business in your province or territory. Dealing
with a licensed insurance company will ensure that you have access to an independent dispute
resolution system if you need to flea complaint.
If your life insurance company fails, Assuris protects your benefits up to certain amounts. A life insurance
the company authorized to sell insurance policies in Canada is required by the federal, provincial and territorial
regulators to become a member of Assuris.

Qualifying for insurance

Insurance companies will evaluate whether they will issue a policy based on certain criteria, such as your age

• your medical history
• any previous claims you have made
• the amount of coverage you are requesting. No matter what type of insurance you are applying for, be sure to answer all questions on the application fully and honestly. If you don’t, your policy could be canceled and any claim you make
in the future could be refused.

How are premiums calculated?

Your premium is based on the probability that you will make a claim. Factors such as the ones listed
previously may aﬀect the cost of your premiums. Insurers usually charge higher premiums to people
who they think are more likely make a claim. People whom insurers consider less likely to make a claim
will usually pay lower premiums. For example, if you have a history of medical issues, you may pay
higher life insurance premiums than someone with few medical issues. If you have several accidents
on your driving record, you may pay higher auto insurance premiums than someone who has no
accidents on their driving record.

Maintaining your coverage

There are certain things you need to do in order to maintain your insurance coverage.Pay your premiums on time. If you do not pay your premiums on time, your policy may be canceled
for non-payment. Your coverage will stop and you will no longer be protected. If your policy is canceled
due to non-payment, you may find it difficult to get coverage in the future, or you may have to pay
higher premiums.
For some types of insurance, you must tell your insurer as soon as possible about any change in your
circumstances that may aﬀect the insurer’s ability to cover your loss. For example, your automobile
insurer will need to know if you have convictions for driving oﬀences.

To renew your policy, you may need to tell the insurer about any changes to that information within
a certain time period before your current policy ends. Your policy will list the specific procedures you
will need to follow to renew your policy.canceling yoUr coverage if you’ve recently bought insurance and are having second thoughts, you have ten days from the
time you received the policy to cancel it. If you choose to do so, you will be refunded any premiums
you have paid.You can also cancel a life, health or property, and casualty insurance policy while it is in force. However, if you cancel your policy before the expiry date, a penalty will be applied and the balance of any premiums
you have prepaid will be refunded to you.Make certain that your new policy is in force before letting your previous policy lapse or expire.
Otherwise, you may not be covered while waiting for the new policy to come into force.

Making a claiM

When you make a claim, you are officially asking the insurer to pay you for a loss or event covered under the terms of your insurance policy.Before submitting a claim, check your policy’s terms and conditions, as well as any exclusions, to see if
your loss is covered.Insurance companies will pay only for the specific losses described in your policy. Your
insurer will review your policy and advise you if your claim is eligible for the terms of your contract.
Contact your insurance agent, broker or insurance company promptly about your claim. Most insurers
have time limits within which you must submit your claim. The timeframe usually varies from 90 days
to 12 months from the date of the occurrence.When submitting your claim to your insurer, make sure to provide all supporting documents. For example, in the case of an auto insurance claim, you may need to provide an accident report; for
a life insurance claim, you may need to provide a death certificate.
Your policy lists the specific claims procedures you will need to follow.
, consider whether you

Protecting Yourself From insurance Scams

Insurance scams can take many forms. Here are a few tips on how to avoid them:
• Beware of any email message that claims to be from your insurance company and that asks you to confirm or give certain personal information. This could be a scam to obtain information about
your personal finances and could lead to identity theft

• Do not pay your premiums through a money transfer or money wiring service. This is not a normal practice and could be a scam to get you to buy fake insurance.if you have a complaint there are several options available to you if you have a complaint against your insurance agent, broker or insurance company. All federally regulated insurers must have a complaint-handling system in place. They must provide policyholders with information on how to make a complaint, how long the
process will take and the next steps if the complaint remains unresolved.
For a list of federally regulated financial institutions, visit the website of the Office of the
The Complaint ProcessIt is important that you follow your insurance company’s internal complaint-handling process before
taking further steps.

1. Address the issue with your agent, broker or the company representative as soon as possible.This may be all that is required to solve the situation.
2. If the problem relates to the insurance product and you are not satisfied with the response
received from your agent or broker, make a formal complaint to your insurer and ask that your
complaint is forwarded to your insurance company’s internal ombudsperson. Formal complaints
must usually be made in writing.
If the problem relates to the conduct of the agent or broker and you are not satisfied with his or
her response, contact the insurance regulator in your province or territory.
3. If the insurance company cannot resolve your complaint, contact the insurance regulator in your
province or territory.
If you are not satisfied with the outcome, you can contact the appropriate provincial or federal financialservicesregulator.Eachprovinceandterritoryhasitsowninsuranceregulatorthathandlescomplaints.
FCAC has a complaint-handling process search tool on its website (fcac.gc.ca) that can help you find
out about the complaint-handling process for your insurer.When filing a formal complaint, remember:• State the facts, why you think there is a problem and what you would like to happen.
• Provide copies of all the available documentation such as brochures, account statements and copies of contracts and medical information, if appropriate. Keep the originals.• Keep a record of whom you talked to and what was said.
• Askforafnalpositionletterthatclearlystatesyourinsurer’sfnaldecisionregardingyourcomplaint.

Resources

Federal, provincial and territorial regulatorsCanada’s insurance industry is regulated federally as well as by the provinces and territories.
Most insurance companies are federally incorporated. The federal government ensures that all federally
incorporated insurance companies are financially sound. Federally incorporated insurance companies
must also be members of a third-party dispute-resolution system to handle consumer complaints.However, each province has its own insurance regulator and all insurers must follow the rules and regulations of the province or territory in which they carry on business. Provincial insurance regulators
enforce consumer protection laws and also oversee the licensing and conduct of insurance agents
and brokers in their province.
If you want to confirm that the insurance company, agent or broker you are dealing with is licensed
or registered to do business in your province or territory, or if you want more information on how to
protect yourself, contact your provincial or territorial regulator.

This post first appeared on The Insurance World, please read the originial post: here