Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited (FRFHF) F-10Registration of securities (Canada)

The following documents filed by us with the securities commission or similar authority in each of the provinces and territories of Canada are specifically incorporated by reference in this short form prospectus:

Any documents of the types referred to in paragraphs (a) to (f) above (excluding confidential material change reports) filed by us with the securities regulatory authorities in Canada after the date of this short form prospectus and prior to the termination of the Exchange Offer shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference herein.

The Company has filed a registration statement on Form F-10 with the SEC regarding the Exchange Offer, which includes this short form prospectus as part of such registration statement. For further information about us and the Exchange Offer, you should refer to the registration statement and its exhibits. This short form prospectus summarizes material provisions of agreements and other documents to which we refer you. Copies of these agreements and documents have been included as exhibits to the registration statement and you are encouraged to read these in their entirety.

This short form prospectus contains “forward-looking statements” and “forward-looking information” (collectively, “forward-looking information”) within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities legislation. Any statements made by us or on our behalf may include forward-looking information that reflect our current views with respect to future events and financial performance. The words “believe,” “anticipate,” “project,” “expect,” “plan,” “intend,” “predict,” “estimate,” “will likely result,” “will seek to” or “will continue” and similar expressions identify forward-looking information. This forward-looking information relates to, among other things, our plans and objectives for future operations and underwriting profits. We caution readers not to place undue reliance on this forward-looking information, which speak only as of their dates. We are under no obligation to update or alter such forward-looking information as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable securities laws. This forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. These uncertainties and other factors, which we describe in more detail elsewhere in this short form prospectus, or in documents incorporated by reference herein, include, but are not limited to:

We conduct our business through the following segments, with each of our continuing operations maintaining a strong position in its respective markets.

Our reinsurance business is conducted through Odyssey Group, Group Re, Brit, Allied World, Polish Re and Singapore Re. Odyssey Group is a U.S. based underwriter of a full range of property and casualty reinsurance on a worldwide basis. Group Re primarily constitutes the participation by our wholly-owned subsidiaries CRC Reinsurance Limited, Wentworth Insurance Company Ltd. and Connemara Reinsurance Company Ltd. (all based in Barbados) in the reinsurance of Fairfax’s subsidiaries by quota share or through participation in those subsidiaries’ third party reinsurance programs on the same terms and pricing as the third party reinsurers. Group Re also writes third party business. Our majority-owned subsidiary Brit, based in the United Kingdom, is a market-leading global Lloyd’s of London specialty insurer and reinsurer. Allied World, our 70.9% owned subsidiary based in Bermuda, is a global property, casualty and specialty insurance and reinsurance company. Polish Re, based in Warsaw, Poland, writes reinsurance business in the Central and Eastern European regions. Singapore Re, based in Singapore, is a general reinsurance company providing reinsurance coverage in the Asia region. We also hold a 47.1% interest in Thai Reinsurance Public Company Limited (a provider of reinsurance and insurance services based in Bangkok, Thailand).

Our insurance business is conducted through Northbridge (Canadian insurance), Crum & Forster (U.S. property and casualty insurance), Zenith National (U.S. workers’ compensation insurance), Brit (United

Given the ongoing and dynamic nature of the circumstances surrounding COVID-19, it is difficult to predict how significant the impact of COVID-19, including any responses to it, will be on the global economy and our businesses, investments and employees in particular, or for how long any disruptions are likely to continue. The extent of such impact will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain, rapidly evolving and difficult to predict, including new information which may emerge concerning the severity of COVID-19 and additional actions which may be taken to contain COVID-19, including the distribution of vaccines, as well as the timing of the re-opening of the economy in various parts of the world. Such further developments could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

The slowdown in the global economy as a result of COVID-19 has adversely affected our operating segments to varying degrees. Underwriting results in 2020 and the first six months of 2021 were negatively affected by COVID-19 losses, primarily from international business interruption exposures and event cancellation coverage, and we expect our insurance and reinsurance operations to experience a reduction in premiums written in certain segments where premiums are directly or indirectly linked to economic activity. In addition, certain government officials, including U.S. state insurance commissioners, have taken actions to protect consumers and specified classes of workers from hardship caused by COVID-19 which in the aggregate may adversely affect our operating results in the near term. While it is likely that certain insurance and reinsurance lines of business may experience increased loss activity due to COVID-19, there are also many that will likely experience improved loss experience due to reduced exposures to loss. Certain of our non-insurance operations continue to experience reductions in revenue due to current economic conditions, particularly those in the restaurant, retail and hospitality sectors whose business volumes are directly linked to the re-opening of the economy in the jurisdictions in which they operate. The ultimate impact of COVID-19 on us will not be fully known for many months, perhaps years.

We maintain reserves to cover our estimated ultimate unpaid liability for losses and loss adjustment expenses with respect to insurance and reinsurance policies underwritten by the company at the end of each

The property and casualty insurance business historically has been characterized by periods of intense price competition due to excess underwriting capacity, as well as periods when shortages of underwriting capacity have permitted attractive premium levels. We expect to continue to experience the effects of this cyclicality, which, during down periods, could significantly reduce the amount of premium we write and could harm our financial condition, profitability or cash flows. See “— Actions taken by government officials to protect businesses and individuals affected by the COVID-19 pandemic may adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations” below for more information.

In the reinsurance industry, the supply of reinsurance is related to prevailing prices and levels of underwriting capacity surplus that, in turn, may fluctuate in response to changes in rates of return being realized in the broader capital markets. If premium rates change or other reinsurance policy terms and conditions change expanding coverage, particularly if the present level of demand for reinsurance decreases because insurers require less reinsurance or the level of supply of reinsurance increases as a result of capital provided by existing reinsurers or alternative forms of reinsurance capacity enter the market, the profitability of our reinsurance business could be adversely affected.

We have established loss reserves for asbestos and environmental and other latent claims that represent our best estimate of ultimate claims and claims adjustment expenses based upon all known facts and current law. As a result of significant issues surrounding liabilities of insurers, risks inherent in major litigation and diverging legal interpretations and judgments in different jurisdictions, actual liability for these types of claims could exceed the loss reserves set by us by an amount that could be material to our financial condition, profitability or cash flows in future periods.

Most insurance and reinsurance companies reduce their exposure to any individual claim by reinsuring amounts in excess of their maximum desired retention. Reinsurance is an arrangement in which an insurer, called the cedant, transfers insurance risk to another insurer, called the reinsurer, which accepts the risk in return for a premium payment. This third party reinsurance does not relieve us, as a cedant, of our primary obligation to the insured. At June 30, 2021, we had a total of $11.6 billion recoverable from reinsurers. We cannot assure you that our reinsurers will pay our reinsurance claims on a timely basis or at all. Recoverable from reinsurers balances may become uncollectible due to reinsurer insolvency and credit concerns, due to the potentially long time period over which claims may be paid and the resulting recoveries may be received from the insurers, or due to policy disputes. As well, we bear credit risk with respect to our reinsurers (including retrocessionaires), both with respect to receivables reflected on our balance sheet as well as to contingent liabilities with respect to reinsurance protection on future claims. If reinsurers are unwilling or unable to pay us amounts due under reinsurance contracts, we will incur unexpected losses and our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows could be adversely affected.

