Privacy Policy

The Canadian Bar Insurance Association

POLICY CONCERNING THE PROTECTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

Introduction

The Canadian Bar Insurance Association ("CBIA) is a not-for-profit corporation controlled and directed by lawyers working with some of Canada's most respected insurance companies to offer comprehensive, affordable insurance and financial products to members of the legal community, their families and employees.

CBIA places the highest value on ensuring the confidentiality of client information, including any Personal Information, provided to us. In the course of providing our services, CBIA collects Personal Information and we have prepared this policy to inform you about CBIAs ongoing commitment to ensuring that the Personal Information obtained during the course of our activities remains accurate and confidential.

What is Personal Information?

We consider "Personal Information" to mean any information, recorded in any form, about an identified individual or an individual whose identity may be inferred or determined from such information, other than business contact information (e.g. name, title, address).

Why CBIA May Collect and Use Personal Information

CBIA may collect and use the Personal Information provided verbally or in writing (including via electronic media) by clients, agents, insurers, brokers, sales representatives, contractors and other affiliates (including their employees) in order to:

a) Promote and sell CBIA services and products;
b) Assist clients in enrolling for various insurance and benefit plans;
c) Act as a liaison between the insurance companies or insurance brokers, sales representatives and clients;
d) Administer insurance policies, including the collection of premiums on behalf of insurers;
e) Manage our relationship with, among others, CBIA clients, sales representatives, insurers, brokers, contractors and other affiliates;
f) Meet legal and regulatory requirements; and
g) Such other purposes consistent with these purposes.

The personal information we ask for will depend upon which service or products you apply for.

How CBIA Collects and Uses Personal Information

CBIA only collects, uses and discloses Personal Information for purposes that would be considered reasonable in the circumstances and only such information as is required for the purposes of providing products, services or information to clients. We use only fair and lawful methods to collect Personal Information.

Our use of Personal Information is limited to the purposes described in this policy and CBIA does not sell, trade, barter, exchange or disclose for consideration any Personal Information it has obtained.

Except in connection with the provision of insurance and benefit administration, CBIA does not knowingly collect Personal Information from anyone under the age of 18, especially children under 13, and does not use such information if it discovers that it is has been provided by a minor.

When CBIA May Disclose Your Personal Information

CBIA may disclose your Personal Information to individuals or organizations:

a) Who are affiliates of CBIA who wish to tell you about their products or services or to inform you about other opportunities, and their related service providers, except when you indicate otherwise;
b) Who assist CBIA in informing you about our products or services, except when you indicate otherwise;
c) Who have been retained by CBIA to provide you with various insurance products;
d) Who are legal or other types of advisers of the person concerned and his or her service providers;
e) Involved in

i. A transfer of all or part of the assets or business of CBIA;
ii. Maintaining, reviewing and developing our business systems, procedures and infrastructure including testing or upgrading our computer systems; or
iii. A corporate re-organization of CBIA.

In the event sensitive Personal Information is provided to CBIA, we will not disclose such Personal Information unless it is required in order to provide a client with products or services.

Where CBIA discloses Personal Information to organizations that perform services on its behalf, we will require those service providers to use such information solely for the purposes of providing services to CBIA, a client or the person concerned and to have appropriate safeguards for the protection of that Personal Information.

Where Personal Information may be subject to transfer to another organization in contemplation of a merger or sale of CBIA or change of ownership of all or part of CBIA, we will do this only if the parties have entered into an agreement under which the collection, use and disclosure of the information (including any Personal Information) is restricted to those purposes that relate to the business transaction, including a determination of whether or not to proceed with the business transaction, and is to be used by the parties to carry out and complete the business transaction.

Please note that there are circumstances where the use and/or disclosure of Personal Information may be justified or permitted or where CBIA is obliged to disclose information without consent. Such circumstances may include:

a) Where required by law or by order or requirement of a court, administrative agency or governmental tribunal;
b) Where CBIA believes, upon reasonable grounds, that it is necessary to protect the rights, privacy, safety or property of an identifiable person or group;
c) Where it is necessary to establish or collect monies owing to CBIA;
d) Where it is necessary to permit CBIA to pursue available remedies or limit any damages that we may sustain; or
e) Where the information is public.

Where obliged or permitted to disclose information without consent, CBIA will not disclose more information than is required.

Consent

Unless permitted by law, no Personal Information is collected, without first obtaining the consent of the individual concerned to the collection, use and dissemination of that information. However, we may seek consent to use and disclose Personal Information after it has been collected in those cases where CBIA wishes to use the information for a purpose not identified in this policy or not previously identified or for which the individual concerned has not previously consented.

The provision of Personal Information to CBIA means that the person concerned agrees and consents that we may collect, use and disclose their Personal Information in accordance with this policy. Further, where appropriate, specific authorizations or consents may be obtained from time to time.

In most cases and subject to legal and contractual restrictions, an individual is free to refuse or withdraw his or her consent at any time upon reasonable, advance notice. It should be noted that in certain circumstances, products and services can only be offered if a person provides Personal Information to CBIA. Consequently, if an individual chooses not to provide us with any required Personal Information, we may not be able to offer the products or services applied for. We will inform you of the consequences of the withdrawal of consent.

