1 Interpretation Definitions
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(a) "adjuster" has the meaning set out in section 2;
(b) "affiliate" has the meaning set out in section 3;
(c) "agency contract" means a contract between an insurance
agent and an insurer in which the insurance agent agrees to
act as an insurance agent in respect of insurance issued by
the insurer, but does not include the arrangement that an
insurance agent has with an insurer that is the service carrier
for the Government approved industry plan under section
609;
(d) "automobile" includes a trolley bus and a self-propelled
vehicle, and the trailers, accessories and equipment of
automobiles, but does not include watercraft, aircraft or
railway rolling stock that runs on rails;
(e) "base capital" means base capital as defined in the
regulations;
(f) "beneficial ownership" has the meaning set out in section 4;
(g) "body corporate" means any body corporate with or without
share capital, wherever or however formed;
(h) "certificate of authority" means an insurance agent's
certificate of authority or an adjuster's certificate of
authority;
(i) "chief agency" means,
(i) in respect of a provincial company, the head office of the
company, and
(ii) in respect of an insurer that is not a provincial company,
the main office of the company in Alberta;
(i.1) repealed 2 002 cA-4.5 s45;
(j) "contract of insurance" in cludes any policy, certificate,
interim receipt, renewal receipt or writing evidencing the
contract, whether sealed or not, and a binding oral
agreement;
(k) "control" has the meaning set out in section 5;
(l) "Court" means the Court of King's Bench;
(m) "debt obligation" means a bond, debenture, note or other
evidence of indebtedness whether secured or unsecured;
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(n) "deposit-taking institution" means
(i) ATB Financial or a bank, credit union, loan corporation
or trust corporation, or
(ii) a member institution of the Canada Deposit Insurance
Corporation or of any other deposit insurance or
guarantee plan prescribed under section 1(1)(l) of the
Loan and Trust Corporations Act;
(o) "director" means an individual occupying the position of
director of a body corporate regardless of the name given to
the position, and "directors" refers to the directors of a body
corporate as a body;
(p) "electronic media" means electr onic media as defined in the
regulations;
(q) "entity" means a body corporate, an unincorporated body,
the Crown in right of Canada or in right of a province or
territory, an agency of the Crown, a foreign government and
any agency of a foreign government, but does not include an
individual;
(r) "examiner" means an examiner appointed under section
793;
(s) "extra-provincial company" means an insurer that is
incorporated in a province or territory other than Alberta
and that is authorized by that province or territory to carry
on the business of insurance in that province or territory;
(s.1) "extra-prov incial Crown insurer" means an insurer that
(i) is formed by or under the laws of another province or
territory,
(ii) has an exclusive right to perform an insurance activity in
that province or territory, and
(iii) is beneficially owned or controlled by His Majesty in
right of that province or territory;
(t) "federally authorized company" means an insurer that is a
company, society or foreign company as defined in the
Insurance Companies Act (Canada) approved by order
under that Act to carry on business or to insure risks in
Canada;
(u) "financial institution" means
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(i) a bank,
(ii) ATB Financial,
(iii) a loan corporation or trus t corporation incorporated by or
under an Act of Canada, a province or a territory,
(iv) a credit union incorpor ated by or under an Act of
Canada, a province or a territory,
(v) a federally authorized company, an extra-provincial
company or a licensed provincial company, and
(vi) any other prescribed entity;
(v) "fraternal society" means a body corporate that is a not for
profit society, order or association formed for the purpose of
making, with its members only, contracts of life, accident or
sickness insurance in accordance with its constitution,
bylaws and rules and this Act;
(w) "head office", in respect of an insurer, means the place
where the chief executive officer of the insurer transacts
business;
(x) "holding body corporate" has the meaning set out in section
6;
(y) "incorporator", in respect of a provincial company, means a
person who applies for the incorporation of the company;
(z) "instrument of incorporation" means the certificate, special
Act, charter, letters patent or other document incorporating,
amalgamating or continuing a body corporate, and includes
all amendments to it;
(aa) "insurance" means the un dertaking by one person to
indemnify another person against loss or liability for loss in
respect of certain risk or peril to which the object of the
insurance might be exposed or to pay a sum of money or
