1) Policy Objectives
This policy is intended to inform you of our practices for protecting personal information. It also explains how to view your personal information, update it and submit a request for access or rectification.
Please also refer to the Terms of Use for our website.
2) Information collected and how it is used
We collect certain information necessary to carry out our various mandates under the Automobile Insurance Act. This information may also be used to improve and develop our services and for statistical purposes. You will find below more details about our practices according to the services offered for the execution of our mandates:
Appraisal
When you submit an application for an Appraiser's Certificate of Qualification or register for training to have access to this Certificate, we ask you for certain information, including your personal address, your photo, your curriculum vitae, your educational information, in order to demonstrate your eligibility and identify yourself. For more information on the information required, please consult the framework for the qualification of automobile damage appraisers.
For the purposes of quality control and compliance with standards, guidelines and procedures for damages appraisals by appraisers, we collect various information for your appraiser's file for control and verification; in particular your photo, resume, personal contact information, and academic information.
We also collect information for statistical purposes, including the age and experience groups in which you fall.
As part of the apparaiser's disciplinary process, we collect the information necessary to determine if professional misconduct has occurred. The information collected may include the complainant's name and contact information, details of the allegations, opinions and views of the complainant and other witnesses. In addition, certain other information may be collected depending on the nature of the complaint and investigation.
Insurance Information Centre and Auto Insurance Access Mechanism
Through its Insurance Information Centre (IIC), GAA offers you various services to inform and assist you when obtaining your automobile insurance or making a claim.
Depending on the services required, the IIC may collect certain information. Some of this information is also gathered for statistical purposes and to survey you. The telephone conversations and chat sessions are recorded to improve our services. If you do not wish to be recorded or surveyed, you can ask the agent to call you back on a non-recorded line or to remove your name from the list provided to the polling firm.
When you have questions about your rights and obligations related to insurance, we generally ask for your name, telephone number and city and the name of your insurer.
If you want us to intercede with your insurer or with a third party in order to better answer your questions or to try to find a solution to problems you have encountered, we will ask you for necessary additional information, such as your email address, mailing address and insurance policy number, the type of coverage and the amount of your premium.
If you have trouble obtaining auto insurance, we offer free assistance. You must fill out the appropriate form. Depending on the study of your file, we may ask you for additional information.
Fichier central des sinistres automobiles (FCSA)
We are authorized by the Autorité des marchés financiers to collect information from insurers concerning the driving experience of the people they insure. This information constitutes your claims file with the FCSA and reflects the insurer's file.
When using our service for consulting and verifying your Claims History Statement at the FCSA or requesting access or rectification under the Act respecting Access to documents held by public bodies and the protection of personal information (CQLR, c. A-2/1) (“Act respecting Access”), we ask you in particular to identify yourself and send us a legible image of your driver's license. Your driver's license number allows us to search the FCSA. In order to respond to your request for verification or rectification, we will also verify with the insurer the information contained in its file relating to the circumstances of the claim.
For more information about our consultation and verification service or to request access or rectification under the Act, consult our Request Your Claims History Statement webpage.
3) Consent
We may obtain your consent through various methods, depending on the circumstances and the type of information collected. Your consent can be express or implied. It is provided verbally, in writing or electronically, by you or by someone you have appointed for that purpose.
In certain situations, we may ask you for personal information about other people, particularly when you use the auto insurance access mechanism. When you provide someone else’s personal information, you undertake to obtain that person’s consent and to send us that information, and to use that information in accordance to this Privacy Policy.
4) Information collected automatically on our website (cookies)
When you use our site, we collect information to produce statistics on visitors’ activities and to analyze browsing behaviour. This is done using cookies installed temporarily on your computer equipment and Google Analytics. To find out more, refer to the Terms of Use.
5) Who can view your information?
We take the necessary and appropriate security measures to ensure the confidentiality of the personal information we keep.
Only our employees and service providers who need your information to perform their duties have access to it. We will not use or communicate your personal information for any other purposes without your consent or unless legally authorized to do so.
6) Retention and destruction of your information
Vos renseignements seront conservés pendant la période où ils sont nécessaires. La durée varie donc selon les services et la nature des renseignements. Lorsque les renseignements ne sont plus nécessaires, ceux-ci sont détruits, supprimés ou rendus anonymes, et ce, de manière sécuritaire.
7) Access to your information and request for rectification
NOTE: To obtain or verify the information in your Claims History Statement at the Fichier central des sinistres automobiles (FCSA), please follow the appropriate procedure.
You can request, in writing, access to your personal information. This request enables you to view the information in your file free of charge and to obtain a copy of it for a reasonable fee.
If your personal information is incomplete, inaccurate or ambiguous, you can send us a written request to rectify it.
Please send your request for access or rectification to:
Privacy Officer
Groupemement des assureurs automobiles
1981 McGill College Avenue, suite 620
Montréal, Québec, H3A 2Y1
You can also send your request for access or rectification by email at responsable_renseignements_personnels@gaa.qc.ca.
We will reply within 30 days of receiving your request.
If you are not satisfied with our response or did not receive a reply to your request, you can submit a request for an Examination of a disagreement to the Commission d’accès à l’information.
8) Privacy officer
If you have any questions or comments about our Privacy Policy, our practices, your rights, filing a complaint, or any other matter, please contact our Privacy Officer by email at responsable_renseignements_personnels@gaa.qc.ca or by mail at the following address:
Privacy Officer
Groupemement des assureurs automobiles
1981 McGill College Avenue, suite 620
Montréal, Québec, H3A 2Y1
9) Modification
We may modify this policy at any time. The date it was updated is indicated in the document.
Updated May 11, 2023.
