Information about the use of this website is set out below and in the Security Information section. This website and its contents are the sole and exclusive property of Cowan Insurance Group Limited. ("Cowan"). Cowan permits authorized participants of benefit plans provided by Cowan to use this website subject to their complying with and agreeing to the following terms and conditions. By accessing or using this website, you agree to be bound by these terms and conditions. If you do not agree to these terms and conditions, do not access or use this website and exit immediately. If you do accept these terms and conditions you may proceed to use the website and may print and retain a copy of these terms and conditions for your own file. The following terms and conditions may, however, be amended from time to time without notice to you and accordingly you are responsible for reviewing them each time you enter this website. Your continued use of this website following the posting of changes will mean that you accept and agree to the changes. In addition to these terms and conditions you agree, by using this website, to be bound by any other guidelines or rules that may be posted on this website from time to time. All such guidelines or rules are hereby incorporated by reference into the following terms and conditions. Cowan reserves the right at any time and from time to time for any reason to modify, suspend or terminate, temporarily or permanently, all or part of this website without prior notice. Cowan shall not be liable to any user of this website or any third party for any modification, suspension or termination of this website.
Access to certain areas of this website are restricted and require a user name and password issued by Cowan. Once a Cowan user name and password have been issued to you, you are responsible for ensuring that such information is kept confidential and for preventing its unauthorized use. Cowan strongly recommends that you change your password on a regular basis using the facility provided on the Cowan website. Cowan recommends that you do not select a password that contains your date of birth, telephone number, address, social insurance number or anything else which could be obviously guessed. To prevent others from accessing your user name or password Cowan will disable your password after five (5) consecutive invalid login attempts. If this occurs to you, you should contact Cowan's infocentre at 1-888-509-7797. Cowan recommends that users not leave their computers unattended while connected to the website. To prevent an account from remaining open when not in use, a session will be closed after several minutes of inactivity. If this occurs to you and you want to continue your session, simply log back in.
You agree to notify Cowan immediately of any unauthorized use of your user name and or password. Notwithstanding your notification to Cowan of the unauthorized use of your user name and or password, you agree to be responsible for all activity using them and for all losses suffered or incurred by Cowan or any other user of or visitor to the website as a result of any unauthorized use. You agree not use anyone else's Cowan user name and or password at any time without the express written permission of the holder. Cowan will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from your failure to comply with these obligations. You hereby agree that any and all information submitted by you on this website using your user name and password shall be complete, true and accurate in all respects.
Cowan may, in its sole discretion without notice to you, de-activate your user name and or password and terminate your access to this website for any reason whatsoever including, without limitation, if Cowan believes that you have violated or acted inconsistently with the letter or spirit of these terms and conditions or have submitted inaccurate, incomplete, false, misleading or fraudulent information on this website or have otherwise accessed or used this website for any improper purpose. You agree that Cowan shall not be liable to you for any losses or damages you may suffer or incur as a result of Cowan terminating your access to this website.
Cowan and its affiliated companies and representatives are committed to respecting the privacy of your personal information. By using this website you acknowledge and agree that, notwithstanding any security measures or encryption methods that Cowan may implement, the internet and other various networking communication mediums, including websites and email, are not secure and that information sent to or by Cowan by email or placed on this website may be subject to interception, manipulation or viewing by persons other than you, Cowan and its employees. You further agree that Cowan shall not be liable for any losses or damages of any kind related to any such unauthorized interception, manipulation or viewing.
The benefit information shown on this website is provided to you as a convenience only and may be amended from time to time without notice to you. While information posted on this website is believed to be reliable and accurate at the time of posting, Cowan does not guarantee, represent or warrant that the information contained on this site is accurate, complete, reliable, verified or error-free. Information regarding changes to the amount or type of coverage held by you may have been transmitted to Cowan from third parties but is not yet reflected on this website. You should always contact Cowan directly to confirm the amount and type of coverage held by you at any given time.
The information on this website is for general information purposes only and is not intended to provide you with any personalized financial, insurance, legal, accounting, tax, medical or other professional advice. This website is not intended to be, and should not be used as, a substitute for personalized professional advice. Cowan recommends that you obtain personalized advice before ordering any of the benefit plans discussed on this website or making changes to any of the benefit plans that you currently hold.
Additional terms and conditions may apply to benefit plan purchases or changes made on this website, all of which terms and conditions shall become a part of these terms and conditions. You agree to abide by such other terms and conditions. If there is a conflict between these terms and conditions of use and the terms and conditions specific to your benefit plan purchase or change, the terms and conditions relating to your specific purchase or change shall prevail. Cowan's obligations, if any, with regard to its benefit plans are governed solely by the agreement pursuant to which they are provided and nothing on this website shall be construed to alter such agreement.
