Client Complaint Handling Procedures

A  “complaint” shall be deemed to include any written or verbal statement  of grievance, including electronic      communications from a client,  former client, or any person who is acting on behalf of a client and has  written      authorization to so act, or of a prospective client who  has dealt with Viver Health Inc. (Viver), alleging a      grievance  involving Viver, or a Representative of Viver including an employee of  Viver, an MGA or Branch of Viver,      an Advisor of Viver or former  Representative of Viver, if the grievance involves matters that occurred  while the      Representative was a Representative of Viver.

Any  communication, whether verbal or written, which implies any of the  following, must be brought to the attention of      Viver for  documentation:

• Inappropriate advice
• Negligent service
• Fraud
• Misrepresentation
• Aggressive or other unethical sales practices
• Improper or excessive or undisclosed fees or commissions
• Unapproved or improper personal financial dealings with clients
• Other unethical behavior
• Other material non-compliance with legislation or company policy

Each  client who submits a complaint to Viver must be treated with dignity  and respect and his/her complaint must be      dealt with in good faith.

Representatives  are required to report all client complaints to Viver as soon as they  are aware of the complaint by      supplying the following to Viver:

• The  Representative obtains a written version of the complaint from the  client and he/she is provided with a copy of          these client  complaint handling procedures; and
• If the client refuses  to provide a written version of the complaint, the Representative  provides Viver with a          written summary of the complaint.

Upon receiving the complaint from either the client or the Representative, Viver shall:

• Record the details of the complaint in the ‘Complaint Log’ listing:
  • The date of the complaint
  • The client’s name;
  • The Representative’s name;
  • Details of the complaint
  • The date and conclusions of the decision rendered.
• Acknowledge  the complaint in writing to the client indicating that it has been  forwarded to Viver’s Compliance          Department for review. This  acknowledgement to the client must include a copy of the Financial  Services          Regulatory Authority of Ontario (“FSRA”) Client  Complaint Information.

Viver will maintain the  ‘Complaint Log’ by electronic means. Viver will keep the ‘Complaint Log’  and correspondence      for each complaint in a separate ‘Complaint  File’ for each MGA/Branch Office. Viver will advise the MGA/Branch of       any additional procedures and keep the MGA/Branch informed as to the  status of the complaint. It is best business      practice to disclose  to FSRA any complaint involving allegations of theft, misappropriation  or forgery. As well as      all private settlements, judgments or  arbitrations made to a client by Viver that are greater than $25,000  should be      reported to FSRA. As well as all private settlements,  judgments or arbitrations made to a client by an Officer,      Employee  or Representative that are greater than $15,000 should be reported to  FSRA.

No Representative or Employee of Viver may engage  outside legal counsel on behalf of Viver. Any legal or court       document or correspondence from lawyers must be forwarded immediately to  Viver.

Duty to Assess All Complaints

Viver  has the duty to engage in an adequate and reasonable assessment of all  complaints. All complaints are subject      to the complaint handling  requirements as set out by FSRA.

Any  complaints that are subject to informal resolution must be handled  fairly and responded to promptly (i.e.      generally in less time than  it would take for more complex and serious complaints. Where a complaint  subject to      informal resolution is received in writing Viver must  provide its substantive response in writing.

Viver  should be prepared to assist clients in documenting verbal complaints  where it is apparent that such assistance      is required.

Viver  must ensure that information about its complaint handling process is  made generally available to clients so      that clients are informed as  to how to file a complaint and to whom they should address a complaint.

Viver’s  complaint handling procedures provide a specific point of initial  contact at head office, the Compliance      Officer, for complaints or  information about Viver’s complaint handling procedures. Clients may  also be advised to      address their complaints to the Representative  servicing their account and to the MGA/Branch supervising that       Representative.

To  achieve the objective of handling complaints fairly, Viver’s complaint  handling procedures include standards that      allow for a factual  investigation and an analysis of the matters specific to the complaint.  Viver does not allow      complaints to be dismissed without due  consideration of the facts of each case. There must be a balanced  approach to      the gathering of facts that objectively considers the  interests of the complainant, the Representative and Viver.  

Viver’s  obligation to handle complaints in accordance with FSRA Rules is not  altered when a complainant engages legal      counsel in the complaint  process and where no litigation has commenced. Where litigation has been  initiated by the      complainant, Viver is expected to participate in  the litigation process in a timely manner in accordance with the       rules of procedure of the applicable jurisdiction and to refrain from  acting in a way that is clearly unfair.      Viver’s review of the  complaint must result in Viver’s substantive response to the  complainant.Examples of an      appropriate substantive response include  a fair offer to resolve the complaint or a denial of the complaint with       reasons.

Prompt Handling of Client Complaints

Viver  must handle the complaint and provide its substantive response within a  reasonable time period expected of an      insurance MGA acting  diligently in the circumstances. The time period may vary depending on  the complexity of the      matter. Viver should determine its  substantive response and notify the complainant in writing in most cases  within      three months of receipt of the complaint.

Further,  if the complainant fails to co-operate during the complaint resolution  process, or if the matter requires an      extensive amount of  fact-finding or complex legal analysis, time frames for the substantive  response may need to be      extended. In cases where a substantive  response will not be provided within three months, Viver must advise the       complainant as such, provide an explanation for the delay, and  also provide Viver’s best estimate of the time      required for the  completion of the substantive response.

It is not required  that the complainant accept Viver’s substantive response. Where Viver  has communicated its      substantive response, Viver must continue to  proactively address further communications from the complainant in a       timely manner until no further action on the part of Viver is  required.

