Terms and Conditions of Service

Two documents govern different things and it is worth stating the difference at the top.

Terms of use governs the website: reading it, quoting it, linking to it. This page governs the working relationship: what happens when you ask for a meeting, what each stage involves, who decides what, and how any stage ends.

Neither page governs a contract of insurance. A policy is governed by the policy document issued by the insurer, and where this page and a policy differ, the policy governs.

1. Who these conditions are between

Formal. These conditions apply between Canadian Wealth Creation Centre Inc., trading as IBC Financial, and any person who requests a meeting, provides information, or receives a recommendation from the practice. They take effect from the first contact and continue until the relationship ends under condition 14.

In plain language. From the moment you ask for a meeting, these are the terms on which the practice works with you.

2. What is charged

Formal. No fee is charged for the discovery meeting, for completing a know-your-client record, for the design meeting, or for the preparation and submission of an application. The practice is remunerated by commission paid by the insurer, and only where a policy is issued and placed in force.

In plain language. None of the steps is billed to you. Payment comes from the insurer, only if a policy actually goes into force. Paid when you buy, not paid when you do not.

There is one consequence worth naming rather than leaving you to infer it. The practice is paid when a policy is issued, which means it is not a neutral party at any stage of the conversation. That is why the recommendation to slow down, or to use registered contribution room first, or not to proceed at all, appears throughout this site rather than only where it is convenient.

3. The single request the practice makes

Formal. Where the practice has carried out work at no charge and the client elects to proceed with an insurance product of a kind the practice is licensed to place, the practice requests, without obligation, the opportunity to place that business. The client is under no duty to do so and no charge arises if the client proceeds elsewhere or does not proceed.

In plain language. If the work done together leads you to go ahead, the hope is that you place it here. If it leads you to decide against, that is a fine outcome and it will not be treated as a loss. Nothing is owed either way.

4. The discovery meeting

Formal. The initial meeting is approximately thirty minutes, conducted online or by telephone, at no charge. No product is recommended, no application is prepared, and no professional relationship arises from it. The practice will state at the conclusion of that meeting whether it considers the approach capable of suiting the client's circumstances.

In plain language. Half an hour, online, nothing sold. If it does not fit, you are told in that meeting rather than sent a proposal afterwards.

5. Information you provide

Formal. Before any recommendation is made, the client is asked to provide a record of financial circumstances, including assets, liabilities, income, expenditure, existing coverage and objectives. This is a regulatory requirement: a licensed advisor may not recommend an insurance product without establishing that it is suitable for the client's circumstances. Information is processed in accordance with the privacy policy, Quebec's Law 25 and PIPEDA.

In plain language. This is not a sales form. An advisor cannot responsibly recommend anything without knowing what your situation is, and the obligation to establish that is what the step exists for. You decide what you share. An incomplete picture is permitted, and it produces a narrower recommendation rather than a refusal.

6. Accuracy of what you provide

Formal. The client is responsible for the accuracy and completeness of information provided. Recommendations are made on the basis of information supplied. Where material information is withheld or inaccurate, a recommendation may be unsuitable and an insurer may be entitled to rely on the inaccuracy in respect of a policy subsequently issued.

In plain language. A recommendation is only as good as what it is built on. And on an insurance application specifically, an inaccuracy is not a small matter: an insurer may act on it later, including at a claim, which is the worst possible time to discover it.

7. Recommendations, and what they are not

Formal. Recommendations relate to insurance products the practice is licensed to advise upon. They do not constitute investment or securities advice, tax advice, or legal advice. Where a matter falls outside that scope the client is advised to obtain advice from an appropriately qualified professional.

In plain language. There are things this practice is licensed to advise on and things it is not, and the boundary is a licence rather than a preference. Where a question belongs to an accountant or a lawyer, you are told so and sent to one rather than given an opinion dressed as information.

8. Illustrations and projections

Formal. Where an illustration is provided, guaranteed values are distinguished from non-guaranteed values. Dividends are not guaranteed and are declared annually at the discretion of the insurer's board of directors. An illustration is arithmetic applied to stated assumptions and is not a forecast of actual results. The illustration issued by the insurer governs in preference to any figure discussed in conversation or shown on this website.

In plain language. Any document you are shown separates what the contract guarantees from what it does not. Dividend scales move, so a projection is a projection. If a number in conversation differs from the insurer's illustration, the insurer's document is the one that counts.

9. Application and underwriting

Formal. Where the client elects to proceed, the practice prepares and submits an application. The decision on that application rests with the insurer. Underwriting may require health and lifestyle disclosures, a medical examination, or the release of medical records. Acceptance is not automatic. An application may be accepted as applied for, accepted with a rating, accepted with an exclusion, postponed, or declined. No outcome is warranted by the practice.

In plain language. Once an application goes in, the insurer decides, not the practice. It can come back accepted, accepted at a higher premium, accepted with a particular cause excluded, put on hold, or refused. Anyone who promises you approval before underwriting is not telling you the truth, and that includes anyone at this practice.

You are told where the file stands at each stage, including when the news is not what you hoped.