Although this website is accessible worldwide, not all benefit plans shown on this website are available to all persons or in all geographic locations or are appropriate or available outside Canada. Cowan benefit plans shown on this website are subject to the terms, conditions and limitations applicable thereto and are available only in the applicable provinces and territories of Canada or other jurisdictions where they may be legally offered by Cowan. Cowan reserves the right to limit, in its sole discretion, the provision and quantity of any benefit plans to any person or geographic area. The benefit plan information provided through this website does not constitute an offer or solicitation to anyone in any jurisdiction in which an offer or solicitation cannot legally be made or to any person to whom it is unlawful to make an offer or solicitation. If you would like further information on a benefit plan referred to in this website please contact Cowan directly. If you choose to access this website from outside Canada, you do so on your own initiative and you are solely responsible for complying with applicable local laws.
You hereby agree to indemnify and hold Cowan, its directors, officers, employees, agents, subsidiaries and affiliates harmless from any and all claims, demands, expenses, losses and incidental, consequential, special or exemplary damages including, but not limited to reasonable legal fees, damages for loss of profits, goodwill, use, data or other intangible losses, directly or indirectly suffered or incurred by Cowan, its directors, officers, employees, agents, subsidiaries and affiliates or any third party as a result of or arising out of your use of this website, your violation of these terms and conditions or unauthorized use of or access to this website by a third party using your user name and or password.
You expressly understand and agree that Cowan shall not be liable to you for any claims, demands, expenses, losses or incidental, special, consequential or exemplary damages, suffered or incurred by you including but not limited to, damages for loss of profits, goodwill, use, data or other intangible losses (even if Cowan has been advised of the possibility of such damages), as a result of or arising out of (i) your use of or your inability to use this website; (ii) unauthorized access to your user name, password or this website or alteration of your transmissions or data to Cowan, or (iii) any other cause, matter or thing relating to this website.
You expressly understand and agree that your use of this website is at your sole risk. This website is provided on an "as is, where is" basis and on an "as available" basis. Cowan does not promise that this website or any content or feature of this website will be error-free or uninterrupted, that any defects will be corrected or that your use of this website will provide specific results. Cowan does not represent or warrant that any files or other data you download from this website will be free of viruses or contamination or destructive features, that this website will operate in combination with any services or software used in connection with it or that it can be viewed consistently with all browser software. Cowan specifically disclaims all warranties, express or implied, including any warranties of accuracy, non-infringement, merchantability and or fitness for a particular purpose. Cowan disclaims any and all liability for the acts, omissions and conduct of any third parties in connection with or related to your use of this website. You are solely responsible for the consequences of your use of this website and any linked sites and agree to assume the risk of any damage or destruction that may be caused to your computer system including, but not limited to, any loss of data. Your sole remedy against Cowan for dissatisfaction with this website or any content is to stop using this website or any such content.
The above disclaimer applies to any damages, liability or injuries caused by any failure of performance, error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, computer virus, communication line failure, theft or destruction of or unauthorized access to, alteration of, or use, whether for breach of contract, tort, negligence or any other cause of action.
This website may provide links to other websites or resources. You acknowledge that Cowan has no control over such sites and resources and agree that Cowan shall have no responsibility to you for making such links, sites or resources available or known to you. You acknowledge that Cowan does not endorse and is not responsible or liable for the content of such linked sites or resources or any advertising, products, or other materials on or available from such linked sites or resources. You will need to make your own independent judgment regarding your interaction with these linked websites. You acknowledge and agree that Cowan shall not be responsible or liable to you, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with use of or reliance upon any such content, advertising, products, materials, goods or services available on or through any such linked sites or resources.
The design and contents of this website including, without limitation, the text, graphics, photographs, interfaces, form of expression, "look and feel" and the arrangement of the content are the sole and exclusive property of Cowan and are protected under Canadian and foreign country trade dress, copyright, patent, trademark and other intellectual property laws and rights. You agree not to use all or any part of this website or its contents for any improper purpose and, except with the prior written consent of Cowan, you agree not to copy, modify or download all or any part of this website except as expressly permitted on this website.
You agree that you shall not:
Cowan may disclose any information it may have in its possession about you (including your identity) if it determines that such disclosure is necessary in connection with any investigation or complaint regarding your use of this website, or to identify, contact or bring legal action against someone who may be causing injury to or interference with (either intentionally or unintentionally) Cowan's rights or property, or the rights or property of visitors to or users of this website, including but not limited to Cowan's customers. Cowan reserves the right at all times to disclose any information that Cowan deems necessary to comply with any applicable law, regulation, legal process or governmental request. Cowan also may disclose your information when Cowan determines that applicable law requires or permits such disclosure, including exchanging information with other companies and organizations for fraud protection purposes.