We write certain insurance policies, such as large deductible policies (policies where the insured retains a specific amount of any potential loss), in which the insured must reimburse us for certain losses. Accordingly, we bear credit risk on these policies and cannot assure you that our insureds will pay us on a timely basis or at all. Our credit risk to insureds may also be substantially increased as a result of COVID-19. In the ordinary course of business we are sometimes unable to collect all amounts billed to insureds, generally due to disputes on audit of retrospectively rated policies and, in some cases, due to insureds having filed for bankruptcy protection. In addition, if an insured files for bankruptcy, we may be unable to recover on assets such insured may have pledged to us as collateral, and many of our insureds may face bankruptcy as a result of COVID-19.

Financial strength and credit ratings by major North American rating agencies are important factors in establishing competitive position for insurance and reinsurance companies. Third-party rating agencies assess and rate the claims-paying ability of reinsurers and insurers based upon the criteria of such rating agencies. Periodically the rating agencies evaluate our insurance and reinsurance subsidiaries to confirm that they continue to meet the criteria of the ratings previously assigned to them. The claims-paying ability ratings assigned by rating agencies to insurance or reinsurance companies represent independent opinions of financial strength and ability to meet policyholder obligations.

A downgrade in these ratings could lead to a significant reduction in the number of insurance policies our insurance subsidiaries write and could cause early termination of contracts written by our reinsurance subsidiaries or a requirement for them to post collateral at the direction of their counterparties. Although we have not experienced any downgrades resulting from COVID-19 as of the date of this short form prospectus, we can provide no assurance that we will not experience such downgrades in the future.

A downgrade in our long-term debt ratings by the major rating agencies could require us and/or our subsidiaries to accelerate our or their cash settlement obligations for certain derivative transactions to which we or they are a party, and could result in the termination of certain other derivative transactions. In addition, a downgrade of our credit rating may affect the cost and availability of unsecured financing. Ratings are subject to periodic review at the discretion of each respective rating agency and may be revised downward or revoked at their sole discretion. Rating agencies may also increase their scrutiny of rated companies, revise their rating standards or take other action. We have dedicated personnel that manage our relationships with our various rating agencies, however there can be no assurance that these activities will avoid a downgrade by rating agencies.

We may periodically and opportunistically acquire other insurance and reinsurance companies or execute other strategic initiatives developed by management. Although we undertake due diligence prior to the completion of an acquisition, it is possible that unanticipated factors could arise and there is no assurance that the anticipated financial or strategic objectives following an integration effort or the implementation of a strategic initiative will be achieved, which could adversely affect our financial condition, profitability or cash flows. In addition, our acquisition strategy may be negatively impacted by the adverse economic circumstances arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Consolidation within the insurance industry could result in insurance and insurance market participants using their market power to implement price reductions. If competitive pressures compel us to reduce our prices, our operating margins would decrease. As the insurance industry consolidates, competition for customers could become more intense and the importance of acquiring and properly servicing each customer will become greater, causing us to incur greater expenses relating to customer acquisition and retention and further reducing operating margins.

The provision for claims is an estimate and may be found to be deficient, perhaps very significantly, in the future as a result of unanticipated frequency or severity of claims or for a variety of other reasons including unpredictable judicial rulings, expansion of insurance coverage to include exposures not contemplated at the time of policy issue (as was the case with asbestos and pollution exposures), extreme weather events, civil unrest and other macro-level events, such as the ongoing and developing COVID-19 pandemic. Unanticipated developments in the law as well as changes in social and environmental conditions could result in unexpected claims for coverage under insurance and reinsurance contracts. With respect to casualty lines of business, these legal, social and environmental changes may not become apparent until some time after their occurrence.

The full effects of these and other unforeseen emerging claim and coverage issues are extremely hard to predict and could harm our business. As a result, the full extent of our liability under our coverages, and in particular our casualty insurance policies and reinsurance contracts, may not be known until many years after a policy or contract is issued. Our exposure to this uncertainty is greatest in our “long-tail” casualty lines of business where claims can typically be made for many years, rendering them more susceptible to these trends than in the property insurance lines of business, which are more typically “short-tail.” In addition, we could be adversely affected by the growing trend of plaintiffs targeting participants in the property-liability insurance industry in purported class action litigation relating to claims handling and other practices.

Although loss exposure is limited by geographic diversification and we seek to limit our loss exposure by employing a variety of policy limits and other terms and conditions and through prudent underwriting of each program written, there can be no assurance that such measures will be successful in limiting our loss exposure.

We are a holding company that conducts substantially all of our business through our subsidiaries and receive substantially all of our earnings from them. We control the operating insurance and reinsurance companies, each of which must comply with applicable insurance regulations of the jurisdictions in which it operates. Each operating company must maintain reserves for losses and loss adjustment expenses to cover the risks it has underwritten.

Although substantially all of our operations are conducted through our subsidiaries, none of our subsidiaries are obligated to make funds available to us for the payment of principal and interest on our outstanding debt. Accordingly, our ability to meet financial obligations, including the ability to make payments on outstanding debt, is dependent on the distribution of earnings from our subsidiaries. The ability of subsidiaries to pay dividends in the future will depend on their statutory surplus, on earnings and on regulatory restrictions. Our subsidiaries may incur additional indebtedness that may severely restrict or prohibit the making of distributions, the payment of dividends or the making of loans by our subsidiaries to the Company. We cannot assure you that the agreements governing the current and future indebtedness of our subsidiaries will permit our subsidiaries to provide us with sufficient dividends, distributions or loans to meet our financial obligations, including to fund payments on our outstanding debt, or the Exchange Notes, when due. Dividends, distributions or returns of capital to us are subject to restrictions set forth in the insurance laws and regulations of the countries where the company operates (principally the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom and Bermuda) (in each case, including the provinces, states or other jurisdictions therein) and is

Our future capital requirements depend on many factors, including our ability to successfully write new business successfully and to establish premium rates and reserves at levels sufficient to cover losses. Our liquidity needs could increase materially and rapidly for a variety of reasons, many of which are outside of our control. For example, our insurance subsidiaries may require us to make additional investments in the event that their regulatory capital levels decline below desired levels as a result of future impairments of investment securities, catastrophe losses or other conditions, including changes in regulatory capital requirements. We may need to make such additional investments as a result of impairments and losses attributable to COVID-19, and such investments may be substantial. To the extent that the funds generated by our business are insufficient to fund future operations, we may need to raise additional funds through equity or debt financings. Any equity or debt financing, if available at all, may be on terms that are not favorable to us. The cost and availability of debt financing is affected by credit ratings. Our ability to raise additional capital may be adversely affected by our credit ratings. If we cannot obtain adequate capital or if we fail to refinance our existing debt as it comes due, our business, financial condition and profitability would be materially adversely affected.

