Last Updated: July 27, 2017.

Westmount Guarantee Services Inc. (“Westmount”, “we”, “us” or “our”) is committed to protecting your privacy and the confidentiality of your personal information. We recognize the importance of your privacy, so we have developed this Privacy Policy (“Policy”) to describe how and why we collect, use, and disclose your personal information. Personal information is information about an identifiable individual. This includes information such as your name, address, email address, phone number, details about the new home you’ve purchased, and other information you may submit to us. As a customer or user of our website, you may submit information (including personal information) to us when you access and use our website.

Why We Collect Information About You

We collect only the personal information that is necessary for you to use our website. We collect your personal information in order to:

• Respond to requests and queries you submit to us;
• Communicate tailored insurance related products and services to you offered by other insurance companies based on your preferences, if you have opted-in to receive such communications; and
• Conduct analyses and evaluations to understand consumer trends and usage related to our products in order to improve our website and marketing communications.

By using and accessing our website, you consent to the collection, use and disclosure of your personal information in accordance with this Policy. You can withdraw your consent to the collection, use and disclosure of your personal information at any time. However, if you choose to withdraw your consent, we may not be able to provide you with the full functionality of our website and services that you request.  

Westmount reserves the right to update, change or modify this Policy from time-to-time. We may add, change, or remove portions of this Policy when we feel it is appropriate to do so. Whenever we update this Policy we will post the updated version on this webpage. Your continued use of our website following a change to this Policy means that you provide your consent to the collection, use and disclosure of your personal information as set out in the updated Policy. Please check back periodically for updates.

How We Collect Your Information

We collect information from you in a variety of ways when you use our Services. Where possible, we collect information directly from you, such as when you submit a query or feedback to us through our website’s “Contact Us” page.

Like many other websites, we may also use passive tracking technologies and third-party analytics tools to collect information from you. These tools may automatically monitor and track information relation to activities on our website, including the Internet Protocol (IP) address of your computer, the IP address of your Internet Service provider, the date and time you access the website, the Internet address of the website from which you linked directly to the website, the operating system you are using, the pages of the website you visit, the website pages you read and the images viewed, and the content you download from our website.

We might also use Cookies to understand your usage of this website and to improve its contents. A “Cookie” is a text file that websites send to a visitor’s computer or other Internet-connected devices to uniquely identify the visitor’s browser or to store information or settings in the browser. Cookies make it more convenient as you use our website. For example, the information provided through Cookies is used to recognize you as a previous user of the website to offer personalized web page content and information for your use and to otherwise facilitate your experience. A Cookie may remain on your computer, phone or browser after the session finishes. You may choose to decline cookies if your browser permits, but doing so may affect your use of the website and your ability to access certain features of the website or engage in transactions through the website.

How We Share Your Information

We share information about you with you, affiliated companies, and other companies that perform marketing and other services for us (collectively, “Service Providers”). Our Service Providers are not authorized by us to use of disclose your information except as necessary to perform services on our behalf or comply with legal requirements. If you do not wish us to provide your personal information to those service providers, we may be unable to provide you with the services you request or adequately respond to your query.

There are also certain situations where we will disclose your personal information such as:

• When we are required or authorized by law to do so (e.g., if a court issues a subpoena);
• When you have consented to the disclosure;
• When the services we are providing to you require us to give your information to a Service Provider;
• To protect ourselves against fraud;
• When it is necessary to establish or collect amounts owed to us.

Location of Service Providers

Occasionally, we may use Service Providers located outside of Canada to process and/or store personal information for us. Please note that personal information in the custody of these Service Providers may be subject to access by the law enforcement authorities of those jurisdictions in which the Service Providers are located. Our Privacy Officer, whose contact information is provided below, can provide further information about our policies and practices regarding Service Providers located outside of Canada and further information about how these Service Providers, collect, use, disclose or store personal information on our behalf.

Disclosure in the Event of a Business Change

In the event our business undergoes a fundamental change such as, for example, a sale or financing, merger, transfer of all or a portion of our business or assets (“Business Change”), we may disclose your personal information to the counterparties to the transaction and their professional advisors as necessary for them to conduct due diligence and to complete the transaction, provided that the counterparties and their professional advisors are required to maintain the personal information as confidential and provided that any successor to our business may only use and disclose your personal information for those purposes for which you have provided consent to us. Following such Business Change, you may contact the entity to which we disclosed your personal information with an inquiry concerning the processing of that information.

Security of Your Information

Westmount has policies and procedures to ensure reasonable physical, technical and organizational measures are in place to protect the personal information we hold about you safe from loss, unauthorized access, modification or disclosure. However, we cannot take responsibility for theft, misuse, unauthorized disclosure, loss, alteration or destruction of data by a third party (such as a hacker). Among the measures we take to protect your information are:

• Premises security;
• Restricted file access;
• Technological safeguards such as firewalls; and
• Internal password and security policies.

Accessing, Updating and Correcting Your Personal Information

You have a right to review any of the information that we hold about you and learn about how we have used it or to whom we have disclosed it by contacting us. Subject to any exceptions prescribed by law, you can access and correct your personal information and challenge the accuracy and completeness of the information we have about you. We may deny access when required or authorized by law. For example, we may deny access when granting access would have an unreasonable impact on other people’s privacy or when necessary to protect our confidential commercial information and the requested information cannot be severed from the balance of the record in which it is contained. If we deny your request for access to, or refuse a request to correct information, we shall explain why.

Retention of Information

We keep your information as long as reasonably required to complete our dealings with you, or as required by law, whichever is longer. You can also request that we remove your information from our records by contacting our Privacy Officer at the contact information below. Subject to our requirements for continued retention of your information (i.e., audit purposes) or to fulfill our legal obligations, we will make every reasonable effort to honour your request.

We Don’t Collect Personal Information from Minors

Our website is not intended to solicit information of any kind from individuals under the age of majority in their jurisdiction of residence (“Minors”) without the required consent from parents/guardians. If we become aware of any information we possess that may belong to a Minor, we will immediately obtain parental consent to delete this information from our servers. If you are a parent/guardian and you suspect that your child may have submitted personal information to us, please contact us through the details provided below.

Questions?

If you have any questions or wish to access, update or correct the information we hold about you, please contact our Privacy Officer at privacyofficer@westmountguarantee.com or by mail:

Westmount Guarantee Services Inc.
600 Cochrane Drive, Suite 205
Markham, Ontario L3R 5K3