Notice to the Profession: BAO providing annual report extension to licensees impacted by cybersecurity incident at TruStage

The Bereavement Authority of Ontario (BAO) is continuing to provide extensions for the foreseeable future for annual report (Report on Prepaid Funds) submissions required of its licensees affected by a cybersecurity incident at TruStage.

In July, the insurance and financial services corporation announced the incident that affected its systems, including BAO licensees’ access to their online reports.

As part of TruStage’s restoration and rebuilding efforts, certain systems and reporting capabilities remain temporarily unavailable. As a result, the company remains unable to provide the licensed funeral homes with the requisite monthly in-force reports, which are required in the filing of annual reports to the BAO.

BAO licensees affected should contact the Financial Compliance team directly at Trust@TheBAO.ca requesting an extension on their annual report filing. This includes those licensees who have previously been granted an extension that is expiring or has expired.

Background

TruStage (previously known as Assurant Life) is a provider of insurance and financial services offering pre-need (prepaid) insurance products used by many businesses in the bereavement sector in Ontario to fund prearranged funeral contracts.

The BAO is aware that many bereavement sector operators in Ontario that are clients of TruStage are not able to access their online reports and make claims on behalf of purchasers (consumers) as a result of the cybersecurity incident.

“TruStage continues to make progress in its recovery and restoration efforts following the cybersecurity attack identified on July 11. Because this was a particularly broad attack on our network and systems, we are rebuilding parts of our infrastructure so systems can be brought back safely, rather than simply turned back on,” TruStage states on its website.

While TruStage is working on remediation efforts and claims processing, they ask impacted bereavement businesses and other stakeholders to send inquiries to: Canada.PrivacyChoicesMail@trustage.com. 

About the BAO
The Bereavement Authority of Ontario (BAO) is a government delegated authority and not-for-profit corporation administering provisions of the Funeral, Burial and Cremation Services Act, 2002 (FBCSA). Accountable to the Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery and Procurement and the government, the BAO is responsible for the protection of the public interest. The BAO regulates, ensures compliance with the law, provides resources and services to licensed:

• Funeral establishment operators, directors and preplanners;
• Cemetery, crematorium and alternative disposition operators;
• Transfer service operators; and
• Bereavement sector sales representatives across Ontario.

The BAO is wholly funded by licensee fees (not tax dollars).