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

Marginal note:Renewal statement

482.1 If a company makes a loan in respect of which the disclosure requirements of section 480 apply and the loan is secured by a mortgage on real property, the company shall disclose to the borrower, at the prescribed time and place and in the prescribed form and manner, any information that is prescribed respecting the renewal of the loan.

Marginal note:Disclosure in advertising

483 No person shall authorize the publication, issue or appearance of any advertisement in Canada relating to arrangements referred to in subsection 482(3), loans, credit cards, payment cards or charge cards, offered to natural persons by a company, and purporting to disclose prescribed information about the cost of borrowing or about any other matter unless the advertisement discloses prescribed information at the prescribed time and place and in the prescribed form and manner.

Marginal note:Disclosing borrowing costs — advances

484 If regulations have been made respecting the manner in which the cost of borrowing is to be disclosed in respect of an advance on the security or against the cash surrender value of a policy, a company shall not make such an advance unless the cost of borrowing, as calculated and expressed in accordance with the regulations, has, at the prescribed time and place and in the prescribed form and manner, been disclosed by the company or otherwise as prescribed to the policyholder at or before the time when the advance is made.

Marginal note:Regulations re borrowing costs

485 The Governor in Council may make regulations

• (a) respecting the time and place at which, and the form and manner in which, a company is to disclose to a borrower

  • (i) the cost of borrowing,

  • (ii) any rebate of the cost of borrowing, and

  • (iii) any other information relating to a loan, arrangement, credit card, payment card or charge card referred to in section 482;

• (b) respecting the contents of any statement disclosing the cost of borrowing and other information required to be disclosed by a company to a borrower;

• (c) respecting the manner of calculating the cost of borrowing;

• (d) respecting the circumstances under which the cost of borrowing is to be expressed as an amount in dollars and cents;

• (e) specifying any class of loans that are not to be subject to section 479.1 or subsection 480(1) or 482(1) or (3) or section 482.1 or 483 or the regulations or any specified provisions of the regulations;

• (f) specifying any class of advances that are not to be subject to section 484 or the regulations or any specified provisions of the regulations;

• (g) respecting the time and place at which, and the form and manner in which, any rights, obligations, charges or penalties referred to in sections 479.1 to 484 are to be disclosed;

• (h) prohibiting the imposition of any charge or penalty referred to in section 482 or providing that the charge or penalty, if imposed, will not exceed a prescribed amount;

• (i) respecting the nature or amount of any charge or penalty referred to in paragraph 482(1)(b), (2)(a) or (3)(a) and the costs of the company that may be included or excluded in the determination of the charge or penalty;

• (j) respecting the method of calculating the amount of rebate of the cost of borrowing, or the portion of the cost of borrowing referred to in subparagraph 482(1)(a)(ii);

• (k) respecting advertisements made by a company regarding arrangements referred to in subsection 482(3), loans, credit cards, payment cards or charge cards;

• (l) respecting the renewal of loans; and

• (m) respecting such other matters or things as are necessary to carry out the purposes of sections 479.1 to 484.

Complaints

Marginal note:Procedures for dealing with complaints

• 486 (1) A company shall

  • (a) establish procedures for dealing with complaints made by persons having requested or received products or services in Canada from the company;

  • (b) designate an officer or employee of the company to be responsible for implementing those procedures; and

  • (c) designate one or more officers or employees of the company to receive and deal with those complaints.

• Marginal note:Procedures to be filed with Commissioner

  (2) A company shall file with the Commissioner a copy of its procedures established under paragraph (1)(a).

• Marginal note:How procedures to be made available

  (3) A company shall make its procedures established under paragraph (1)(a) available

  • (a) on its websites through which products or services are offered in Canada; and

  • (b) in written format to be sent to any person who requests them.

• Marginal note:Information on contacting Agency

  (4) A company shall also make prescribed information on how to contact the Agency available whenever it makes its procedures established under paragraph (1)(a) available under subsection (3).

Marginal note:Obligation to be member of complaints body

486.1 In any province, if there is no law of the province that makes a company subject to the jurisdiction of an organization that deals with complaints made by persons having requested or received products or services in the province from a company, the company shall be a member of an organization that is not controlled by it and that deals with those complaints that have not been resolved to the satisfaction of the persons under procedures established by companies under paragraph 486(1)(a).

Marginal note:Information on contacting Agency

• 487 (1) A company shall, in accordance with the regulations, at the prescribed time and place and in the prescribed form and manner, provide a person requesting or receiving a product or service from it with prescribed information on how to contact the Agency if the person has a complaint about an arrangement referred to in subsection 482(3), a payment, credit or charge card, the disclosure of or manner of calculating the cost of borrowing in respect of a loan or an advance on the security or against the cash surrender value of a policy, or about any other obligation of the company under a consumer provision.

• Marginal note:Report

  (2) The Commissioner shall prepare a report, to be included in the report referred to in section 34 of the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada Act, respecting

  • (a) procedures for dealing with complaints established by companies pursuant to paragraph 486(1)(a); and

  • (b) the number and nature of complaints that have been brought to the attention of the Agency by persons who have requested or received a product or service from a company.

Miscellaneous

Marginal note:Prepayment protected

• 488 (1) A company shall not make a loan to a natural person that is repayable in Canada, the terms of which prohibit prepayment of the money advanced or any instalment thereon before its due date.

• Marginal note:Non-application of subsection (1)

  (2) Subsection (1) does not apply in respect of a loan

  • (a) that is secured by a mortgage on real property; or

  • (b) that is made for business purposes and the principal amount of which is more than $100,000 or such other amount as may be prescribed.

Marginal note:Regulations — activities

488.1 The Governor in Council may make regulations respecting any matters involving a company’s dealings, or its employees’ or representatives’ dealings, with customers or the public, including

• (a) what a company may or may not do in carrying out any of the activities in which it is permitted to engage, or in providing any of the services that it may provide, under section 440 and any ancillary, related or incidental activities or services; and

• (b) the time and place at which and the form and manner in which any of those activities are to be carried out or any of those services are to be provided.