General Complaint Handling Requirements

1. All  client complaints and supervisory obligations must be handled by  qualified sales supervisors/compliance          staff. An individual who  is the subject of a complaint must not handle the complaint unless  Viver has no other          supervisory staff who are qualified to  handle such complaints.
2. Each Representative must report certain complaints to Viver.
   In writing to:
                 Viver Health Inc.
                5500 Explorer Dr
                Mississauga, ON L4W 5C7
    By email to: info@viver.ca
    
3. Senior management at Viver must be made aware of complaints of serious misconduct and of all legal actions.
4. Viver  must maintain a Client Complaint Log. Viver must be able to detect  frequent and repetitive complaints made          with respect to the  same matter which may, on a cumulative basis, indicate a serious  problem.
5. Follow-up documentation for all complaints must  be kept in a central location along with the consolidated log of           complaints.
6. Where the events relating to a complaint  took place in part at another insurance MGA, Viver and its           Representatives must cooperate with other insurance MGA’s in sharing of  information necessary to address the          complaint.

Settlement Agreements

No  Representative shall, without the prior written consent of Viver, enter  into any settlement agreement with, pay      any compensation to or  make any restitution to a client. Viver nor any Representative may  impose confidentiality      restrictions on clients or a requirement to  withdraw a complaint with respect to FSRA, regulatory authority or law       enforcement agency as part of a resolution of a dispute or  otherwise.

Additional Complaint Handling Requirements

1. Initial Response- An initial response letter must be sent to the complainant within a  reasonable time, and generally within 5              business days of  receipt of the complaint. If a complaint can be concluded in less than 5  business days            then an initial response letter is not  necessary. The initial response letter must include the following               information:
    
   • A written acknowledgement of the complaint;
   • A request to the complainant for any additional reasonable information required to resolve the                  complaint;
   • The name, job title and full contact information of the individual at Viver handling the complaint;             
   • A  statement indicating that the complainant should contact the individual  at Viver handling the                  complaint if he/she would like  to inquire about the status of the complaint;
   • A  summary of Viver’s internal complaint handling process, including  general timelines for providing                  Viver’s response to  complaints and a statement advising clients that each province and  territory has a                  time limit for taking legal action; and

1. Substantive Response- The substantive response letter, which Viver must provide to the  complainant, may be accompanied by a summary              of Viver’s  complaint handling procedures and must include a copy of the following  information:
    
   • An outline of the complaint;
   • Viver’s substantive decision on the complaint, including reasons for the decision; and
   • A  reminder to the complainant that he/she has the right to consider: (i)  presenting the complaint to the                  Ombudsman; (ii) making a  complaint to FSRA; (iii) litigation/civil action; or (iv) any other  applicable                  options, such as an internal ombudservice  provided by an affiliate of Viver.

Supervisory Investigations

Viver  must monitor, through its supervisory personnel, all information that  it receives regarding potential breaches      of applicable requirements  on the part of Viver and its current and former Representatives that  raise the      possibility of risk to Viver’s clients or other  investors. Applicable requirements include FSRA By-laws, Rules and       Policies, other applicable legal and regulatory requirements and Viver’s  related internal policies and procedures.      This applies to  information received from both internal and external sources. For  example, such information may come      from client complaints, be  identified during Viver’s routine supervisory activity, or come from  other      Representatives of Viver or individuals outside of Viver who  are not clients.

For purposes of clarity, where the  information is received by way of a client complaint, the supervisory  duty goes      beyond addressing the relief requested by the complainant  and extends to a consideration of general risk at Viver.      The duty  to deal with the supervisory aspects of the matter continues when a  complainant purports to withdraw the      complaint or indicates  satisfaction with the results of Viver’s complaint handling.

Viver  must take reasonable supervisory action in relation to such  information, the extent of which will in part     depend on the severity  of the allegation and the complexity of the issues. In all cases, Viver  must track such      information and note trends in risk, including  those related to specific Representatives or MGA/Branches, subject       matter, product types, procedures and cases, and take necessary action  in response to those trends as appropriate.      In some cases, it will  be necessary to conduct an active supervisory investigation in relation  to the information      received in specific situations and the level of  the investigation must be reasonable in the circumstances.

Viver  has the duty to conduct a detailed investigation in all situations  where there is information from any source,      written or verbal,  whether from an identified source or anonymous, to raise the possibility  that such conduct      occurred. This duty applies to all conduct by  the current or former Representative, whether it occurred inside or       outside of Viver.

The investigation must be sufficiently  detailed and must include all reasonable steps to determine whether the       potential activity occurred. Examples of the activities that Viver  may need to take include:

1. Interviewing or otherwise communication with individuals such as:
    
   • The individuals of concern;
   • Related supervisory personnel;
   • Other branch staff;
   • Head office personnel;
   • The client or other external individuals who brought the information to Viver’s attention; or
   • Other clients who may have been affected by the activity.

1. Conducting a review at the Branch or MGA.
2. Reviewing documentation such as:
   • Files of the Representative relating to Viver business; or
   • Files  and other documents in the Representatives custody or control that  relate to outside business,              where there is a reasonable  possibility that such information is relevant to the investigation.  Viver              has the right to require such information to meet its  supervisory responsibilities and Representatives              have the  obligation to cooperate with such requests.

Internal Discipline

Breaches of FSRA By-laws, Rules and Policies are subject to appropriate internal disciplinary measures.

Documentation  associated with Viver’s client complaint activity shall be maintained  for a minimum of 7 years from the      creation of the record and made  available to FSRA upon request.