Our ability and/or the ability of our subsidiaries to obtain additional financing for working capital, capital expenditures or acquisitions in the future may also be limited under the terms of our Credit Facility. The Credit Facility contains various covenants that may restrict, among other things, our ability or the ability of our subsidiaries to incur additional indebtedness, to create liens or other encumbrances and to sell or otherwise dispose of assets and merge or consolidate with another entity. In addition, the Credit Facility contains certain financial covenants that require us to maintain a ratio of consolidated debt to consolidated capitalization not exceeding 0.35:1 and consolidated shareholders’ equity of not less than $9.5 billion, both calculated as defined in the financial covenants. A failure to comply with the obligations and covenants under the Credit Facility could result in an event of default under such agreement which, if not cured or waived, could permit acceleration of indebtedness, including other indebtedness of the Company or our subsidiaries. If such indebtedness were to be accelerated, there can be no assurance that our assets would be sufficient to repay that indebtedness in full.

The state insurance commissioners of California and New Jersey each issued orders directing insurers to refund a portion of insurance premiums they have charged policyholders in their respective states for specified lines of insurance, including certain commercial lines written by our insurance subsidiaries, commensurate with the reduced levels of activity caused by the state-wide “shelter-in-place” orders issued in California and New Jersey. Other U.S. states may order similar refunds or reductions in premiums and/or disallow rate increases due to reduced exposures from reduced economic and physical activity and hardship to consumers. Other U.S. states have urged insurers to pay refunds or reduce premiums voluntarily. These measures, and the competitive pressures caused by voluntary reductions by other insurers, may affect our pricing and premium revenue.

In addition, officials in some U.S. states have declared, or proposed rules or legislation that declares, COVID-19 infections sustained by specified classes of workers, such as first responders, healthcare workers and workers who continue to work during the healthcare emergency because they are deemed “essential,” to be workplace injuries that are compensable under workers’ compensation laws and policies. This may require payment of workers’ compensation benefits for COVID-19 infections that were not contemplated in the pricing of our policies.

Most business owners and commercial property policies do not cover business interruption losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and related stay-in-place measures. Lawsuits have been filed by policyholders in different U.S. courts seeking coverage for lost income due to COVID-19 and resulting stay-in-place orders. While the defendant insurers in these cases have expressed that such losses are not covered, some courts have found in favor of policyholders. Policyholders may also assert novel theories of coverage and insurers may incur significant expense due to the pendency of a large number of individual suits. In addition, legislation has been introduced in several U.S. states which, if enacted, would require retroactive coverage of business interruption claims stemming from COVID-19 even if such loss is not covered under the terms of their policies or, going forward, require insurers providing business interruption coverage to cover losses from pandemics in their policies. Insurance regulators in some states will not approve policy exclusions for losses from COVID-19, viruses or pandemics. Many of these proposals for retroactive coverage provide for reimbursement of such payments through surcharges imposed on other insurers. However, the details of such reimbursement schemes have not been fully developed, and there is no assurance if such laws are enacted that insurers would be fully and promptly compensated for such payments and that surcharges would be evenly and fairly distributed across the insurance industry. There have also been U.S. Federal legislative proposals that would establish a Federal facility for covering business interruption losses resulting from a public health emergency. The effect of any such legislation, if enacted, on insurers that write commercial insurance policies cannot be assessed at the present time.

Our business is highly dependent upon the successful and uninterrupted functioning of our computer and data processing systems. We rely on these systems to perform actuarial and other modeling functions necessary for writing business, to process and make claim payments and to process and summarize investment transactions. We have a highly trained staff that is committed to the continual development and maintenance of these systems. Third parties provide certain of the key components of our business infrastructure such as voice and data communications and network access. Given the high volume of transactions processed daily, we are reliant on such third party provided services to successfully deliver our products and services. We have highly trained information technology staff that is committed to the continual development and maintenance of our technology infrastructure. Security measures, including data security programs to protect confidential personal information, have been implemented and are regularly upgraded. We, together with our third party service providers, also maintains and regularly test contingency plans for our technology infrastructure. Notwithstanding these measures, the failure of these systems could interrupt our operations or materially impact our ability to rapidly evaluate and commit to new business opportunities. If sustained or repeated, a system failure could result in the loss of existing or potential business relationships, or compromise our ability to pay claims in a timely manner.

In addition, a security breach of our computer systems could damage our reputation or result in liability. We retain confidential information regarding our business dealings in our computer systems, including, in some cases, confidential personal information regarding our insureds. We may be required to spend significant capital and other resources to protect against security breaches or to alleviate problems caused by such breaches. Any well-publicized compromise of security could deter people from conducting transactions that involve transmitting confidential information to our systems. Therefore, it is critical that these facilities and infrastructure remain secure and are perceived by the marketplace to be secure. This infrastructure may be vulnerable to physical break-ins, computer viruses, programming errors, attacks by third parties or similar disruptive problems. In addition, we could be subject to liability if hackers were able to penetrate our network security or otherwise misappropriate confidential information.

We rely on information technology in virtually all aspects of our business. A significant disruption or failure of our information technology systems could result in service interruptions, safety failures, security violations, regulatory compliance failures, and inability to protect information and assets against intruders, and other operational difficulties. Attacks perpetrated against our information systems could result in loss of assets and critical information, potential breach of privacy laws, expose us to remediation costs and reputational damage, and adversely affect our results of operations, financial condition and liquidity.

Cyber-attacks could further adversely affect our ability to operate facilities, information technology and business systems, or compromise confidential customer and employee information. Cyber-attacks resulting in political, economic, social or financial market instability or damage to or interference with our operational assets, or our customers or suppliers may result in business interruptions, lost revenue, higher commodity prices, disruption in fuel supplies, lower energy consumption, unstable markets, increased security and repair or other costs, any of which may materially affect our consolidated financial results. Furthermore, instability in the financial markets as a result of terrorism, sustained or significant cyber-attacks, or war could also materially adversely affect our ability to raise capital.

We have taken steps intended to mitigate these risks, including implementation of cyber security and cyber resilience measures, business continuity planning, disaster recovery planning and business impact analysis, and regularly update these plans and security measures, however, there can be no assurance that such steps will be adequate to protect us from the impacts of a cyber-attack.

Mr. Prem Watsa, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, owns, directly or indirectly, or exercises control or direction over shares representing approximately 43.6% of the voting power of our outstanding shares. Mr. Watsa has the ability to substantially influence certain actions requiring shareholder approval,

Amendments were made to the terms of our multiple voting shares, which are controlled by Mr. Watsa, in August of 2015 having the effect of preserving the voting power represented by the multiple voting shares at 41.8% even if additional subordinate voting shares are issued in the future.