The Accuracy and Retention of Personal Information

CBIA endeavours to ensure that any Personal Information provided and in its possession is as accurate, current and complete as necessary for the purposes for which we use that information. If we become aware that Personal Information is inaccurate, incomplete or out of date, CBIA will revise the Personal Information and, if necessary, use its best efforts to inform third parties which were provided with inaccurate information so that those third parties may also correct their records.

We keep your Personal Information only as long as it is required for the reasons it was collected. The length of time we retain information varies, depending on the product or service and the nature of the information. This period may extend beyond the end of a persons relationship with us but it will be only for so long as it is necessary for us to have sufficient information to respond to any issues that may arise at a later date. When your Personal Information is no longer required for CBIAs purposes, we have procedures to destroy, delete, erase or convert it into an anonymous form.

Currently, the principal place in which CBIA holds Personal Information is in the City of Toronto, as well as in the business locations of our Authorized Representatives.

Protection of Personal Information

CBIA endeavours to maintain appropriate physical, procedural and technical security with respect to its offices and information storage facilities so as to prevent any loss, misuse, unauthorized access, disclosure, or modification of Personal Information. This also applies to our disposal or destruction of Personal Information.

CBIA further protects Personal Information by restricting access to it to those employees that the management of CBIA has determined need to know that information in order that we may provide our products or services or information.

If any employee of CBIA misuses Personal Information, this will be considered a serious offence for which disciplinary action may be taken, up to and including termination of employment. If any individual or organization misuses Personal Information - provided for the purpose of providing services to or for CBIA - this will be considered a serious issue for which action may be taken, up to and including termination of any agreement between CBIA and that individual or organization.

We audit our procedures and security measures from time to time to ensure that they remain effective and appropriate.

Access to Your Personal Information

CBIA permits the reasonable right of access and review of Personal Information held by us about an individual and will endeavour to provide the information in question within a reasonable time, generally no later than 30 days following the request. To guard against fraudulent requests for access, we may require sufficient information to allow us to confirm that the person making the request is authorized to do so before granting access or making corrections.

We will provide information from our records in a form that is easy to understand. CBIA reserves the right not to change any Personal Information but will append any alternative text the individual concerned believes to be appropriate.

CBIA reserves the right to decline to provide access to Personal Information where the information requested:

a) Would disclose

(i) Personal Information, including opinions, about another individual or about a deceased individual; or
(ii) trade secrets or other business confidential information that may harm CBIA or the competitive position of a third party;

b) Would interfere with contractual or other negotiations of CBIA or a third party;
c) Is subject to solicitor-client or litigation privilege;
d) Is not readily retrievable and the burden or cost of providing would be disproportionate to the nature or value of the information;
e) Does not exist, is not held, or cannot be found by CBIA;
f) Could reasonably result in (i) serious harm to the treatment or recovery of the individual concerned, (ii) serious emotional harm to the individual concerned or another individual, or (iii) serious bodily harm to another individual;
g) May harm or interfere with law enforcement activities and other investigative or regulatory functions of a body authorized by law to perform such functions; or
h) May be withheld or is requested to be withheld under applicable legislation.

Where information will not or cannot be disclosed, the individual making the request will be provided with the reasons for non-disclosure.

CBIA will not respond to repetitious or vexatious requests for access and in making such a determination, we will consider such factors as the frequency with which information is updated, the purpose for which the information is used, and the nature of the information.

CBIA will not charge you for verifying or correcting your information, however, to the extent permitted by applicable law, there may be a minimal charge imposed if you need a copy of records.

Website

CBIA provides clients and others with general access to our public website. Our Web server tracks general information about visitors such as their domain name, time and duration of visit and which pages are being accessed. This information is used internally, only in aggregate form, to better serve visitors by helping us to:

a) Manage our site;
b) Diagnose any technical problems; and
c) Improve the content of our website.

During the course of an individual's use of the Internet, he or she will learn of the common use of cookies. Cookies are files or pieces of information that may be stored in a computer's hard drive when an individual visits a website. Most Internet browsers are initially set to accept cookies. If you do not wish to accept cookies, you can set yours to refuse cookies or to alert you when cookies are being sent. "Session" cookies are temporary bits of information that are erased once a visitor exits its Web browser window or otherwise turn its computer off. Session cookies are used to improve navigation on websites and to collect aggregate statistical information. CBIAs website uses session cookies.

"Persistent" cookies are more permanent bits of information that are placed on the hard drive of a visitors computer and stays there unless it is deleted. Persistent cookies store information on a visitors computer for a number of purposes, such as retrieving certain information previously provided (e.g., passwords), helping to determine what areas of the website visitors find most valuable, and customizing the website based on visitor preferences.

CBIA's website does not presently use persistent cookies, clear GIFs or any type of web bug.

We do not share Personal Information obtained through cookies with any third parties.

The apply on-line section of our website can be used to request a quote or more information on our products. In order to respond to your inquiry, this section requires you to provide certain personal information. This information is forwarded to a sales representative in your area and is not retained by CBIA.

We have no control over the content of third party websites that individuals may access through hyperlinks at our website. We encourage everyone to read the privacy policy of every website they visit.

Resolving Your Privacy Concerns

In the event of questions about:

(i) access to your Personal Information;
(ii) our collection, use, management or disclosure of Personal Information; or
(iii) this policy;

please contact CBIA’s Privacy Officer by sending an e-mail to custserv@barinsurance.com or calling 1-800-267-2422.

CBIA will investigate all complaints and if a complaint is justified, we will take all reasonable steps to resolve the issue.