Bill 219 explained in plain English
Life Settlements and Loans Act, 2020
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. Representative vote breakdowns appear when the Assembly publishes an Ayes and Nays page for the bill.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
Bill 219 amends the Ontario Insurance Act to permit the sale, assignment, use as collateral, or donation of life insurance policies under specific conditions, including a 10-day cooling-off period and oversight by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario.
This bill, titled the Life Settlements and Loans Act, 2020, proposes amendments to Ontario's Insurance Act. The main purpose is to allow individuals, particularly seniors, to sell, assign, use as collateral, or donate their life insurance policies to entities other than the original insurer. Currently, the Insurance Act generally prohibits such transactions except with the insurer. The bill introduces conditions for these transactions, including a requirement that the policy be held for at least 24 months. It also establishes a 10-day "cooling-off" period during which an agreement can be cancelled. The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario would oversee these transactions to ensure consumer protection. The bill also aims to provide individuals with an alternative financial resource by allowing them to access the fair market value of their policies in a secondary market.
- Amends the Insurance Act to permit the sale, assignment, use as collateral security, or donation of life insurance policies by the original policyholder or a transferee to prescribed persons or entities.
- Introduces conditions that must be met for these transactions to be exempt from the prohibition against trafficking in life insurance policies, including the policy being held for at least 24 months.
- Establishes a 10-day "cooling-off" period during which an agreement to sell, assign, use as collateral, or donate a life insurance policy can be cancelled by the original policyholder or transferee.
- Requires the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (the "Authority") to provide oversight for these transactions to ensure consumer protection.
- Specifies that if the conditions are met, the life insurance policy will not be subject to competing claims under any other Act.
- Defines 'transferee' as a person or entity to whom a life insurance policy is validly transferred by the original policyholder.
- Adds provisions to subsection 121 (1) of the Insurance Act to enable regulations regarding prescribed persons or entities and the Authority's oversight.
- States that the Act comes into force on a day to be named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor.
- Original policyholders of life insurance policies
- Transferees of life insurance policies
- Insurers
- The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (the "Authority")
- Persons or entities prescribed by regulations for life insurance policy transactions
- Registered charities
- The right for original policyholders or transferees to sell, assign, use as collateral security, or donate life insurance policies under specific conditions.
- The obligation for policyholders or transferees to have held the policy for at least 24 months before sale, assignment, collateral use, or donation.
- The right for original policyholders or transferees to cancel an agreement within 10 days of entering into it without reason.
- The obligation for the Authority to provide oversight for these transactions to ensure consumer protection.
- The condition that agreements must ensure full, true, and plain disclosure to the policyholder or transferee.
- The Act comes into force on a day to be named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor.
- The bill aims to provide seniors with an alternative financial resource and allow them to access the fair market value of their life insurance policies.
- Life insurance policies used in these transactions will not be subject to competing claims under other Acts if conditions are met, which could affect financial claims.
- The bill does not specify penalties for non-compliance; however, the oversight role of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario suggests regulatory enforcement mechanisms may exist or be established.
- The bill states that if the conditions of subsection (2) are met, the life insurance policy shall not be subject to any competing claim pursuant to any other Act, implying that failure to meet conditions could result in competing claims.
- The specific persons or entities that can receive a life insurance policy in these transactions are not listed in the bill; they will be prescribed by regulations.
- The details of the 'full, true, and plain disclosure' required in agreements are not specified in the bill and may be further defined by regulations.
- The exact nature and extent of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario's oversight are to be governed by regulations.
- The commencement date of the Act is not specified and depends on a proclamation by the Lieutenant Governor.
Permits specific transactions involving life insurance policies, such as sales, assignments, collateral use, and donations, under certain conditions, and introduces provisions for oversight and consumer protection.
Source: Section 1 and Section 2
Adds exceptions to the prohibition against trafficking in life insurance policies, allowing these policies to be sold, assigned, used as collateral, or donated under specified conditions and a 10-day cooling-off period.
Source: Section 1
Allows for regulations to be made concerning the prescription of persons or entities involved in life insurance policy transactions and the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario's oversight of these transactions.
Source: Section 2
Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.
Official textProcess Snapshot
Vote Summary
This bill is still active. We only show vote counts after the legislature publishes a recorded division.
No published representative vote breakdown
This bill is still moving through the process. When a recorded division is published, representative positions can be listed here.
Official sources
Status, sponsor, votes, and timeline on this page are drawn from these official legislative sources and public records. Each summary above is attributed to its own source.
How this data is sourced