iA Financial Group comments on favourable decision in the Ituna litigation

QUEBEC CITY, March 18, 2019 /CNW Telbec/ - iA Financial Group (Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services Inc.) is pleased to advise that in a decision released on Friday March 15, the Saskatchewan Court of Queen's Bench dismissed, in its entirety, the application commenced by Ituna Investment LP (Ituna) against the Company. 

As part of this litigation, Ituna was seeking to make unlimited deposits into a universal life insurance contract that it purchased from a policyholder. In his decision, Justice Scherman found that Ituna's position was inconsistent with the language and the purpose of the contract.

iA Financial Group has always maintained that the position taken by Ituna was legally unfounded and that life insurance contracts were never intended to be used as deposit accounts and for purposes unrelated to life insurance. 

The Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association (CLHIA) also welcomed the decision. The CLHIA stated in their press release of this morning that this important ruling is firmly in the public interest. The CLHIA noted that it intervened in the litigation because the position taken by the applicants was contrary to the nature and intended purpose of the product, fundamental insurance law concepts and Canada's regulatory system.

iA Financial Group is currently analyzing the full details of the decision and will provide further comments if necessary.

Forward-looking Statements
This press release may contain statements relating to strategies used by iA Financial Group or statements that are predictive in nature, that depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, or that include words such as "may", "will", "could", "should", "would", "suspect", "expect", "anticipate", "intend", "plan", "believe", "estimate", and "continue" (or the negative thereof), as well as words such as "objective" or "goal" or other similar words or expressions. Such statements constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of securities laws. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, information concerning the Company's possible or assumed future operating results. These statements are not historical facts; they represent only the Company's expectations, estimates and projections regarding future events.

Although iA Financial Group believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, such statements involve risks and uncertainties, and undue reliance should not be placed on such statements. Certain material factors or assumptions are applied in making forward-looking statements, and actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations include, but are not limited to: general business and economic conditions; level of competition and consolidation; changes in laws and regulations including tax laws; liquidity of iA Financial Group including the availability of financing to meet existing financial commitments on their expected maturity dates when required; accuracy of information received from counterparties and the ability of counterparties to meet their obligations; accuracy of accounting policies and actuarial methods used by iA Financial Group; insurance risks including mortality, morbidity, longevity and policyholder behaviour including the occurrence of natural or man-made disasters, pandemic diseases and acts of terrorism.

Additional information about the material factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations and about material factors or assumptions applied in making forward-looking statements may be found in the "Risk Management" section of the Management's Discussion and Analysis for the year 2017 and in the "Management of Risks Associated with Financial Instruments" note to iA Financial Group's audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2017, and elsewhere in iA Financial Group's filings with Canadian securities regulators, which are available for review at sedar.com.

The forward-looking statements in this news release reflect the Company's expectations as of the date of this press release. iA Financial Group does not undertake to update or release any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this document or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law.

About iA Financial Group
Founded in 1892, iA Financial Group is one of the largest insurance and wealth management companies in Canada. It also operates in the United States. Its stock is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol IAG.

SOURCE Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services Inc.

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