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Surety and New Home Warranty Complaints Handling

Information for Consumers on Travelers Canada’s Complaints Handling Protocol and the Role of Our Complaints Liaison Officer

St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company operating as Travelers Canada is 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 Travelers Canada customer, 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 experience with Travelers Canada.

The Complaints Handling Protocol provides information and clarity on how to file a complaint with Travelers Canada, the process Travelers Canada 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 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

For all matters other than matters relating to accessibility for persons with disabilities:

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 Travelers Canada. 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 Travelers Canada directly.

Step 2: Work with a Travelers Canada representative

If you know the name of the Travelers Canada representative who is responsible for your bond, 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 Travelers Canada, or to refer you to the Underwriter or Claims Service Representative assigned to your file.

Before calling, please have your details and documents, including your bond, policy or claim number, accessible by you. In speaking with the Travelers Canada representative, explain your concerns and ask questions. Describe your circumstances and note the outcome you are seeking. Travelers Canada 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 Travelers Canada 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 Travelers Canada before contacting the Complaints Liaison Office in writing.

For all matters relating to accessibility for persons with disabilities and for all other matters which remain unresolved after having gone through the above process:

Step 3: Contact Travelers Canada’s Complaints Liaison Officer (CLO)

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

Telephone: 1.860.954.2382

Fax: 1.800.281.0403

Mail:
Complaints Liaison Officer
Travelers Canada
100 King Street West, Suite 7250 Toronto, Ontario M5X 1B1

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 bond, 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, Travelers Canada 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 Travelers Canada customer), Travelers Canada must receive an email sent by (or a letter signed by) the Travelers Canada 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 Travelers Canada’s final position. This Final Position Letter will explain Travelers Canada’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 Travelers Canada’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. Travelers Canada has 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

Additional Information

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), www.giocanada.org

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: www.canada.ca/fcac

Online form: https://www.canada.ca/en/financial-consumer-agency/corporate/contactus.html

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 https://srvcanadavrs.ca/en/ to learn more.

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

(In British Columbia)

For complaints involving a consumer provision of the BC Homeowner Protection Act:

If a complaint involves a consumer provision of the BC Homeowner Protection Act and/or a New Home Warranty, the consumer is free to contact The Licensing & Consumer Services, as set forth below:

Telephone: 604.646.7050 or 1.800.407.7757 (National Toll Free)

Fax: 604-646-7051

Mail:
Licensing & Consumer Services
Branch of BC Housing
Suite 203-4555 Kingsway
Burnaby, BC V5H 4T8

Website: www.bchousing.org/licensing-consumer-services/new-homes

(In Alberta)

For complaints involving a consumer provision of the Alberta New Home Buyer Protection Act:

If a complaint involves a consumer provision of the Alberta New Home Buyer Protection Act and/or a New Home Warranty, the consumer is free to contact The Government of Alberta Treasury Board and Finance, as set forth below:

Telephone: 780-644-1010 (within Canada and United States)
Toll free: 1-866-421-6929 (within Canada)

Mail:
Municipal Affairs Government of Alberta
Residential Protection Program
16th Flr, Commerce Place
10155 102 St NW
Edmonton, AB T5J 4L4

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.alberta.ca/filing-complaints-with-the-residential-protection-program

(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.

The AMF may be contacted by any of the following methods:

Telephone: 1.877.525.0337 (Toll Free), 418.525.0337

Mail:
Autorité des Marchés Financiers Place de la Cité, tour PwC
2640, boulevard Laurier, bureau 400
Québec, Québec
G1V 5C1

Website: https://lautorite.qc.ca/en/general- public/assistance-and-complaints