Protection of personal information
Everyone who operates a business must put measures in place to protect the personal information they hold regarding others. These measures apply to each stage in the life cycle of personal information: when it is collected, communicated, used, held, conserved, and destroyed.
This page has been changed to incorporate the amendments under Bill 25, coming into force on September 22, 2023.
The Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector applies to businesses and individuals (including damage insurance certified professionals) that collect, hold, use or disclose personal information relating to others.
In particular, firms or businesses must ensure that they implement measures, policies and procedures to protect this information and that their employees (whether certified professionals or not) understand and comply with their confidentiality obligations.
To ensure that you, as agents, brokers and claims adjusters, protect your clients’ personal information, you must build and maintain proper information protection methods and comply with your obligations related to collecting and sharing personal information.
When collecting personal information, you must inform the insured about:
- the purpose of the collection;
- the means of collection;
- the rights of access and rectification provided by law;
- the right to withdraw consent to disclose or use the collected information; and
- the names of third parties or categories of third parties to whom it is necessary to communicate personal information to achieve the purposes for which it was collected.
In addition, personal information must:
- be subject to restricted access and usage; and
- be retained its entirely for five years after the last activity on file.
Procedure
Protection of Personal Information
You will find information specifically about:
- Collecting and communicating personal information
- Using personal information
- Keeping and storing personal information
- Destroying personal information
- An individual’s right to access his/her personal information
- (Content under review)
Protection of personal information: reminders and new concepts
This article reviews certain basic concepts behind the protection of personal information and describes the new concepts introduced by the law that affect the practice of certified professionals.
(Published on August 28, 2023)
Personal Information
Personal information is information about an individual that identifies them, either directly or indirectly.
Collection and Communication of Personal Information
When carrying out an investigation, the claims adjuster must obtain the claimant’s authorization before collecting and communicating information concerning this claimant. It is recommended that a consent form be used. (Content under revision)