PRIVACY POLICY

As of January 1, 2004, the Personal Information Protection And Electronic Documents Act (“Act”) applied to Pro-Demnity Insurance Company.

Pro-Demnity was incorporated for the purpose of providing insurance to members of the Ontario Association of Architects (Association) and holders of Certificates of Practice under the Architects Act. No member of the Association or holder of a Certificate of Practice is permitted to engage in the practice of architecture unless the member or holder is insured against professional liability by Pro-Demnity in accordance with the regulations.

Under the terms of the insurance policies, Pro-Demnity is obligated to pay on behalf of the insured, as defined by the policy, all sums which he/she becomes liable to pay for damages arising out of a claim for liability which is the result of an error or omission or negligent act in the performance of professional services in the named insured’s capacity as a holder of the Certificate of Practice. Pro-Demnity is obligated to defend the insured in any civil suit or arbitration proceeding arising out of a claim for which coverage is provided. Defence obligations require Pro-Demnity to investigate, defend, settle, arbitrate or litigate claims. This involves the hiring of investigators, adjusters, experts, consultants, arbitrators, mediators and lawyers. In carrying out its obligations, Pro-Demnity collects, uses and discloses personal information in accordance with the Act for the following purposes:

  • communicating with YOU;
  • underwriting, evaluating and rating risks;
  • establishing premiums and deductibles;
  • investigating and paying claims;
  • risk-sharing with reinsurance and excess insurance companies;
  • other related insurance matters;
  • protecting against and preventing fraud;
  • compiling statistics;
  • undertaking any activity under current law;
  • complying with applicable law.

THE PRINCIPLES

1. ACCOUNTABILITY

Pro-Demnity is responsible for personal information under its control and shall designate one or more individuals who are accountable for Pro-Demnity’s compliance. The identity of the individual(s) shall be made known by Pro-Demnity upon request.

2. IDENTIFYING PURPOSES

The purpose for which personal information is collected is identified in the application for insurance.

3. CONSENT

The knowledge and consent of the individual is required for the collection, use, or disclosure of personal information except where inappropriate. The form of the consent sought by Pro-Demnity may vary depending on the circumstances and the type of information and the reasonable expectations of the individual. Given the obligations of Pro-Demnity under the insurance policies it is reasonable for Pro-Demnity to infer that YOU have given your implied consent for the collection, use or disclosure of personal information necessary for the identified purposes until your next application for annual practice insurance (renewal) is submitted. An express consent is contained in every application for insurance.

Pro-Demnity may collect personal information without the knowledge or consent of the individual if the collection is clearly in the interest of the individual and the consent cannot be obtained in a timely matter or if it is reasonable to expect that the collection with the knowledge or consent of the individual would compromise the availability or the accuracy of the information as more particularly set out in the Act.

YOU may withdraw your consent upon reasonable notice subject to legal or contractual restrictions. However, if YOU withdraw your consent Pro-Demnity may not be able to provide coverage to YOU under the insurance policies.

4. LIMITING COLLECTION

The collection of personal information shall be limited to that which is necessary for the purposes identified by Pro-Demnity. Information shall be collected by fair and lawful means.

5. LIMITING USE, DISCLOSURE AND RETENTION

Personal information shall not be used or disclosed for purposes other than those for which it was collected except with the consent of the individual or as required by law. Personal information shall be retained only as long as necessary for the fulfilment of those purposes.

Pro-Demnity may disclose personal information without the knowledge or consent of the individual as provided by the Act, if the disclosure is to a lawyer who represents Pro-Demnity or for the purposes of collecting a debt owed by the individual to Pro-Demnity or where such is required to comply with a subpoena or an Order of the Court or a person or body with jurisdiction to compel the production of information or where a request has been made by an investigative body and the disclosure is reasonable for purposes related to investigating a breach of an agreement or contravention of the Laws of Canada or a Province or are required by law.

6. ACCURACY

Personal information shall be as accurate, complete and up to date as is necessary for the purpose for which it is to be used.

7. SAFEGUARDS

Personal information shall be protected by security safeguards appropriate for the sensitivity of the information.

8. OPENNESS

Pro-Demnity shall make readily available to individuals, specific information about its policy or practices relating to the management of personal information.

9. INDIVIDUAL ACCESS

Upon request, individuals shall be informed of the existence, use and disclosure of his/her personal information and shall be given access to that information. An individual shall be able to challenge the accuracy and completeness of the information and have it amended as appropriate.

10. CHALLENGING COMPLIANCE

An individual shall be able to address a challenge concerning compliance with the above principles with the designated individual or individuals accountable for Pro-Demnity’s compliance.

CASL POLICY

Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) applies to specific types of commercial activities performed through electronic means.

CASL prohibits outright:

      ·    on-line promotion of products and services using misleading or false representations

      ·    collecting personal information or using that personal information without consent of the individual

      ·    spyware, malware and other technology invasions

CASL regulates the following, each of which requires the prior consent of the recipient:

      ·    sending commercial electronic messages (“CEMs”)

      ·    altering transmission data in electronic messages

      ·    installing computer programs on someone’s computer device, such as a smart phone

POLICY STATEMENT

Pro-Demnity Insurance Company (“the Company”) is committed to complying with CASL, including its requirements with respect to the sending of “CEMs” by us to third parties in any electronic form, including email/text message/instant messages or over social media.

Our Anti-Spam Policy tolerates only CASL compliant email.

We regularly communicate with policyholders with respect to matters regarding insurance programs, including but not limited to coverages, claims, bulletins, loss prevention seminars, by electronic means.  We also communicate with third parties relevant to the nature of our business.

All emails sent by the Company will be compliant with CASL and will include the option to ‘unsubscribe’ if any of recipients chooses to do so.

At any point in time, the recipient may ‘unsubscribe’ from receiving our CEMs by emailing: mail@prodemnity.com  and indicating ‘Unsubscribe’ in the subject line.

If ‘unsubscribe’ is chosen, the Company will be unable to communicate with the party concerned by electronic means and instead we will use fax or mail.  The change in communication means will be done within 10 days of our receipt of the unsubscribe request.

A copy of our CASL Consent Form is available on our website.