Category: Community posts

By OmbudService for Life & Health Insurance

Did you know you can turn to the OmbudService for Life and Health Insurance (OLHI) for help if your insurer denies your life or health insurance claim?

No? You’re in good company. OLHI has been around for almost twenty years, but few Canadians know we exist. That’s why OLHI has launched a public education strategy to raise awareness with partners like the BC Care Providers Association.

Who can come to OLHI for help?

OLHI is Canada’s free, independent, and impartial alternative dispute resolution service for life and health insurance consumers, all 29 million of them. Our public service is available to any Canadian whose insurance company is an OLHI member – luckily, 99 per cent of life and health insurance providers are OLHI members.

Every year, OLHI helps thousands of life and health insurance consumers with complaints about many kinds of insurance.

We offer helpful information and guide consumers through the complaints process. If they have a complaint with their insurer, we have a team of experts who can review or investigate their complaints. If we think the complaint has merit, our team will make a non-binding settlement recommendation to the insurance company.

See OLHI’s alternative dispute resolution public service in action

Watch more case study videos on YouTube:

• Mortgage relief
• OLHI clarifies insurer’s position in disability complaint
• Fulfilling a policy
• Taking care of dad

I have a complaint. What should I do?

Suppose your insurance company denies a claim, and you don’t know why or disagree with the decision. In that case, your first step is to talk to your company.

Don’t know where to start? OLHI can help. All insurance companies have a process for resolving complaints directly with their customers. They also have staff responsible for handling consumer complaints. Our website explains the process and lists all of the complaints officers for insurance companies across the country.

If you complete this process, your insurance company will send you a final position letter explaining their decision. Once you receive this letter, you can submit a complaint right on our website.

OLHI can only review your complaint if you have received a final position letter.

Want more information?

Visit OLHI online or follow us to learn more.

Facebook (EN)

Facebook (FR)

Twitter

LinkedIn

OLHI also wants to partner with organizations that have frontline teams that support Canadians by sharing helpful resources. If you want to educate your employees about OLHI’s public service, contact us at info@olhi.ca. We can share our public education materials, host workshops and provide content for your publications.

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Find OLHI resources on Clicklaw

You can also find OLHI listings on Clicklaw.

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Stay informed:

This week (October 3-9) is Make-a-Will Week in British Columbia. The provincial government designates the week to encourage everyone to write their will or update an existing one.

Why do I need a will? Why should I make one?

A will is a legal document that leaves instructions about what you want to be done with everything you own after your death. If you die without a will, your property will be divided according to the law in BC. It could make things more difficult for your loved ones.

I want to make a will. What should I do?

You could start with reading any of the free resources available for British Columbians. Go to the Courthouse Libraries BC website for a complete list of resources and services prepared for various audiences: http://bit.ly/clbcwills. At the Wills & Personal Planning Resources page, you could also find information about personal planning documents, such as Representation Agreements and Enduring Power of Attorney.

What’s new?

Remote witnessing of will signing has been a permanent part of BC law since 2020. Here’s what the provincial government says about what’s coming soon:

“Starting December 1, 2021 changes will also give electronic wills the same recognition as physical wills. Wills soon will be able to be signed and stored electronically. While all formats of electronic will are acceptable, people are strongly encouraged to save their freshly made wills in PDF format, to make the probate process as easy as possible for their executor.”

Make a Will week, Province of British Columbia.

Printable handouts

For a quick overview, this one-pager for everyone (PDF) comes in handy. The handout is also available for public librarians & community helpers (PDF), and legal professionals (PDF). Feel free to print and distribute these handouts, but please highlight the short URL that directs back to the Wills & Personal Planning Resources page: http://bit.ly/CLBCwills.

What events are available?

Below are non-profit organizations holding free or low-cost events to help you understand various topics around wills and personal planning.

Nidus

• Nidus is currently the only community-based resource in Canada devoted to personal planning. This organization also operates a centralized Registry for personal planning documents in partnership with Juricert Inc. of the Law Society of British Columbia.
• Free online presentations on personal planning are available throughout October and November. 

People’s Law School

• People’s Law School provides free education and information to help people effectively deal with the legal problems of daily life.
• Free webinars on wills and personal planning are available in October and November.

Plan Institute

• Plan Institute works to improve the lives of people with disabilities by collaborating on community-based projects, offering a suite of learning initiatives, and advocating for policy reform.
• Wills, Trusts, and Estate Planning workshops are available throughout the year for $25 per person.

Want to share the Wills & Personal Planning Resources page? Use this short redirect URL: http://bit.ly/CLBCwills.

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Stay up to date with the latest in public legal education and information in British Columbia. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog.

Stay informed: