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Concerns and complaints

The Wawanesa Life Insurance Company is committed to providing an exceptional experience for our members. If you are not satisfied for any reason, we are committed to addressing and resolving your concerns in a timely, fair and professional manner.

We are dedicated to continually improving the products and services we provide to our members. We believe that your concerns can be an excellent source of insight that can help us identify improvement opportunities. Wawanesa Life has established a resolution process to address your concern or complaint. Please follow the steps indicated below to help us find the right solution for you.

Step 1 – Let us know

Most problems can be resolved quickly and easily.

For questions or concerns related to a claim you have made with Wawanesa Life, please use the direct contact information provided in our correspondence, or email WawanesaLife-Claims@wawanesa.com

For all other questions or concerns, please contact a Customer Service Representative:

Group Insurance:
Telephone: 1-844-318-0410
Email: grpspecialists@wawanesa.com

Individual Insurance:
Telephone: 1-800-263-6785, Option 1
Email: lifeservices@wawanesa.com

Annuities or Investments:
Telephone: 1-800-263-6785, Option 2
Email: annuities@wawanesa.com

Step 2 – Talk to a department leader

If your concern has not been resolved to your satisfaction, please ask to be directed to a department leader. All Wawanesa Life staff can provide you with the name and contact information of the department leader in the area relevant to your concern.

Step 3 – Contact our Senior Compliance Specialist

If you are still not satisfied, you may escalate your concern to the Senior Compliance Specialist for an impartial review. Please submit your concern in writing at the following address:

Wawanesa Life Insurance Company
Senior Compliance Specialist
236 Carlton St
Winnipeg, MB R3C 1P5

Telephone: 1-204-938-1440
Email: lifecomplaints@wawanesa.com

Step 4 – Contact the Office of the Ombudsman

Should your concern still not be resolved through steps 1-3 and you wish to pursue the matter further, you can contact Wawanesa's Office of the Ombudsman for an independent review. The Office of the Ombudsman conducts independent and impartial reviews of your concerns and complaints. Its aim is to examine whether your file was handled fairly and appropriately. Please note that complaints must be in writing and include the following:

  • Summary of your complaint
  • List of all unresolved concerns
  • The reason you feel your concern has not been resolved in Steps 1-3
  • Any documentation/information that you would like to have reviewed
  • What your desired outcome would be

You may contact the Office of the Ombudsman at:

Office of the Ombudsman
4120 Yonge Street, Suite 100
Toronto, ON M2P 2B7

Telephone: 1-844-241-0229
Email: ombudsman@wawanesa.com

While the Office of the Ombudsman will make every effort to review each complaint, some matters may fall outside the scope of the Office. These include:

  • Availability of insurance
  • Dispute settlement procedures as required by law or designated regulatory authorities
  • Matters that have been, or are, before the courts

Note: If your complaint involves an issue of personal information and privacy, it can also be brought to the attention of:

Privacy Officer
The Wawanesa Life Insurance Company
236 Carlton St
Winnipeg, MB R3C 1P5

Telephone: 1-844-241-0226 (toll free)
Email: privacy@wawanesa.com

Step 5 – External recourse

If after following Wawanesa Life's complaint resolution process, you continue to remain dissatisfied and wish to pursue your complaint, external recourse is available to you, through the following organizations:

For life and health insurance related issues, please contact:

OmbudService for Life & Health Insurance (OLHI)

20 Adelaide St. East, Suite 802,
P.O. Box 29
Toronto, Ontario M5C 2T6

Telephone: 1-888-295-8112 (Canada wide)
Website: www.olhi.ca

OLHI may take on your case, if after receiving our final response, you would like to pursue the matter further, or if you have not received our final response within 90 days of contacting us.

Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF)

If you reside in the province of Quebec, you may request to have your complaint file transferred to the Autorité des marchés financiers, for their review, at:

Autorité des marchés financiers
800 square Victoria, 22e étage
CP 246, Tour de la Bourse
Montréal, Québec H4Z 1G3

Telephone: 1-877-525-0337
Website: lautorite.qc.ca

The Financial and Consumer Affairs Authority of Saskatchewan (FCAA)

If you reside in the province of Saskatchewan, in addition to the OmbudService for Life & Health (OLHI), you have the option to file a complaint with the Superintendent or a complaint body approved by the Superintendent, at:

The Financial and Consumer Affairs Authority of Saskatchewan
Insurance and Real Estate Division
Attention: Superintendent of Insurance
Suite 601-1919 Saskatchewan Drive
Regina, SK S4P 4H2

Telephone: 306-787-6700
Email: fcaa@gov.sk.ca

For disputes re payment of claims or loss, also available to the insured is the dispute resolution process described in section 8-11, Statutory condition 11 of section 8-28 of the Saskatchewan Insurance Act. Commencing an action against the insurer must be initiated within the limitation period as required by section 7-23 of the Saskatchewan Insurance Act.

For complaints regarding privacy matters, please contact the appropriate public official designated in the relevant provincial legislation or if none, the Privacy Commissioner of Canada at www.priv.gc.ca.

Federal Consumer Provision Complaints

The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) supervises federally regulated financial institutions to ensure they comply with federal consumer protection laws.

For example, Wawanesa Life is required by law to provide consumers with information about their complaint handling procedures and provide consumers with information about borrowing costs on loans (excluding insurance policy loans).

If you have a complaint about such consumer provisions, you can contact the FCAC any time by:

The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada
427 Laurier Avenue West, 6th Floor
Ottawa, Ontario K1R 1B9

Telephone: 1-866-461-3222 (Contact Centre)
Website: www.canada.ca/en/financial-consumer-agency.html

This information can also be found in our Customer Care brochure.