OBSI plans to improve resolution process

The Toronto-based Financial Advisors Association of Canada (Advocis) announced on Monday that it’s now offering a liability insurance program for executors.

The insurance coverage will be provided by ERAssure, a registered trademark of Kitchener, Ont.-based Estate Risk Protection Plan Inc., and is offered through Advocis Broker Services.

The availability of ERAssure Executor Liability Insurance is an opportunity for financial advisors to have important discussions with clients on the matter of being an executor, according to Greg Pollock, president and CEO of Advocis.

“We believe that executor liability insurance is an important product for financial advisors to discuss with their clients,” says Pollock in a statement. “Financial advisors build long-term relationships and can help educate clients on the risks associated with being an executor.”

These risks can include the economic conditions of the time, difficult personalities and problematic relationships within families. Although some executors may be comforted by the idea that they are handling a small estate, the size of the estate does not preclude the executor from those types of risks, Advocis’ announcement states.

The product is meant to protect the executor and the estate from many of the potential legal liabilities that can arise from the managing of an estate, even if professionals are assisting the executor in his or her tasks.

“Executors wrongly assume that their liability is removed when a professional handles these critical tasks. However, even if an executor sources professional help, [that executor is] still legally responsible,” the announcement notes.

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