Security

At Canada Life we recognise and respect the importance of security. This Internet Security Statement covers the measures that Canada Life takes to help secure your personal information. This Internet Security Statement is subject to change without notice to you, so we recommend that you review it regularly. By using this site you acknowledge that you have read and understand this Internet Security Statement as amended from time to time.

Encryption

Encryption technology is designed to secure personal and confidential communications between your computer and Canada Life servers, such that they are protected from being read by any third parties. This is achieved by "scrambling" communications so that they are unreadable by anyone other than Canada Life or yourself.

Some Canada Life web applications require 128-bit SSL encryption - the standard for encrypting and safeguarding websites. 

You can verify that a Canada Life website is encrypted by looking for the golden lock or key icon along the bottom of your browser window, which is used by most browsers to indicate a secure connection. 

Note that websites are normally only encrypted when user input is requested e.g. entering a password.

Cookies

"Cookies" are small items of data that websites store in your Internet browser (an example is Internet Explorer). These data files contain information the site can use to track and organize the pages you have visited, and to gather information.

Some Canada Life websites use "cookie" technology to measure site activity and tailor information to fit your personal interests. This helps us deliver a superior website experience that is fast, secure and personalized. 

Email fraud

Be cautious of email and websites purporting to represent a legitimate company and that ask you to provide confidential or financial information. It is not Canada Life practice to e-mail you to ask you to provide or confirm your PIN, password, or other confidential or financial information, other than as may occur in response to an inquiry from you. 

If you receive such a request, or have any concern as to the validity of an email from Canada Life, a website purporting to be a Canada Life website, or our online security, please notify us immediately using contact details found elsewhere (e.g. on previous correspondence, a trade website or a hardcopy directory).

If possible please attach any suspicious email in its original form, or in the case of a website please include the URL (address of the website) in your notification.

Other security measures

Canada Life engages in a number of other security activities to help ensure the safety and privacy of your personal information. This includes adopting measures to help secure our computers against hacker attacks and virus activities by a number of different means. 

Security tips you can use

You can also contribute to the security of your information by following a few straightforward principles:

For Canada Life Internet sites requiring a password:

• Pick a password that is unique and hard for others to guess. A strong password includes a combination of upper- and lower-case letters and numbers. Avoid passwords such as family or pet names, birthdays, or words found in dictionaries.
• Memorise your password and don't tell it to anyone. Remember no one from Canada Life will ever call or e-mail asking for your password.
• Ideally do not allow your Internet browser or other software to store your passwords for automatic logon to our websites. To improve security you should manually enter your password each time you logon to one of our websites.
• If you think anyone has had access to your password change it immediately. If you are using a computer in a public place (such as an Internet cafe or an open desk at work) ensure that no one can see you type in your password, log off when you are finished using the site and clear the browser's cache (see later text for more details).
• Run current anti-virus software and anti-spyware software on your computer. This helps ensure your computer is free of malicious programs such as viruses, worms and spyware (snooping software that collects and shares confidential information on your computer with a third party without your consent).
• After using a Canada Life application, clear your Internet browser's 'cache' and then close it. The cache is where a browser keeps copies of the web pages you have recently visited. By clearing it, you help ensure no one else can view these pages, including the next website you visit. See the 'Help' section of your Internet browser for details on how to clear the cache.