Insurance Companies Act (S.C. 1991, c. 47)

Marginal note:Reserved name

45. The Superintendent may, on request, reserve for ninety days a name for a proposed company or society or for a company or society that intends to change its name.

Marginal note:Directing change of name

• 46. (1) If through inadvertence or otherwise a company or society

  • (a) comes into existence or is continued with a name, or

  • (b) on an application to change its name, is granted a name

  that is prohibited by section 42, the Superintendent may, by order, direct the company or society to change its name and the company or society shall comply with that direction.

• Marginal note:Revoking name

  (2) If a company or society has been directed under subsection (1) to change its name and has not, within sixty days after the service of the direction, changed its name to a name that is not prohibited by this Act, the Superintendent may revoke the name of the company or society and assign to it a name and, until changed in accordance with section 224, 238 or 544.1, the name of the company or society is thereafter the name so assigned.

Marginal note:Restriction on use of name

• 47. (1) No entity incorporated or formed by or under an Act of Parliament shall use the word “assurance”, “assurances”, “insurance” or “lifeco” or any word or words of import equivalent to any of those words in its name.

• Marginal note:Exceptions

  (2) Subsection (1) does not apply to

  • (a) a company or society;

  • (a.1) an insurance holding company;

  • (b) an entity the business of which is not financial activities;

  • (c) an entity that is primarily engaged in insurance brokerage or insurance agency services; or

  • (d) an entity that was, on the day immediately preceding the day on which that subsection comes into force, using the word “assurance”, “assurances”, “insurance” or “lifeco” or any word or words of import equivalent to any of those words in its name.

Marginal note:Subsidiaries

48. Despite subsection 47(1), a subsidiary of a company or society may use the company’s or society’s name in its name.

Definition of “reserved name”

• 48.1 (1) In this section, “reserved name” means a name that includes as part thereof the word “assurance”, “assurances”, “insurance”, “lifeco”, “fiduciaire”, “fiduciary”, “fiducie”, “trust”, “trustco”, “loan”, “loanco” or “prêt” or any word or words of import equivalent to any of those words.

• Marginal note:Termination of control required in certain cases

  (2) No person, other than a financial institution, who

  • (a) is carrying on business in Canada under a reserved name, and

  • (b) has control or acquires control of a company,

  shall control the company on the later of

  • (c) one year after this section comes into force, and

  • (d) one year after the date of acquisition of the control.

• Marginal note:Prohibition

  (3) No person, other than a financial institution, who

  • (a) controls an entity that is not a financial institution that carries on business in Canada under a reserved name, and

  • (b) has control or acquires control of a company,

  shall control the company on the later of

  • (c) one year after this section comes into force, and

  • (d) one year after the date of the acquisition of the control.

• Marginal note:Continuing control prohibited

  (4) Notwithstanding subsection (3), where a financial institution controls an entity that

  • (a) is not a financial institution,

  • (b) carries on business in Canada under a reserved name, and

  • (c) has control or acquires control of a company,

  the entity shall not control the company on the later of

  • (d) one year after this section comes into force, and

  • (e) one year after the date on which the entity acquires control of the company.

• Marginal note:Exceptions

  (5) Subsections (2) to (4) do not apply with respect to a person or entity that was carrying on business in Canada under a reserved name on the day immediately preceding the day on which those subsections come into force.