Our reporting currency is the U.S. dollar. A portion of our premiums and our expenses are denominated in foreign currencies and a portion of our assets (including investments) and loss reserves are also denominated in foreign currencies. We may, from time to time, experience losses resulting from fluctuations in the values of foreign currencies (including when our foreign currency assets and liabilities are hedged) which could adversely affect our financial condition, profitability or cash flows.

We use brokers to distribute our business and in some instances will distribute through agents or directly to customers. We may also conduct business through third parties such as managing general agents where it is cost effective to do so and where we can control the underwriting process to ensure our risk management criteria are met. Each of these channels has its own distinct distribution characteristics and customers. A large majority of our business is generated by brokers (including international reinsurance brokers with respect to the company’s reinsurance operations), with the remainder split among the other distribution channels. This is substantially consistent across our insurance and reinsurance subsidiaries.

Our insurance operations have relationships with many different types of brokers including independent retail brokers, wholesale brokers and national brokers depending on the particular jurisdiction, while our reinsurance operations are dependent primarily on a limited number of international reinsurance brokers. We transact business with these brokers on a non-exclusive basis. These independent brokers also transact the business of our competitors and there can be no assurance as to their continuing commitment to distribute our insurance and reinsurance products. Our continued profitability depends, in part, on the marketing efforts of independent brokers and our ability to offer insurance and reinsurance products and maintain financial ratings that meet the requirements and preferences of such brokers and their policyholders.

Because the majority of our brokers are independent, there is limited ability to exercise control over them. In the event that an independent broker exceeds its authority by binding us on a risk which does not comply with our underwriting guidelines, we may be at risk for that policy until the application is received and a cancellation effected. Although to date we have not experienced a material loss from improper use of binding authority by our brokers, any improper use of such authority may result in losses that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, profitability or cash flows. Our insurance and reinsurance subsidiaries closely manage and monitor broker relationships and regularly audit broker compliance with our established underwriting guidelines.

A portion of our assets are comprised of goodwill, indefinite-lived intangible assets and investments in associates which have arisen principally from various acquisitions and investments made by us or our operating subsidiaries. We test the carrying value of goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets for impairment at least annually or more often if events or circumstances indicate there may be an impairment. Investments in associates with carrying values that exceed their fair values are tested for impairment at each reporting date. To the extent we identify that the value of goodwill, indefinite-lived intangible assets or investments in associates is impaired, we are required to write down the value of such assets to their recoverable amount. Continued profitability and achievement of financial plans by our acquired businesses and associates is a key driver for there to be no impairment in the carrying value of our goodwill, indefinite-lived intangible assets and investments in associates. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, during 2020, our share of losses of associates was approximately $113 million, which principally reflected non-cash impairment losses related to our investments in Quess, Resolute, Atlas Mara and Astarta of approximately $240 million. We may experience

The goodwill, indefinite-lived intangible assets and investments in associates on our consolidated balance sheet originated from various acquisitions and investments made by us or our operating subsidiaries. Continued profitability and achievement of financial plans by acquired businesses and associates is a key consideration for there to be no impairment in the carrying value of goodwill, indefinite-lived intangible assets and investments in associates. An intangible asset may be impaired if the economic benefit to be derived from its use is unexpectedly diminished. An investment in associate is considered to be impaired if its carrying value exceeds its recoverable amount (the higher of the associate’s fair value and value-in-use).

Management regularly reviews the current and expected profitability of operating companies and associates and their success in achieving financial plans when assessing the carrying value of goodwill, indefinite-lived intangible assets and investments in associates. The carrying values of goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets are tested for impairment at least annually or more often if events or circumstances indicate there may be impairment. Investments in associates with carrying values that exceed their fair values are tested for impairment using value-in-use discounted cash flow models at each reporting date.

Realization of deferred income tax assets is dependent upon the generation of taxable income in those jurisdictions where the relevant tax losses and temporary differences exist. Failure to achieve projected levels of profitability could lead to a reduction in our deferred income tax asset if it is no longer probable that the amount of the asset will be realized.

We are subject to income taxes in Canada, the United States and many foreign jurisdictions where we operate, and our determination of our tax liability is subject to review by applicable domestic and foreign tax authorities. We also consult with external tax professionals as needed. Tax legislation of each jurisdiction in which we operate is interpreted to determine the provision for income taxes and expected timing of the reversal of deferred income tax assets and liabilities. While we believe our tax positions to be reasonable, where our interpretations differ from those of tax authorities or the timing of realization is not as expected, the provision for income taxes may increase or decrease in future periods to reflect actual experience.

Technological changes could have unpredictable effects on the insurance and reinsurance industries. It is expected that new services and technologies will continue to emerge that will affect the demand for insurance and reinsurance products and services, the premiums payable, the profitability of such products and services and the risks associated with underwriting certain lines of business, including new lines of business. While we strive to maintain an innovation working group comprised of members with diverse backgrounds from across our global operating companies to regularly assess new services and technologies that may be applicable or disruptive to the insurance and reinsurance industries, failure to understand evolving technologies, or to position us in the appropriate direction, or to deploy new products and services in a timely way that considers customer demand and competitor activities could have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition, profitability or cash flows.

Virtually all U.S. states require insurers licensed to do business in their state to bear a portion of the loss suffered by some insureds as a result of impaired or insolvent insurance companies. Many states also have laws that establish second-injury funds to provide compensation to injured employees for aggravation of a prior condition or injury. In addition, as a condition to the ability to conduct business in various jurisdictions, some of our insurance subsidiaries are required to participate in mandatory property and casualty shared market mechanisms or pooling arrangements, which provide various types of insurance coverage to individuals or other entities that otherwise are unable to purchase that coverage from private insurers. The effect of these

The value of the Exchange Notes will be affected by the general creditworthiness of the Company. Real or anticipated changes in credit ratings on the Exchange Notes may affect the market value of the Exchange Notes. No assurance can be given that any credit rating assigned to the Exchange Notes will not be lowered or withdrawn entirely by the relevant rating agency or that negative trends will not be applied by any ratings agency.

The Exchange Notes are effectively subordinated to any existing and future indebtedness and other liabilities of our subsidiaries. You will not have any claim as a creditor against our subsidiaries or the assets of our subsidiaries. Therefore, in the event of the insolvency or liquidation of a subsidiary, following payment by such subsidiary of its liabilities, the subsidiary may not have sufficient remaining assets to make payments to us as a shareholder or otherwise. In the event of a default by a subsidiary under any credit agreement or other indebtedness, its creditors could accelerate the debt, prior to such subsidiary distributing amounts to us that we could use to make payments on the Exchange Notes. In addition, if we caused a subsidiary to pay a dividend to us to make payments on the Exchange Notes, and the dividend was determined to be improperly paid, holders of the Exchange Notes would be required to return the payment to the subsidiary’s creditors.

