2012-05-17
The Autorité des marchés financiers mandates that Québec-licensed insurers file all statutory disclosures electronically via its File Transfer Service, eliminating paper copies and personal reminders. Insurers must designate a contact person to receive electronic submission confirmations and submit a new mandatory Attestation of Compliance of Versions form alongside their PDF, Excel, or ASCII files. Failure to meet these electronic filing requirements by the stipulated due dates will trigger administrative monetary sanctions under the Act.
Notice of the Autorité des marchés financiers relating to filing of interim returns and other documents for the half year ended April 30, 2012 – Insurers of persons licensed in Québec Under An Act respecting insurance, R.S.Q., c. A-32, (the “Act”), every insurer is required to file with the Autorité des marchés financiers (the “AMF” or the "Authority"), in such form as the AMF may determine, the documents and information it requires. To promote environmentally friendly practices and reduce insurers’ administrative burden, the AMF will no longer require paper copies of documents to be filed under the Act, with some exceptions. Therefore, electronic filing of all statutory disclosures for fiscal years ending after December 1, 2011 is now mandatory1 All documents and other information required under the Act must be sent via the AMF website using the File Transfer Service (“FTS”). Letter dated April 30, 2012 – New data transmission procedure The AMF sent a letter by certified mail to insurers licensed in Québec announcing the implementation of the FTS. This new service will enable them to file annual and interim returns, statements and other documents directly via the AMF website. Included with this letter was a sealed enveloped containing the log-in code and password for the contact person designated by the insurer. AMF Notice – Administrative monetary sanctions Under section 405.1 of the Act, the AMF may impose an administrative sanction where any of the requested documents are filed late or are not filed. A new Notice relating to administrative monetary sanctions (the “Notice”) was published in the AMF Bulletin dated December 16, 2011 (in French only)2 . The Notice is applicable to all statutory filings effective January 1, 2012. In order to access the latest English version of the Notice (unofficial translation), we suggest you to visit regularly the AMF website at http://www.lautorite.qc.ca/en/right-practice-pers-pro.html. The AMF will no longer send a letter listing the documents and information required under the Act. This information will now be available only through E-mail Info, AMF Bulletins and postings on the AMF website. In addition, the AMF will no longer issue personal reminders prior to the filing due dates of these documents and information. Each insurer is responsible for submitting these statutory filings by the dates stipulated in the Act or determined by the AMF. The AMF will impose the sanctions set out in the Notice on insurers who fail to comply with these obligations. Documents to file An Appendix sets out the AMF’s specific requirements for each insurer and filing due dates.
1 Section 25.2 of An Act respecting the Autorité des marchés financiers, R.S.Q., c. A-33.2. 2 (2011) Bulletin de l’Autorité, vol. 8, no. 50, B.A.M.F., section 5.1, pp. 95 to 107.
APPENDIX Form description Form Suffix Due before Interim Return LIFE-1 ◊ Hyperlink to instructions and updated forms : http://www.osfi-bsif.gc.ca/osfi/index_e.aspx?DetailID=677 LIFE-1 pdf*, Excel, ASCII June 15 Attestation of Compliance of Versions (half-yearly) - LIFE-1 ◊ (new) pdf June 15 Minimum Continuing Capital and Surplus Requirements (MCCSR) ◊