Does your claim meet the eligibility criteria?

Claims must meet the following eligibility criteria for compensation through the fund:

Criteria 1 – Your loss is due to financial fraud

For a compensation claim to be eligible, the representative’s or firm’s actions must have been intended to mislead you or encourage you to give them your money. Embezzlement may be committed once your payment was made following the signing of a contract. Financial loss must result from this fraud.

Note: Certain acts committed involuntarily by your representative, whether through a mistake, error, negligence or omission, do not qualify for compensation.

Criteria 2 – The offer concerns a financial product or service

The fund covers the actions of representatives or firms authorized to act in the following sectors:

• Insurance of persons (segregated funds, life insurance, accident and sickness insurance, disability insurance, salary insurance, etc.);
• Group insurance of persons;
• Financial planning;
• Damage insurance (auto insurance, home insurance, liability insurance, etc.);
• Claims adjustment;
• Mutual funds;
• Scholarship plans;
• Mortgage brokering.

To determine whether the firm or representative you are dealing with has the right to carry on activities related to financial products or services, consult the Register of firms and individuals authorized to practise

A. For fraud committed since June 12, 2015

You must have done business with, and have been offered a financial product or service by, a representative or firm authorized by the AMF to act in a sector covered by the fund.

If the representative or firm was not authorized to act by the AMF at the time of the fraud, your claim may still be eligible if you meet the following two criteria:

• You were already doing business with the representative or firm while they held a right to practise; and
• The fraud occurred in the two years following the date when the representative or firm lost their right to practise.

B. For fraud committed before June 12, 2015

You must have done business with a representative or firm licensed to offer you an authorized financial product or service.

See the table that lists the representatives covered by the fund. It provides examples of products and services they are authorized to offer.

Criteria 3 – Your compensation claim must be filed within one year of the date on which you become aware of the fraud

Although the fraud itself may have been committed a few years earlier, the law provides that you must file your compensation claim within one year of the date on which you become aware of the fraud, i.e., the date on which you realized you had been a victim.

However, if you were unable to file your compensation claim within the one-year time limit for reasons beyond your control, your claim may still be eligible.

For the mortgage brokerage sector, a claim for a fraudulent act committed after May 10, 2018, but before May 1, 2020, may be filed up to two years from the date on which you become aware of the fraud. If you have any doubts, contact the Information Centre.

If you are not sure, it is best to contact the Information Centre