Complaint Handling and Dispute Resolution Policy

Univesta Insurance and Financial Services Inc. wishes to offer an excellent service to its clientele, resolve problems quickly, and equip itself with quality tools. We ensure that complaints are handled promptly and within the shortest possible timeframe.

We want our clients to benefit immediately from a satisfactory complaint processing and dispute resolution service.

It is of the utmost importance to act with professionalism and full transparency when faced with a potential complaint from our clientele.

Purpose of the Policy

The purpose of this policy is to establish a free procedure for the fair treatment of all complaints received by Univesta Insurance and Financial Services Inc. and its affiliated companies in the context of its relationships with its clients.

It aims in particular to identify the person responsible for processing, to provide a framework for receiving and processing complaints, and, where applicable, transferring the file to the Autorité des marchés financiers (“AMF”).

Note: Complaint processing is not solely for complaints involving a possible infraction of the law. Indeed, any complaint related to our operations, whether professional or administrative in nature, deserves our attention for the sake of quality.

Our Responsibility and That of Our Officers

We ensure that our policy is known to all our staff and that everyone is informed of their responsibilities.

We develop the procedures and implement the processes necessary to handle the complaints we receive. In addition, we ensure the training of our staff responsible for processing complaints. We designate a person responsible for processing complaints after having received a guarantee that they have the necessary skills to fulfill their responsibilities. We ensure that our staff and our officers collaborate in the processing of complaints.

1. What Is a Complaint?

A complaint expresses a reproach or dissatisfaction from a client regarding the services or products we offer and the expectation that we take measures to remedy it. This is the case, for example, when the client expects compensation or requests that we take action to correct or put an end to the situation that caused the complaint.

Certain communications are not considered complaints:

  • A request for information or a document about an offered product or service;
  • A claim for indemnity or an insurance claim;
  • A request to correct an administrative error, such as an error in the transcription of information or in the calculation of an amount due;
  • A request to access or modify personal information;
  • A comment or remark about us.

2. Person Responsible for Implementing the Policy

Our complaint processing manager ensures the fair treatment of the complaints we receive and compliance with and implementation of our policy within the firm.

The person responsible for implementing this policy within our firm is Marie-Josée Boucher (“the Manager”). The Manager acts as the respondent to the AMF and ensures that management, brokers, and firm staff ensure the compliant application of this policy.

3. How to File a Complaint

You can file your complaint by contacting us using the method of your choice. You can also fill out the AMF form online. We can help you formulate your complaint.

To reach us or contact us to find out how we handle complaints:

Univesta Insurance and Financial Services Inc.
Marie-Josée Boucher, Vice-President, Compliance and Legal Affairs
3925 Rachel Street East, Montreal, Quebec H1X 3G8
mjboucher@univesta.ca or 1-855-864-8378

4. Steps for Processing a Complaint

We process each complaint objectively, taking into account the interests of the client who filed it, and we communicate with them in clear and simple language. We can process certain complaints using a simplified process through which we attempt to offer you a solution to resolve the situation. This process is explained further below. If we are unable to resolve your complaint through this process, or if the nature or complexity of your complaint does not lend itself to it, it will be processed according to the following steps:

  1. We confirm receipt of your complaint
    We confirm to the client in writing the receipt of their complaint within 10 days following its receipt. We record the complaints received in a registry and ensure that this registry is kept up to date.
  2. We analyze the complaint
    We ensure that we fully understand the complaint and the expectations toward us. If necessary, we will contact you to request additional information.
  3. We provide a final written response
    We provide a final written response within sixty (60) days. Our response explains to the client how we analyzed their complaint and what led to our response and, when possible, to the solution we are proposing.
    Extension of the deadline to provide our final response:
    It may happen that the processing of the complaint is longer or more complex than expected and that we determine that an additional period is necessary to continue the analysis. This additional period cannot exceed thirty (30) days. We will notify you in writing, specifying the reasons that justify this additional period.
  4. Evaluation of the offer and settlement of the complaint
    When we propose a solution aimed at settling a client’s complaint, we grant them a reasonable timeframe to evaluate our offer. We give them time to analyze our response or evaluate the offer we present to settle their complaint. In the latter case, we will grant them a period to confirm acceptance of our offer, refusal, or to present a counter-offer. This timeframe should be long enough to allow them to obtain advice to make an informed decision.
  5. Review of the complaint file by the Autorité des marchés financiers
    We create a file for each complaint. We keep all information or documents useful for processing your complaint in it.
    You can contact us to request a review of your complaint file by the AMF at any time if you are dissatisfied with the way we handled your complaint or with the response provided. We are obligated to transfer your complaint file to the AMF within a maximum of fifteen (15) days following your request.
  6. Simplified processing of certain complaints
    We can process certain complaints using a simplified process. This applies to complaints for which we are able to offer clients a satisfactory solution within twenty (20) days.

We consider a complaint to be settled to a client’s satisfaction when that person accepts the solution we propose to resolve their complaint or when the explanations we provide resolve the complaint.

As part of this process, these complaints may notably be handled by a member of our customer service department. Furthermore, it is not required to send the client a written acknowledgment of receipt or a final written response. The person processing the complaint may do so verbally, for example during a phone call.

If we are unable to propose a solution or provide explanations to resolve your complaint within this process, you will be informed in writing. The processing of your complaint will continue in accordance with the aforementioned steps for processing a complaint.

The time we take to settle your complaint through a simplified process does not affect our obligation to provide you with a final written response within the required timeframes.

Policy updated on July 1, 2025
Revision: June 2026