Skip to main content

Personal, Business and Specialty Insurance Complaints Protocol

Information for Consumers on The Dominion of Canada General Insurance Company’s and Travelers Insurance Company of Canada’s Complaints Handling Protocol and the Role of Our Complaints Liaison Officer

The Dominion of Canada General Insurance Company (“The Dominion”) and Travelers Insurance Company of Canada (“TICC”) are committed to treating all our customers with respect, consideration, and fairness. Notwithstanding our commitment to excellent customer service, on occasion, you may have concerns about your policy, your claim, or our service, or that you have not been treated fairly or there may be some misunderstanding that needs to be resolved. If you are a customer of The Dominion or TICC, we want you to be completely satisfied with your insurance purchase or claims settlement and set out below is our Complaints Handling Protocol, and the steps we take to help ensure all Travelers Canada customers are treated fairly and communicated to regularly, throughout their insurance journey with The Dominion or TICC.

The Complaints Handling Protocol provides information and clarity on how to file a complaint with The Dominion or TICC , the process The Dominion or TICC will follow upon receipt of a complaint and the next steps for a complaint that remains unresolved.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding our Complaints Handling Protocol or if you require any further information on how to make a complaint, please feel free to contact our Complaints Liaison Officer (“CLO”) at the email, fax, phone number, or mailing address, provided below.

The Complaints Liaison Officer has a mandate and duty to carry out a fair and independent review of the complaint and provide recommendations as to its resolution.

The Complaints Liaison Officer is responsible for:

  • Overseeing our complaint handling process;
  • Ensuring your complaint is addressed;
  • Ensuring that you receive a letter outlining our final position if your complaint cannot be resolved;
  • Working with the General Insurance OmbudService (“GIO”) to address any complaints that have been raised to them; and
  • Working with the various provincial regulators or the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada on complaints pertaining to consumer protection that have been raised to them.

The Complaints Liaison Officer is the person in charge of applying this Policy. They monitor employee training and ensure that employees are provided with the necessary information for compliance with this Policy. They are also responsible to file periodic reports with federal and provincial regulators detailing the number and type of complaints received in the respective reporting period, regardless of whether any complaints were received.

Complaints handling protocol

Step 1: Contact your broker

Your first step should be to contact your broker, as your broker may be able to resolve the matter with you. Your broker works for you and not The Dominion or TICC. Your broker can speak to us on your behalf and also provide us with your contact information, if required. If the matter remains unresolved after having discussed it with your broker, then we encourage you to contact The Dominion or TICC directly.

Step 2: Work with a representative of The Dominion or TICC

If you know the name of The Dominion or TICC representative who is responsible for your policy or claim, please contact that person directly. If you are unsure of who to contact, ask your broker to provide you with general contact information for The Dominion or TICC, or to refer you to the Underwriter or Claims Service Representative assigned to your file. You may also call Travelers Canada Customer Service at 905-825-6422 or email: [email protected].

Before calling, please have your details and documents, including your policy or claim number, accessible by you. In speaking with The Dominion or TICC representative, explain your concerns and ask questions. Describe your circumstances and note the outcome you are seeking. The Dominion or TICC employees are knowledgeable and experienced, and in most cases will be able to answer your questions and explain our decisions.

Should your complaint remain unresolved after speaking with The Dominion or TICC representative, you may request that the complaint be escalated to management. A manager or another senior person directed by management will review your complaint and discuss it with you further.

You are encouraged to seek assistance from your broker or agent and the appropriate business unit of The Dominion or TICC before contacting the Complaints Liaison Office in writing.

For all matters which remain unresolved after having gone through the above process:

Step 3: Contact our Complaints Liaison Officer (CLO)

Please submit your complaint to the CLO by phone or in writing (email, fax or letter):

Telephone: 1-844-958-0541

Mail:
Complaints Liaison Officer
The Dominion of Canada General Insurance Company/Travelers Insurance Company of Canada
165 University Avenue Toronto, Ontario M5H 3B9

 Email: [email protected]

**Please note that email is not considered a secure method of communication. Therefore, please consider the security, confidentiality and sensitivity of your information when determining the appropriate method of communication.