As of June 30, 2021, our subsidiaries had $2.7 billion principal amount of indebtedness, of which $1.8 billion principal amount of indebtedness is held by our non-insurance subsidiaries and is non-recourse to Fairfax. Our subsidiary debt may increase in the future. The terms of the Exchange Notes do not limit the ability of our subsidiaries to incur additional indebtedness that is senior to the Exchange Notes.

Our obligations under the Exchange Notes rank equally with all of our other unsecured senior indebtedness. As of June 30, 2021, the Company had approximately $6.2 billion principal amount of total outstanding indebtedness, including $500.0 million drawn under our Credit Facility. In addition, subsequent to June 30, 2021 and up to the date hereof, we have fully repaid our Credit Facility. The indenture governing the Exchange Notes does not limit the amount of additional indebtedness that we may incur. We may incur additional indebtedness in the future, which could have important consequences to holders of the Exchange Notes, including the following:

a significant degree of debt could make us more vulnerable to changes in general economic conditions and could also affect the financial strength ratings of our insurance and reinsurance subsidiaries.

any provision restricting us or any of our subsidiaries from incurring, assuming or being liable with respect to any indebtedness or other obligations;

any provision restricting us or our subsidiaries from incurring, assuming or being liable with respect to any unsecured indebtedness or other unsecured obligations;

any provision restricting us or any of our subsidiaries from paying dividends or making other distributions on capital stock or from purchasing or redeeming capital stock;

The Exchange Notes may be redeemed, at our option, in whole at any time or in part from time to time on or after the closing of the Exchange Offer and prior to the maturity date, or in whole but not in part in the event of certain developments affecting Canadian taxation. Holders of Exchange Notes should assume that our redemption option will be exercised if it is in our interest to redeem the Exchange Notes. Holders whose Exchange Notes are redeemed would not be entitled to participate in any future growth in the market price of the Exchange Notes and may not be able to reinvest their redemption proceeds in securities providing a comparable expected rate of return to maturity as the Exchange Notes for a comparable level of risk. See “Description of the Notes — Optional Redemption” and “Description of the Notes — Redemption for Tax Reasons”.

Only Initial Notes that are validly tendered (and not validly withdrawn) will be exchanged in the Exchange Offer and registered under the Securities Act. The Initial Notes that are not so exchanged will continue to be subject to restrictions on transfer under applicable U.S. federal and state securities laws, and while subject to such restrictions, may not be offered, sold or transferred in the United States except pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of, or in a transaction not subject to, the Securities Act and applicable state securities laws, or pursuant to an effective registration statement. Upon consummation of the Exchange Offer, certain registration and other rights under the Registration Rights Agreement will terminate. The Company will issue Exchange Notes only in exchange for Initial Notes that are timely received by the exchange agent, together with all required documents, including a properly completed and duly signed letter of transmittal or notice of guaranteed delivery. Therefore, you should allow sufficient time to ensure timely delivery of the Initial Notes and should carefully follow the instructions on how to tender your Initial Notes.

Neither the Company nor the exchange agent is required to notify you of any defects or irregularities with respect to your tender of the Initial Notes. If you do not tender your Initial Notes or if the Company does not accept your Initial Notes because you did not tender your Initial Notes properly, then, after consummation of the Exchange Offer, you will continue to hold Initial Notes that are subject to existing transfer restrictions.

Although the Company may in the future seek to acquire unexchanged Initial Notes in open market or privately negotiated transactions, through subsequent exchange offers or otherwise, the Company has no present plans to acquire any unexchanged Initial Notes or to file with the SEC a shelf registration statement or a prospectus with any securities regulatory authority in Canada to permit resales of any unexchanged Initial Notes. In addition, holders who do not tender their Initial Notes (except for the initial purchaser or holders of Initial Notes (i) who are prohibited by applicable law or SEC policy from participating in the Exchange Offer, (ii) who may not resell the Exchange Notes acquired in the Exchange Offer without delivering a prospectus or (iii) for whom this short form prospectus is not appropriate or available for resales of Exchange Notes acquired in the Exchange Offer) will not have any further registration rights and will not have the right to receive additional interest on their Initial Notes.

Because we anticipate that most holders of Initial Notes will elect to exchange their Initial Notes, it is likely that the liquidity of the market for any Initial Notes remaining after the completion of the Exchange Offer may be substantially limited. Any Initial Notes tendered and exchanged in the Exchange Offer will reduce the aggregate principal amount of the Initial Notes outstanding. Accordingly, the liquidity of the market for any remaining Initial Notes could be adversely affected and you may be unable to sell them. The extent of the market for the Initial Notes and the availability of price quotations would depend on a number of factors, including the number of holders of Initial Notes remaining outstanding and the interest of securities firms in maintaining a market in the Initial Notes. An issue of securities with a smaller number of units available for trading may command a lower, and more volatile, price than would a comparable issue of securities with a larger number of units available for trading; therefore, the market price for the Initial Notes

In connection with the issuance of the Initial Notes, the Company entered into the Registration Rights Agreement with the initial purchasers of the Initial Notes. The following contains a summary of the provisions of the Registration Rights Agreement. Because this is a summary description, it does not contain all of the information that may be important to an investor in the Exchange Notes and is qualified in its entirety by the Registration Rights Agreement. We refer you to the Registration Rights Agreement, which has been filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this short form prospectus forms a part.

Under the Registration Rights Agreement, the Company agreed to file under the Securities Act and use its commercially reasonable efforts to cause to become effective under the Securities Act, on or prior to 360 days after the closing of the offering of the Initial Notes, the registration statement of which this short form prospectus is a part with respect to a registered offer to exchange the Initial Notes for Exchange Notes. The Company is required to keep the Exchange Offer open for at least 20 business days (or longer if required by law) after the date notice of the Exchange Offer is mailed to holders of the Initial Notes. If the Company fails to comply with certain obligations under the Registration Rights Agreement, we will be required to pay additional interest to holders of the Initial Notes.

Upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the registration statement filed on Form F-10 with the SEC, which includes this short form prospectus, and in the letter of transmittal, all Initial Notes validly tendered and not validly withdrawn prior to the Expiration Date will be accepted for exchange. Exchange Notes will be issued in exchange for an equal principal amount of outstanding Initial Notes accepted in the Exchange Offer. This short form prospectus, together with the letter of transmittal, is being sent to all holders of Initial Notes as of the date of this short form prospectus. The Exchange Offer is not conditioned upon any minimum principal amount of Initial Notes being tendered for exchange. However, the obligation to accept Initial Notes for exchange pursuant to the Exchange Offer is subject to certain customary conditions as set forth herein under “— Conditions”.

Initial Notes shall be deemed to have been accepted as validly tendered when, as and if the Company has given written notice thereof to The Bank of New York Mellon, the exchange agent. The exchange agent will act as agent for the tendering holders of Initial Notes for the purposes of receiving the Initial Notes and delivering Exchange Notes to such holders.