10. Guaranteed-issue products

Formal. Products issued without health questions are available in limited circumstances. They carry a higher cost for lower coverage and commonly limit benefits payable in the initial policy years. They are recommended only where underwritten coverage is unavailable.

In plain language. They exist, they cost more for less, and the early years usually pay out less than the full amount. A last resort rather than a shortcut.

11. After a policy is in force

Formal. The practice will offer an annual review and will remain available between reviews. Servicing includes guidance on the operation of the contract, the use and repayment of policy loans, the effect of changes in the dividend scale, and coordination with the client's accountant and legal advisor. It does not extend to tax or legal advice.

In plain language. A policy is the beginning of the work rather than the end of it. The five steps and what servicing actually involves are set out on the discovery meeting page.

12. Communications

Formal. The practice may use contact details provided for the purpose for which they were given. Commercial electronic messages are sent only with express consent obtained separately, as required by Canada's anti-spam legislation, and every such message identifies the sender and includes an unsubscribe mechanism. Withdrawal of marketing consent does not affect communications necessary to service a policy in force.

In plain language. Asking a question gets you an answer; it does not subscribe you to anything. Those are two separate agreements. And if you unsubscribe from marketing, you still receive the messages needed to look after a policy you own, because those are not marketing.

13. Conflicts of interest

Formal. The practice is remunerated by insurers. Where the practice has a material relationship with a particular insurer that could reasonably influence a recommendation, it is disclosed. Where more than one insurer could meet a client's need, the basis on which one is proposed is explained on request.

In plain language. Ask why a particular insurer is being proposed, and you will be told. It is a fair question and it should not need to be asked, but it is worth asking anyway.

14. Ending the relationship

Formal. The client may end the relationship at any stage, without notice, without explanation and at no cost. The practice may decline to act, or cease to act, where it considers that it cannot do so appropriately, and will say so. Ending the advisory relationship does not affect any policy in force, which continues according to its own terms and remains serviceable by the insurer or by another licensed advisor.

In plain language. You can stop at any point and owe nothing. The practice can also decline, and will tell you why. Either way, a policy you already own carries on. It belongs to you, not to whoever sold it.

15. Complaints

Formal. A complaint may be made using the contact details published on this website. It will be acknowledged and addressed under the practice's complaint handling process. Nothing in these conditions restricts the right to bring a matter before the applicable regulator, including the Autorité des marchés financiers in Quebec, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario, or the Insurance Council of British Columbia, or before the insurer concerned.

In plain language. Tell the practice first if you want to. But your right to go to the regulator is not affected by anything on this page, and nobody can sign that away.

16. Records

Formal. The practice maintains records of advice given and of information relied upon, for the periods required by applicable regulation and its own retention policy. Clients may request access to information held about them and may request correction.

In plain language. What was recommended and why is written down, which protects you as much as it protects the practice. You can ask to see what is held.

17. Limitation

Formal. To the extent permitted by applicable law, liability is limited to loss arising directly from the practice's own fault in the performance of services under these conditions. Nothing here excludes or limits liability which cannot lawfully be excluded, including liability arising from gross or intentional fault.

In plain language. Responsibility is for the practice's own errors. Quebec law does not allow a business to contract out of responsibility for its own serious fault, and this clause does not attempt to.

18. Governing law

Formal. These conditions are governed by the laws of the Province of Quebec and the federal laws of Canada applicable in that province, subject to any right a consumer may have under applicable consumer protection legislation to bring proceedings in the district of their own domicile.

In plain language. Quebec law applies. A consumer's right to sue where they live is preserved rather than removed.

19. Language

Formal. These conditions are published in English. A French version applicable to the practice's French-language property is published separately. Where a client has dealt with the practice in French, the French version applies.

In plain language. If you dealt with the practice in French, the French version is yours.

20. Changes

Formal. These conditions may be amended. The version in force is the version published on this page at the date of the relationship, and the review date is shown on the page.

In plain language. If they change, the date changes with them. There is no archive of earlier versions, which is normal practice and is worth knowing, so keep a copy if a particular version matters to you.

21. Replacing an existing policy

Formal. Where a recommendation would involve replacing, surrendering or reducing an existing insurance contract, the practice will identify the existing contract, set out the consequences of replacement, and complete any replacement disclosure required by the applicable provincial regulator. Replacement is not recommended where the existing contract meets the client's need.

In plain language. Replacing a policy you already own is one of the places this industry does the most damage, because a new contract pays a new commission and an old one does not. If a replacement is ever proposed to you, by anyone, ask what is lost: the age at which the original was priced, any contestability period that has already run, and any health that has changed since. Frequently the existing contract is the better one and the honest advice is to keep it.

22. Where a second opinion is sought

Formal. Where a client asks the practice to review a contract placed elsewhere, the review is provided as information about the operation of that contract against its stated purpose. It is not a recommendation to replace and does not create an advisory relationship in respect of the original placement.

In plain language. Bringing in a policy you already own for a look is a normal request and it is treated as its own exercise rather than as an opportunity. The output is what the contract is actually doing, which may well be that it is doing fine.