other thing of value on the happening of a certain event and,
without limiting the generality of the foregoing, includes life
insurance;
(bb) "insurance agent" means a person who, for compensation,
(i) solicits insurance on behalf of an insurer, insured or
potential insured,
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(ii) transmits an application for insurance from an insured or
potential insured to an insurer,
(iii) transmits a policy of insurance from an insurer to an
insured,
(iv) negotiates or offers to negotiate insurance on behalf of
an insurer, insured or potential insured or the
continuance or renewal of insurance on behalf of an
insurer or insured, or
(v) enrolls individuals in pr escribed contracts of group
insurance,
but does not include an insurer;
(cc) "insurance agent's certif icate of authority" includes a
restricted insurance agent's certificate of authority;
(dd) "insurance council" means an insurance council referred to
in section 493;
(ee) "insurance money" includes all insurance money, benefits,
surplus, profits, dividends, bonuses and annuities payable by
an insurer under a contract of insurance;
(ff) "insurer" means any person that undertakes or effects, or
agrees or offers for valuable consideration to undertake or
effect, a contract of insurance, including the underwriters or
syndicates of underwriters operating on the plan known as
Lloyd's, but does not include a person who exchanges with
other persons reciprocal contracts of indemnity or
inter-insurance as part of a reciprocal insurance exchange;
(gg) "licence" means a licence under this Act unless the
provision in which the term is used specifies otherwise;
(hh) "licensed provincial comp any" means a provincial company
that holds a valid and subsisting licence or that holds an
unexpired licence that has been suspended;
(ii) "life company" means an insurer that is permitted to insure
(i) only those risks falling within the class of life insurance,
or
(ii) only those risks falling within the class of life insurance
and accident and sickness insurance or another class of
insurance specified in the regulations under section
35(2);
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(jj) "market conduct activities" means activities that are carried
out in the course of or for the purpose of the marketing, sale
or distribution to the public of, or the performance of, any
contract of insurance or service that an insurer offers to the
public;
(kk) "Minister" means the Mini ster determined under section 16
of the Government Organization Act as the Minister
responsible for this Act;
(ll) "motor vehicle liability polic y" means a policy or part of a
policy evidencing a contract insuring
(i) the owner or driver of an automobile, or
(ii) a person who is not the ow ner or driver of an automobile
where the automobile is being used or operated by the
person's employee or agent or any other individual on
the person's behalf,
against liability arising out of bodily injury to or the death of
an individual or loss or damage to property caused by an
automobile or the use or operation of an automobile;
(mm) "mutual provincial comp any" means a provincial company
that does not have common shares and that is formed for the
purpose of issuing participating policies;
(nn) "non-owner's policy" means a motor vehicle liability policy
insuring a person solely in respect of the use or operation by
the person or on the person's behalf of an automobile that
the person does not own;
(oo) "officer" means
(i) in relation to a body corporate, a chief executive officer,
president, vice-president, secretary, controller, treasurer
and any other individual designated as an officer of the
body corporate by bylaw or by resolution of the directors
of the body corporate, and
(ii) in relation to any other entity, any individual designated
as an officer of the entity by bylaw, by resolution of the
members of the entity or otherwise;
(pp) "owner's policy" means a motor vehicle liability policy
insuring a person in respect of the ownership, use or
operation of an automobile owned by the person and within
the description or definition of automobile in the policy and,
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if the contract so provides, in respect of the use or operation
of any other automobile;
(qq) "participating policy" means a policy issued by an insurer
that entitles its holder to participate in the profits of the
insurer;
(rr) "participating policyholder" means the holder of a
participating policy;
(ss) "person" means an individual, entity or personal
representative;
(tt) "personal representative" me ans an executor, administrator,
guardian, committee, trustee, assignee, receiver or
liquidator;
(uu) "policy" means an instru ment evidencing a contract of
insurance;
(vv) "premium" means the single or periodical payment to be
made for insurance, and includes dues, assessments and
other consideration;
(ww) "premium note" means an instrument given as consideration
for insurance by which the maker of the instrument