Based on the Company’s understanding of interpretations of the Securities Act by the staff of the SEC set forth in several no-action letters to third parties, including Exxon Capital Holdings Corporation (available May 13, 1988), Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated (available June 5, 1991) and Shearman & Sterling (available July 2, 1993), the Company believes that holders who (i) are not “affiliates” of the Company within the meaning of Rule 405 under the Securities Act, (ii) acquire their Exchange Notes in the ordinary course of business, (iii) do not engage in, intend to engage in, or have arrangements to participate in a distribution (within the meaning of the Securities Act) of the Exchange Notes, and (iv) are not broker-dealers, may offer for resale, resell or otherwise transfer the Exchange Notes without compliance with the registration and prospectus delivery requirements of the Securities Act. Holders described in the preceding sentence must tell the Company in writing at the Company’s request that they meet these criteria.

By tendering Initial Notes in exchange for Exchange Notes and executing the letter of transmittal, each holder will represent to the Company that:

All questions as to the validity, form, eligibility, time of receipt and withdrawal of the tendered Initial Notes will be determined by the Company in its sole discretion, which determination will be final and binding. The Company reserves the absolute right to reject any and all Initial Notes not validly tendered or exchange any Initial Notes if such exchange, in the opinion of counsel for the Company, be unlawful. The Company also reserves the absolute right to waive any irregularities or conditions of tender as to particular Initial Notes. The Company will not waive any condition of the Exchange Offer with respect to an individual holder unless the Company waives that condition for all holders. The Company’s interpretation of the terms and conditions of the Exchange Offer, including the instructions in the letter of transmittal, will be final and binding on all parties. Unless waived, any defects or irregularities in connection with tenders of Initial Notes must be cured within such time as the Company shall determine. Neither the Company, the exchange agent nor any other person shall be under any duty to give notification of defects or irregularities with respect to tenders of Initial Notes, nor shall any of them incur any liability for failure to give such notification. Tenders of Initial Notes will not be, or be deemed to have been, made until all irregularities have been cured or waived. Any Initial Note received by the exchange agent that is not validly tendered and as to which the defects or irregularities have not been cured or waived will be returned without cost to such holder by the exchange agent, unless otherwise provided in the letter of transmittal, promptly following the Expiration Date.

In addition, the Company reserves the right, in its sole discretion, subject to the provisions of the Indenture pursuant to which the Initial Notes were issued:

Each broker-dealer that receives Exchange Notes for its own account in exchange for Initial Notes where such Initial Notes were acquired by such broker-dealer as a result of market-making or other trading activities, must acknowledge that it will deliver a prospectus meeting the requirements of the Securities Act and that it has not entered into any arrangement or understanding with the Company, or an affiliate of the Company, to distribute the Exchange Notes in connection with any resale of such Exchange Notes.

Upon satisfaction or waiver of all of the conditions to the Exchange Offer, all Initial Notes validly tendered will be accepted promptly after the Expiration Date and the Exchange Notes will be issued promptly after acceptance of the Initial Notes. See “— Conditions”. For purposes of the Exchange Offer, Initial Notes shall be deemed to have been accepted as validly tendered for exchange when, as and if the Company has given written notice thereof to the exchange agent.

For each Initial Note accepted for exchange, the holder of such Initial Note will receive an Exchange Note having a principal amount equal to that of the surrendered Initial Note.

In all cases, issuance of Exchange Notes for Initial Notes that are accepted for exchange pursuant to the Exchange Offer will be made only after timely receipt by the exchange agent of:

If any tendered Initial Notes are not accepted for any reason described in the terms and conditions of the Exchange Offer, such unaccepted or such non-exchanged Initial Notes will be returned promptly without

The exchange agent has established an account with respect to the Initial Notes at DTC for purposes of the Exchange Offer. Any financial institution that is a participant in DTC’s systems may make book-entry delivery of Initial Notes by causing DTC to transfer such Initial Notes into the exchange agent’s account at DTC in accordance with DTC’s procedures for transfer. However, although delivery of Initial Notes may be effected through book-entry transfer at DTC, the exchange agent must receive a properly completed and duly executed letter of transmittal with any required signature guarantees and all other required documents at its address listed in the letter of transmittal, or an agent’s message instead of a letter of transmittal, on or before the Expiration Date, or if the holder complies with the guaranteed delivery procedures described below within the time period provided under those procedures.

Any participant in DTC may make book-entry delivery of Initial Notes by causing DTC to transfer such Initial Notes into the exchange agent’s account in accordance with DTC’s ATOP procedures for transfer. However, the exchange for the Initial Notes so tendered will only be made after a book-entry confirmation of the book-entry transfer of Initial Notes into the exchange agent’s account and timely receipt by the exchange agent of an agent’s message and any other documents required by the letter of transmittal. The term “agent’s message” means a message, transmitted by DTC and received by the exchange agent and forming part of a book-entry confirmation, which states that DTC has received an express acknowledgment from a participant tendering Initial Notes that are the subject of such book-entry confirmation, that such participant has received and agrees to be bound by the terms of the letter of transmittal and that the Company may enforce such agreement against such participant.

If the procedures for book-entry transfer cannot be completed on a timely basis, a tender may be effected if:

no action or event shall have occurred or been threatened, no action shall have been taken, and no statute, rule, regulation, judgment, order, stay, decree or injunction shall have been issued, promulgated, enacted, entered, enforced or deemed to be applicable to the Exchange Offer or the exchange of Initial Notes for Exchange Notes under the Exchange Offer by or before any court or governmental regulatory or administrative agency, authority, instrumentality or tribunal, including, without limitation, taxing authorities, that either:

We are subject to regulation under the insurance laws of the various jurisdictions in which our operating insurance subsidiaries are domiciled or conduct business.

The following is a summary of the principal insurance regulatory considerations in the United States, Canada, Bermuda and the United Kingdom, being the jurisdictions in which we conduct the majority of our business.

Our United States operating insurance subsidiaries are subject to extensive regulation throughout the United States. Although there is limited federal regulation of the insurance business in the United States, each state has a comprehensive system for regulating insurers operating in that state. The laws of the various states establish supervisory agencies with broad authority to regulate, among other things, licenses to transact business, premium rates, trade practices, market conduct, agent licensing, policy forms, underwriting and claims practices, insurance policy termination, reserve adequacy, permissible investments, governance and insurer solvency. States also regulate investment activities on the basis of quality, distribution and other quantitative criteria. Further, most states compel participation in and regulate composition of various shared market or residual market mechanisms. States have also enacted legislation that regulates insurance holding company systems, including acquisitions, dividends, the terms of affiliate transactions, and other related matters. Our United States operating insurance subsidiaries are domiciled in Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, New Hampshire, New Jersey and New York.