23. Joint and corporate clients

Formal. Where two or more persons, or a corporation, are involved, the practice will establish at the outset who gives instructions, who is entitled to receive information, and in whose interest advice is being given. Where interests may diverge, that is identified before a recommendation is made.

In plain language. With a couple, a family or a company, it matters who is actually being advised and who can ask for what. Shareholders can want different things. Spouses can want different things. Establishing that at the start is less uncomfortable than discovering it at a claim.

24. Third parties in the file

Formal. Where the client's accountant, legal advisor or other professional is involved, the practice will coordinate with them on the client's instruction. The practice does not instruct those professionals and does not assume responsibility for their advice.

In plain language. Coordination happens on your say-so, not automatically, and your accountant's advice remains your accountant's.

25. Delays outside the practice's control

Formal. Timelines involving an insurer, a medical examiner or a records provider are outside the practice's control. The practice will report status and will not represent a timeline as certain.

In plain language. Underwriting takes as long as it takes. You will be told where it stands rather than given a date nobody can keep.

26. Documents

Formal. Documents forming part of a placement, including the application, any illustration relied upon, and the policy issued, are provided to the client. The client is responsible for reviewing the policy on receipt and for raising any discrepancy within the period stated in the contract.

In plain language. Read the policy when it arrives. There is a window in which a discrepancy can be raised, it is stated in the contract, and it does not last indefinitely. This is the single most skipped step in the entire process.

27. Referrals

Formal. Where the practice refers a client to another professional, the referral is made on the basis of suitability. Any referral arrangement involving remuneration is disclosed at the time of referral.

In plain language. If a referral ever involves money changing hands, you are told at the time rather than left to wonder.

28. Confidentiality

Formal. Information about a client is treated as confidential and is disclosed only as required to place or service a contract, as authorised by the client, or as required by law or a regulator.

In plain language. What you share stays within the file. The exceptions are the ordinary ones: doing what you asked, and a legal or regulatory requirement.

29. Beneficiary designations

Formal. The designation of a beneficiary is the client's decision and is made on the insurer's form. The practice will explain the difference between a revocable and an irrevocable designation, the consequences of each, and the particular rules applying in Quebec to the designation of a married or civil union spouse. The practice does not provide legal advice on estate matters and recommends that designations forming part of an estate plan be reviewed by a legal advisor.

In plain language. Who receives the money is your decision, and the choice between revocable and irrevocable has consequences most people are never told about. An irrevocable designation restricts what you can later do with the contract, including borrowing against it. Quebec treats a spousal designation differently from the rest of the country. None of this is exotic and all of it is easier to decide correctly at the start than to unpick later.

30. Reviewing a designation after a life change

Formal. The practice will remind clients at annual review that beneficiary designations, ownership arrangements and coverage amounts may require revision following a material change in circumstances, including marriage, separation, divorce, the birth of a child, a change in corporate structure, or a death.

In plain language. A designation made ten years ago reflects a family that existed ten years ago. Separation in particular leaves designations in place that almost nobody intends to leave in place, and the contract does not know anything has changed. This is the single most common avoidable error in the whole field and it costs nothing to check.

31. What happens if the practice ceases to operate

Formal. A policy in force is a contract between the client and the insurer and is unaffected by any change in the practice. Servicing may be transferred to another licensed advisor or handled directly by the insurer. The practice will notify clients of any change in servicing arrangements where it is able to do so.

In plain language. Your policy is not with the practice, it is with the insurer, and it continues regardless. This is worth knowing before you sign anything anywhere: ask who services a contract in ten years, and note that the correct answer is never simply "me".

Two things worth reading twice

Condition 9. Nobody can promise you an insurer's decision. If anyone in this industry tells you approval is certain before underwriting has happened, that single sentence tells you what their other statements are worth.

Condition 21. Replacing an existing policy pays a new commission. That does not make every replacement wrong, and it does make every replacement worth questioning. Ask what is being given up, not only what is being gained.

Those two conditions carry more practical protection than any limitation clause on this page, and neither is unusual. What is unusual is writing them down where a client will see them.

What these conditions deliberately do not contain

No retainer, no minimum, no exclusivity. You are not committed to using this practice, and you are not asked to be.

No cancellation charge. Because there is nothing to cancel: no fee was charged at any stage.

No promise about an insurer's decision. Condition 9 says the opposite, in as plain a form as it can be put.

No clause purporting to limit your right to complain. Condition 15 preserves it explicitly.

No claim that the practice can advise on tax or law. Condition 7 says the opposite.

A conditions page in this industry is usually where obligations are quietly transferred to a client who will never read it. This one is shorter on transfers and longer on explanation, and the plain-language pairs exist so that the formal half is never the only half you encounter.

How this page fits with the others

Terms of use governs the website. This page governs the working relationship. The disclaimer governs the nature of the content: general information, who wrote it, how they are paid. The privacy policy governs information you provide. The cookie and consent policy governs what runs in your browser.

Where two overlap, the more specific governs. None of them governs a policy: a contract of insurance is governed by the document the insurer issues, and that document is the one to read most carefully of all.