Your letter should include:

  • Your name, address and policy or claim number.
  • A phone number or email address you can be reached during normal business hours.
  • The nature of the dispute.
  • A description of your expectations and what you want Travelers Canada to do.
  • And who you have been in communication with.

If a lawyer for the matter in dispute represents you, they should write to the Complaints Liaison Officer. Alternatively, The Dominion or TICC should receive written authorization from your lawyer to deal directly with you to resolve your complaint. If you are writing on behalf of someone else (a customer of The Dominion or TICC), The Dominion or TICC must receive an email sent by (or a letter signed by) The Dominion or TICC customer stating that you are authorized to act for them in this matter.

The CLO will investigate your complaint and may request you provide additional information or documentation.

While your complaint is being reviewed, you will receive regular updates from us. Our service expectation is that the complaint review will be completed in 30 days from receipt of all necessary documentation. Some reviews may take longer depending on the complexity of the situation.

If we are unable to resolve the matter to your satisfaction, our Complaints Liaison Officer will ensure that you receive a letter outlining The Dominion’s or TICC ’s final position. This Final Position Letter will explain The Dominion’s or TICC’s position, confirm that your complaint has gone through our complaint handling process and advise you of your available options (referred to as Final Response Letter in Quebec).

If you are not satisfied with The Dominion’s or TICC ’s position as stated in the Final Position Letter, you may contact the General Insurance OmbudService (“GIO”). The GIO is a Canada-wide external independent body that can assist consumers with most complaints that consumers have been unable to resolve with their insurer. The Dominion and TICC have selected the GIO to handle complaints that are not resolved pursuant to this Complaints Handling Protocol. The GIO may be contacted by any of the following methods:

Telephone: 1.877.225.0446 (National Toll Free)

Fax: 416.299.4261

Mail: 
General Insurance OmbudService (GIO)
4711 Yonge Street, 10th floor
Toronto, ON M2N 6K8

Website: www.giocanada.org

Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (“FCAC”)

The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada supervises all federally regulated financial institutions, which includes insurance companies, for compliance with federal consumer protection laws.

Financial institutions are legally required to have a complaint-handling process in place.

If you have a problem with a financial product or service, you may file a complaint with the responsible financial institution directly.

If you are not satisfied with how your complaint has been handled, you can escalate the complaint to the following External Complaints Body: The General Insurance OmbudService (GIO) 1-877-225-0446 | The General Insurance OmbudService website

The General Insurance OmbudService (GIO) is a national independent dispute resolution service for Canadian consumers of insurance.

If you want to know your rights or need information about the complaint-handling process of a financial institution, you may contact FCAC by online form, mail, or telephone. FCAC uses information from consumer enquiries to support its mandate.

Website: Financial Consumer Agency of Canada website

Online form: Contact Financial Consumer Agency of Canada

Phone:
For service in English: 1-866-461-FCAC (3222)
For service in French: 1-866-461-ACFC (2232) 
For calls from outside Canada: 613-960-4666

Teletypewriter (TTY): 1-866-914-6097 / 613-947-7771

Video Relay Service: 
FCAC welcomes Video Relay Service (VRS) calls. You do not need to authorize the relay service operator to communicate with FCAC. Visit The Canadian Administrator of Video Relay Service to learn more.

Mailing address:
Financial Consumer Agency of Canada
427 Laurier Avenue West, 5th Floor
Ottawa ON K1R 7Y2

(In Quebec)

Residents of Quebec:

A complaint can also be filed by completing the Complaint Form made available by the Autorité des marchés financiers (the AMF).

If you are not satisfied with our response or processing of your complaint, you have the right to request that we submit your complaint record to the AMF. You may do so by completing a Form to Request the Transfer of a File to the AMF, and submitting your completed form to the Complaints Liaison Officer at the contact information listed above.