Insurance companies are also affected by a variety of state and federal legislative and regulatory measures and judicial decisions that define the scope of the risks and benefits for which insurance is sought and provided. These include redefinitions of risk exposure in such areas as product liability, environmental damage and workers’ compensation. In addition, individual state insurance departments may limit premium rates for some classes of insureds and prevent the insurance companies from charging rates adequate to reflect the level of risk assumed by the insurer for those classes. Such developments may result in adverse effects on the profitability of various lines of insurance. In some cases, these adverse effects on profitability can be minimized, when possible, through the repricing of coverages if permitted by applicable regulations, or the limitation or cessation of the affected business, which may be restricted by state law.

Most states have insurance laws requiring that for certain lines of property and casualty insurance rate schedules, policy or coverage forms, and other information be filed with each such state’s regulatory authority. In many cases, such rates and/or policy forms must be approved prior to use. A few states have considered or enacted limitations on the ability of insurers to share data used to compile rates. Such limitations have had, and are expected to have, no significant impact on us.

Insurance companies are required to file detailed annual and quarterly financial reports with the state insurance regulators in each of the states in which they do business, and their business and accounts are subject to examination by such regulators at any time. In addition, these insurance regulators periodically examine each insurer’s financial condition, adherence to statutory accounting practices, and compliance with insurance department rules and regulations, including market conduct and claims practices.

The insurance codes in our operating insurance subsidiaries’ respective domiciliary states each contain similar provisions (subject to certain variations) to the effect that the acquisition of “control” of a domestic insurer or of any person that directly or indirectly controls a domestic insurer cannot be consummated without the prior approval of the domiciliary insurance regulator. In general, a presumption of “control” arises from the direct or indirect ownership, control, possession with the power to vote or possession of proxies with respect to 10% or more of the outstanding voting securities of a domestic insurer or of a person that controls a domestic insurer. A person seeking to acquire control, directly or indirectly, of a domestic insurance company or of any person controlling a domestic insurance company generally must file with the relevant insurance regulatory authority a statement relating to the acquisition of control containing certain information regarding

Our policy is to accrue for insolvencies when the loss is probable and the assessment amount can be reasonably estimated. In the case of most insurance insolvencies, our ability to reasonably estimate the insolvent insurer’s liabilities or develop a meaningful range of the insolvent insurer’s liabilities is significantly impaired by inadequate financial data with respect to the estate of the insolvent company as supplied by the guaranty funds. Although the amounts of any future assessments by guaranty funds cannot be predicted with certainty, we believe that future guaranty association assessments for known insurer insolvencies will not have a material adverse effect on our results of operations or financial condition.

As a condition of their licenses to do business, some of our operating insurance subsidiaries are required to participate in mandatory property and casualty shared market mechanisms, residual markets or pooling arrangements, which provide various types of insurance coverage to individuals or other entities that are otherwise unable to purchase such coverage in the commercial insurance marketplace. Our United States operating insurance subsidiaries’ participation in such shared markets or pooling mechanisms is generally proportionate to the amount of each of our operating insurance subsidiaries’ direct premiums written for the type of coverage written by the specific pooling mechanism or residual market mechanism in the applicable state.

Many states have laws that establish second-injury funds to provide compensation to injured employees for aggravation of a prior condition or injury. Generally, insurers writing workers’ compensation in those states that have second-injury funds are subject to the laws creating the funds, including the various funding mechanisms that those states have adopted to fund the second-injury funds, including premium surcharges that effectively pass the cost of the fund on to policyholders.

Certain of our operating insurance subsidiaries participate in the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund, a state mandated catastrophe reinsurance fund. Business insurance is also subject to pooled insurance on a small scale for commercial properties insured through the various Fair Access to Insurance Requirements Plans that exist in most states.

In 2017, the NAIC adopted an Insurance Data Security Model Law (#668-1) that establishes minimum cybersecurity requirements applicable to licensed insurance companies and licensed insurance intermediaries. Among other requirements, the Insurance Data Security Model Law requires licensees to maintain an information security program based on a cybersecurity risk assessment, establish a written incident response plan, provide an annual certification of compliance to state insurance regulators, and investigate and notify state insurance regulators regarding cybersecurity events. Approximately one third of states have adopted a version of the Insurance Data Security Model Law, and additional states are expected to do so in the future. The New York Department of Financial Services already has a similar cybersecurity regulation in effect. Separately, Massachusetts also has regulations in place that require businesses to maintain a cybersecurity program that meets certain minimum requirements. See also “Risk Factors — A disruption of our information technology systems could significantly affect our business.”

While the provisions of TRIA and the purchase of certain terrorism reinsurance coverage mitigate our exposure in the event of a large-scale terrorist attack, the risk of severe losses to us from acts of terrorism remains because our effective deductible is significant, certain lines that we write are not covered by TRIA and there is no certainty that future acts of terrorism will be certified as such by the Treasury Secretary. There is also no certainty that the program will be extended beyond December 31, 2027, or if it is extended that the program will provide coverage in the same amounts and on the same terms. Moreover, regardless of TRIA, some state insurance regulators do not permit terrorism exclusions for various coverages or causes of loss. Accordingly, we continue to monitor carefully our concentrations of risk.

In recent years, the insurance industry has been subject to increased scrutiny by regulators and legislators. As noted above, the NAIC and a number of state legislatures have considered or adopted legislative proposals that alter and, in many cases, increase the authority of state regulators to regulate insurance companies and holding company systems. Additional regulations or new requirements may emerge from activities of various regulatory entities, including the Federal Reserve Board, FIO, the Financial Stability Oversight Council, and the NAIC. We cannot predict whether any specific state or federal measures will be adopted to change the nature or scope of the regulation of insurance or what effect any such measures would have on Fairfax and its United States operating insurance subsidiaries.

Finally, the ongoing investigations discussed above of insurance industry business practices may result in new laws or regulations at the state or federal level. See “Risk Factors — Certain business practices of the insurance industry have been the subject of negative publicity and investigations by government authorities and the subject of class action litigation.”

It is not possible to predict the outcome of any of the foregoing legislative, administrative or congressional activities or the potential effects thereof on us.

Under the ICA, the directors of a federally incorporated insurance company must establish and the insurance company must adhere to investment and lending policies, standards and procedures that a reasonable and prudent person would apply to a portfolio of investments and loans to avoid undue risk of loss and obtain a reasonable return, subject to certain overall limitations on the amount it may invest in certain classes of investments, such as commercial loans, real estate and equities. Additional restrictions (and in some cases, the need for regulatory approvals) limit the nature of an insurance company’s investments.

