Complaint Handling Policy

Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services Inc. (hereinafter referred to as "Industrial Alliance") is committed to ensuring the fair treatment of complaints related to the products and services it provides or distributes in accordance with this policy.

All complaints and personal information collected verbally or in writing are handled in a timely, professional, and confidential manner.


PURPOSE OF THE POLICY
This policy explains the process put in place by Industrial Alliance to:

• Handle and resolve complaints.
• Transfer complaints that cannot be resolved to a regulatory or external complaints body.

WHAT IS A COMPLAINT?
A complaint is the expression of dissatisfaction or reproach, the identification of prejudice or the request for corrective action by a client regarding a product or service provided or distributed by Industrial Alliance. A complaint must:

• Be made in writing.
• Set out the specific details of the dissatisfaction or prejudice; and
• Require a solution or a corrective action.

STEP ONE: CONTACT US
If you are dissatisfied with a product or service, you must first:

• Contact the advisor or agency that sold the product or provided the service. Their contact information can be found on the product documentation.
• Contact Customer Service at 1-800-463-6236.

This first step may allow you to obtain the information or assistance you need to resolve the dissatisfaction or dispute.


STEP TWO: CONTACT US IN WRITING
If, after attempting to resolve the dissatisfaction or dispute, you are still not satisfied, you must contact the business line concerned in writing. Once the information has been received, you will receive an acknowledgement of receipt informing you of the process for handling your dissatisfaction, as well as an estimated response time.

To speed up the process of handling your dissatisfaction, please provide details of your dissatisfaction, the relevant documents, the reasons why you disagree with the decision, the solution you are seeking, and your contract number. Once we have completed our review, we will send you our findings in writing.


STEP THREE: CONTACT THE COMPLAINTS OFFICER IN WRITING
If, after receiving a written response, your complaint is still not resolved to your satisfaction, you may forward your complaint to the attention of the Complaints Officer for an independent and definitive review (if you have not followed the first and second steps described above, the Complaints Officer will redirect your request to the right person).

COMPLAINTS OFFICER
The Complaints Officer is responsible for applying this policy. His main function is to ensure that complaints received by Industrial Alliance are handled in compliance with this policy. The Complaints Officer is an independent body from the business lines.

The Complaints Officer also acts as a respondent for the various regulatory bodies to which Industrial Alliance is subject in matters of complaint handling and dispute resolution.

He may also delegate to another Complaints Officer the task of receiving, analyzing, and responding to complaints. Any decision taken by this officer is considered a final decision of the Complaints Officer.

The Complaints Officer is also responsible for reporting complaints received to regulatory or external complaints handling bodies.


WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU FILE A COMPLAINT WITH THE COMPLAINTS OFFICER?

Receipt of the complaint
Upon receipt of your complaint, the Complaints Officer will ensure that it has been handled in accordance with the process described in this policy. If your complaint has not been handled according to the process described in this policy, the Complaints Officer will redirect it to the appropriate person so that the established process can be followed.

If your complaint has been handled according to the process described in this policy, the Complaints Officer will acknowledge receipt within five calendar days of the file being opened. Additional information may be requested from the complainant.

Investigation and response to the complaint
The Complaints Officer gathers the facts related to the complaint and analyzes them in depth to ensure that the complaint is fairly treated.

As part of the investigation, the Complaints Officer may request further documentation, and may also contact people who have information or knowledge about the complaint.

After receiving all the documents or information required for the analysis, a final decision will be made within a maximum of 90 calendar days and forwarded to the complainant.


TRANSFER TO A REGULATORY BODY
In its final decision, the Complaints Officer will inform the complainant of the appropriate regulatory body or bodies to which they may request the transfer of their complaint file.

A complainant who is dissatisfied with the Complaints Officer's final decision or with the handling of their complaint may request that their file be transferred to a competent regulatory body. When a request for transfer is made, Industrial Alliance will provide the regulatory body with all the documents making up the complainant's complaint file within a maximum of 30 calendar days.

The complaint file includes the complainant's written complaint, supporting documents, the acknowledgement of receipt of the complaint, and any documents or information the Complaints Officer used to reach a final decision, as well as a copy of the final decision.


JUDICIAL COMPLAINT
If the complaint has been the subject of a formal notice, the Complaints Officer will offer the complainant the option of following the process described in this policy or to follow the judicial process. If the complainant prefers to pursue the legal process, or if the complaint in question has been the subject of an application before the courts, the Complaints Officer will inform the complainant in writing that the complaint will not be investigated by the Complaints Officer due to the ongoing litigation.


POLICY UPDATE
This policy will be reviewed envery two years by iA