undertakes to pay the sum or sums that may be legally
demanded by the insurer, the aggregate of those sums not to
exceed an amount specified in the instrument;
(xx) "professional advisor" means
(i) an auditor,
(ii) an actuary,
(iii) a lawyer, accountant, apprai ser, architect or engineer, or
(iv) any other person whose membership in a profession
would tend to lend credibility to a statement made or
opinion given by that person,
and includes an individual who is a member of or who
works in a professional capacity for a partnership, body
corporate or other association of persons that is a
professional advisor;
(yy) "property" that is the su bject of a contract of insurance
includes
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(i) profits, earnings and other pecuniary interests, and
(ii) expenditure for rents, interest, taxes and other expenses
and charges and expenditures in respect of inability to
occupy the insured premises, but only to the extent
provided for in the contract;
(zz) "property and casualty company" means an insurer that is
not a life company;
(aaa) "provincial company" mean s an insurer incorporated under
this Act;
(bbb) "provincial life company" means a provincial company that
is a life company;
(ccc) "provincial property and casualty company" means a
provincial company that is a property and casualty
company;
(ddd) "proxy" means a completed and executed form of proxy by
means of which a participating policyholder or shareholder
appoints a proxyholder to attend and act on behalf of the
participating policyholder or shareholder at a meeting of
participating policyholders or shareholders;
(eee) "proxyholder" means the person appointed by proxy to
attend and act on behalf of a participating policyholder or
shareholder at a meeting of participating policyholders or
shareholders;
(fff) "reciprocal insurance exchange" means a group of
subscribers exchanging reciprocal contracts of indemnity or
inter-insurance with each other through a principal attorney
as defined in section 78(b);
(ggg) "relative", when used with respect to individuals, means
related by blood, marriage or adoption or by virtue of an
adult interdependent relationship;
(hhh) "reporting issuer" means a reporting issuer within the
meaning of that term in the Securities Act;
(iii) "security" means
(i) in relation to a body corp orate, a share of any class of
shares of the body corporate or a debt obligation of the
body corporate, and includes a warrant of the body
corporate, but does not include a deposit with a
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deposit-taking institution or any instrument evidencing
such a deposit, and
(ii) in relation to any other entity, any ownership interest in
or debt obligation of the entity,
but does not include a policy;
(jjj) "security interest" means an interest in or charge on
property by way of mortgage, lien, pledge or otherwise
taken by a creditor or guarantor to secure the payment or
performance of an obligation;
(kkk) "significant interest" has the meaning set out in section 8;
(lll) "special broker" means a person who, for compensation,
negotiates or offers to negotiate insurance, or the
continuance or renewal of insurance, with unlicensed
insurers in respect of any matter or thing in Alberta;
(mmm) "special resolution" means a resolution passed by a majority
of not less than 2/3 of the votes cast by the participating
policyholders or shareholders who voted in respect of that
resolution or signed by all the participating policyholders or
shareholders entitled to vote on that resolution;
(mmm.1) "spouse" means the spouse of a married person but does not,
for the purposes of sections 256, 314 and 434, include a
spouse who is living separate and apart from the person if
the person and spouse have separated pursuant to a written
separation agreement or if their support obligations and
family property have been dealt with by a court order;
(nnn) "subsidiary" has the meaning set out in section 9;
(ooo) "subsisting" means, in resp ect of a licence or certificate of
authority, that the licence or certificate has not expired and
has not been cancelled;
(ppp) "substantial investment" has the meaning set out in section
10;
(qqq) "Superintendent" means th e Superintendent of Insurance
appointed under this Act;
(rrr) "total assets" means total assets as defined in the
regulations;
(sss) "unincorporated body" means a trust, partnership, fund or
other unincorporated association or organization;
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(ttt) "valid" means, in respect of a licence or certificate of
authority, that the licence or certificate is not under
suspension and has not been cancelled;
(uuu) "voting share" means a shar e of any class of shares of a
body corporate carrying voting rights under all
circumstances or by reason of an event that has occurred and
is continuing or by reason of a condition that has been
fulfilled.
RSA 2000 cI-3 s1;2002 cA-4.5 s45;2005 c27 s2;
2008 c19 s2;2014 c8 s17;2017 c22 s26;AR 217/2022