An advisor, Emily, receives a call from a client's estranged adult child, asking for details about their parent's life insurance policy, including beneficiary designations and cash values. The adult child claims to be helping their parent manage affairs. What should Emily do?

Question: An advisor, Emily, receives a call from a client's estranged adult child, asking for details about their parent's life insurance policy, including beneficiary designations and cash values. The adult child claims to be helping their parent manage affairs. What should Emily do?

Answer options: ✅ Emily must politely refuse to provide any information without the client's explicit written consent or legally valid power of attorney, citing privacy regulations.

• Emily should provide limited information about the policy type, but not financial details, as the child claims to be acting on the parent's behalf.
• Emily can share the information if the adult child accurately states the policy number, as this indicates a degree of knowledge.
• Emily should verify the adult child's identity and then provide the requested information to ensure the parent's affairs are properly managed.

Correct answer: Emily must politely refuse to provide any information without the client's explicit written consent or legally valid power of attorney, citing privacy regulations.

Explanation: Under PIPEDA and similar provincial privacy legislation, an advisor cannot disclose a client's personal and policy information to a third party, even a family member, without the client's express consent or legal authorization (e.g., Power of Attorney).