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Avoiding the dangers of privacy legislation


September 25, 2007   by Canadian Underwriter


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The insurance industry has to set up a protocol for the exchanging of information between insurers thats consistent among all insurers, Norman Groot, lawyer, Investigation Counsel PC, told delegates at the Annual Toronto Fraud Forum.
Certainly, I would encourage everyone to exchange information for the purposes of fighting fraud, Groot said.
He noted that in the past CASIU had offered up their association to be used as a filing bin for all information being exchanged between insurers, similar to the Bank Crime Prevention and Investigation Office. However, he added, many insurers do not want to be involved in this sort of regimen.
In light of this, Groot notes, there needs to be a few things that must be done to ensure that insurers are not stepping over the line in terms of privacy.
First, there needs to be a cover letter sent out between insurers when information is requested that clearly states who is requesting the information, who is receiving the information, the reason the information is being requested, the nature of the investigation and why the information is relevant.
Second, every insurer should have a list of designated insurers who can use the Investigative Body designation. This document must be kept on file and the people requesting and receiving the information must be on this list.
Insurers can confirm first orally that a counterpart or colleague does, in fact, have the necessary information, but as soon as documents are transferred a cover letter must be attached. The Privacy Commissioners office has noted that their legislation only applies to documents and not to oral disclosure, Groot said.
Groot also put out a request to the vice presidents of claims to meet with the board of CASIU to discuss the business of setting up a protocol system similar to what Canadian banks use as an audit trail.


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