You acknowledge and agree that Cowan may preserve any transmittal or communication by you with Cowan through this website and may also disclose such data if required to do so by law or Cowan determines that such preservation or disclosure is reasonably necessary to (a) comply with legal process, (b) enforce these terms and conditions, (c) respond to claims that any such data violates the rights of others, or (d) protect the rights, property or personal safety of Cowan, its employees, users of or visitors to this website and or the public.
You also agree that any violation by you of these terms and conditions will constitute an unlawful and unfair business practice, and will cause irreparable harm to Cowan, for which monetary damages would be inadequate, and you consent to Cowan obtaining any injunctive or equitable relief that Cowan deems necessary or appropriate in such circumstances. These remedies are in addition to any other remedies Cowan may have at law or in equity.
If Cowan does take any legal action against you as a result of your violation of these terms and conditions, Cowan will be entitled to recover from you, and you agree to pay, all reasonable legal fees and other costs of such action, in addition to any other relief granted to Cowan.
These terms and conditions constitute the entire agreement between you and Cowan and govern your use of this website. Cowan will not accept any counter-offers to these terms and conditions and all such offers are hereby categorically rejected. Cowan's failure to insist on or enforce strict performance of these terms and conditions shall not be construed as a waiver by Cowan of any provision or any right it has to enforce these terms and conditions, nor shall any course of conduct between Cowan and you or any other party be deemed to modify any provision of these terms and conditions. These terms and conditions shall not be interpreted or construed to confer any rights or remedies on any third parties.
The laws of the Province of Ontario and the federal laws of Canada applicable therein without regard to its conflict of laws provisions shall govern these terms and conditions and the relationship between you and Cowan. You hereby agree that the Ontario courts shall have exclusive jurisdiction with respect to any dispute between you and Cowan in respect of this website or the services provided herein. The failure of Cowan to exercise or enforce any right or provision contained in these terms and conditions shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. If any provision of these terms and conditions is found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, you agree that the court should endeavor to give effect to the Cowan's intentions as reflected in the provision and the other provisions contained in these terms and conditions shall remain in full force and effect unamended. You agree that regardless of any statute or law to the contrary, any claim or cause of action arising out of or related to these terms and conditions or your use of this website must be filed within one calendar year of the date such claim or cause of action arose or shall be forever barred. No recovery may be sought or received for damages other than out-of-pocket expenses except that the prevailing party will be entitled to costs and reasonable legal fees on a solicitor and his own client basis.
If any of the provisions of these terms and conditions are held by a court or other tribunal of competent jurisdiction to be void or unenforceable, such provisions shall be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary and replaced with a valid provision that best embodies the intent of these terms and conditions, so that these terms and conditions shall remain in full force and effect.
Cowan Insurance Group Limited ("Cowan") is committed to respecting the privacy of your personal information. By using this website you acknowledge and agree that, notwithstanding any security measures or encryption methods that Cowan may implement, the internet and other various networking communication mediums, including websites and email, are not secure and that information sent to or by Cowan by email or placed on this website may be subject to interception, manipulation or viewing by persons other than you, Cowan and its employees. In an attempt to minimize this risk and to ensure message integrity, Cowan has implemented several layers of security measures that encompass data encryption and server authentication. The following is a brief summary of some of the security devices used by Cowan. If you wish further information on the security implemented by Cowan, please contact Cowan directly.
Data transmitted between you and Cowan will be encrypted before being sent across the internet. To ensure the security of the encrypted information, only Cowan's server and your browser should hold the key to decrypt the messages. It is your responsibility to ensure that you do not permit any unauthorized users to access your systems and obtain the decryption key.
128-bit encryption is currently the strongest publicly available encryption and is available from Microsoft. For your own security, you will not be able to authenticate to Cowan's website if your browser does not support 128-bit encryption. Cowan suggests that you use one of the following supported browser versions to access this website:
Cowan uses a security system called "Secure Sockets Layer" ("SSL") as part of its security measures. SSL is designed to prevent tampering with messages received from or sent to Cowan during transmission over the internet.
Cowan's identity is authenticated by its website certificate. A website certificate is a digital document that is authorized by a trusted third party. The unique signature on the certificate, which was verified by the third party certificate authority, is to protect against forgery by any other server. Our website certificate gives you comfort that you are communicating with Cowan.
Cowan's firewall is designed to protect our internal computer systems, and your data, from unauthorized access. All communications between the internet and Cowan's computer systems pass through a single point where authentication takes place and authorization to enter is established.
In order for Cowan to verify that the user requesting access is authorized to do so, Cowan's website will require the user to provide his or her user name and password. If the website confirms that the information entered is correct, the user will be authenticated and access will be given to the website.
Copyright © Cowan Insurance Group Limited. All rights reserved.
Effective November 2005