The ICA prohibits the declaration by the directors of a federally incorporated insurance company, or the payment by the insurance company, of any dividend on shares of an insurance company if there are reasonable grounds to believe the company is, or the payment of the dividend would cause the company to be, in contravention of applicable capital and liquidity requirements. The ICA also requires the directors of an insurance company to notify the Superintendent of Financial Institutions of the declaration of a dividend at least 15 days prior to the date fixed for its payment. Similarly, the ICA prohibits the purchase for cancellation of any shares issued by an insurance company or the redemption of any redeemable shares or other similar capital transactions, if there are reasonable grounds for believing that the company is, or the payment would cause the company to be, in contravention of its applicable capital and liquidity requirements. These latter transactions would also require the prior approval of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions. On March 13, 2020, OSFI announced that it expected all Canadian federally regulated financial institutions

The ICA contains certain restrictions on the purchase or other acquisition, issue, transfer and voting of any shares of an insurance company. Pursuant to these restrictions, no person is permitted to acquire shares of any of our Canadian insurance subsidiaries, or to acquire control of a company which holds such an interest, if the acquisition would cause the person to have a “significant interest,” or increase an existing “significant interest,” in any class of shares of the insurance company, unless the prior approval of the Minister of Finance (Canada) is obtained. In addition, no insurance company is permitted to record any transfer or issue of its shares if the transfer or issue would cause the person to have a significant interest, or increase an existing significant interest, in the insurance company and such interest or increase has not been approved by the Minister of Finance (Canada). No person who has a significant interest in such a company may exercise any voting rights attached to the shares held by such person, or entities controlled by that person, unless the prior approval of the Minister of Finance (Canada) is obtained. In certain cases, if a person contravenes any of these restrictions, the Minister of Finance (Canada) may, by order, direct that person to dispose of all or any portion of those shares. For these purposes, a person has a significant interest in a class of shares of an insurance company where the aggregate of any shares of that class beneficially owned by that person, or an entity controlled by that person and by any person associated or acting jointly or in concert with that person, exceeds 10% of all outstanding shares of that class of shares of the company.

Each of our insurance subsidiaries is subject to provincial and territorial regulation and supervision in each of the provinces and territories of Canada in which it carries on business. Provincial insurance regulations deal primarily with the form and content of insurance contracts, the sale and marketing of insurance products, including licensing and supervision of insurance distributors, and the settlement of insurance claims. In the provinces of Alberta, Ontario, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island premium rates for automobile insurance are regulated by public authorities. They require insurers to submit proposed rates to a regulatory body and have them approved before use. While Québec has a public auto insurance system for its base coverage, rates for excess insurance must be approved by the provincial insurance regulator. The approval process may also involve a hearing. Under provincial regulation, insurance contracts are deemed automatically to include certain terms that cannot be changed without the approval of the relevant regulatory authority, as well as certain terms that cannot be changed without statutory or regulatory amendment.

PACICC was formed to respond to claims by Canadian policyholders and refund certain premiums paid in advance, within limits, in the event of the insolvency of their insurance company. The Canadian property and casualty insurance industry elects the directors of PACICC. PACICC is funded by its member insurance companies, including our Canadian property and casualty insurance subsidiaries.

Syndicates are managed by managing agents who are authorized by the PRA and regulated by the PRA and the FCA.

The PRA and the FCA have their own sets of Threshold Conditions and, as dual-regulated firms, the managing agents must comply with both. The Threshold Conditions relate to matters including the adequacy of the firm’s financial and other resources and whether a firm is a fit and proper person to conduct its regulated activities, having regard to all the circumstances (including whether the firm’s affairs are conducted soundly and prudently).

When granted, a Part 4A Permission will specify: (i) a description of the activities the managing agent can carry on, including any limitations on the scope of the permission; (ii) the specified investments to which the permission relates; and (iii) requirements imposed in relation to the permission to require the managing agent to take, or to refrain from taking, specified action. These requirements may relate to a range of matters, including the scope of a managing agent’s business, capital, liquidity and interactions with affiliates. Once authorized, in addition to continuing to meet the Threshold Conditions, managing agents must comply with the requirements of the PRA Rulebook and the FCA Handbook which apply to them.

The managing agents must carry out ongoing assessment of fitness and propriety in relation to all SMF holders. Individuals in SMFs are subject to a duty of responsibility in accordance with FSMA and can be held accountable if they fail to take “reasonable steps” to prevent regulatory breaches. Each SMF holder will have a statement of responsibilities showing what they are responsible for within the business. These responsibilities will be set out alongside reporting lines in a “Responsibilities Map” which is available to the regulators.

Individuals who do not hold SMFs but whose role means that they have the potential to cause harm to either the relevant managing agent or its customers must be certified by the managing agent in question as fit

All staff in each of the managing agents, with the exclusion of those who are in roles such as catering or security (where they cannot pose a risk to the business or its customers), must comply with individual conduct rules. SMF holders must comply with additional conduct rules, relating to regulatory objectives.

The FOS is available to eligible complainants in addition to their right to bring a claim in the courts. If the FOS determines a dispute in favor of a complainant, it has the power to order a firm to pay compensation for any loss or damage it caused to the complainant, or to direct a firm to take such steps in relation to the complainant as the FOS considers just and appropriate, irrespective of whether a similar award could be made by a court. The FOS is funded by levies and case fees payable by firms covered by the FOS.

As of June 30, 2021, the Company had approximately $6.2 billion principal amount of total outstanding indebtedness, none of which is secured, and the Company’s subsidiaries had approximately $2.7 billion principal amount of total outstanding indebtedness, all of which would be structurally senior to the Notes.

The Notes are issuable in minimum denominations of $2,000 and integral multiples of $1,000 in excess thereof.

The Indenture does not contain any provisions that would limit the Company’s ability to incur indebtedness or that would afford holders of Notes protection in the event of a highly leveraged or similar transaction involving the Company.

The Notes are redeemable at any time on or after the Par Call Date, at the option of the Company, in whole at any time or in part from time to time, on not less than 15 days’ nor more than 60 days’ prior notice to each registered holder, upon payment of a redemption price equal to par, together with accrued and unpaid interest to the Redemption Date. Unless the Company defaults in payment of the redemption price, on and after the applicable Redemption Date, interest will cease to accrue on the Notes or portions thereof called for redemption.

The Notes are also subject to redemption prior to maturity if certain changes in Canadian tax law occur. If such changes occur, the Notes may be redeemed at a redemption price of 100% of their principal amount, plus any interest accrued but not paid to but excluding the Redemption Date and any additional amounts due and payable on the Notes up to but excluding the Redemption Date. See “— Redemption for Tax Reasons.”

No Notes of a principal amount of $2,000 or less shall be redeemed in part. Notice of redemption of Notes held in the form of Definitive Certificates (as defined below) will be mailed by first-class mail at least 15 days but not more than 60 days before the Redemption Date to each holder of Notes to be redeemed at its registered address. Notice of redemption of Notes held in the form of global certificates will be given to DTC in accordance with its applicable procedures at least 15 days but not more than 60 days before the Redemption Date. If any Note is to be redeemed in part only, the notice of redemption that relates to such Note shall state the portion of the principal amount thereof to be redeemed. A new Note in principal amount equal to the unredeemed portion thereof will be issued in the name of the holder thereof upon cancellation of the original Note.

On and after the Redemption Date, interest will cease to accrue on Notes or portions thereof called for redemption as long as the Company has deposited with the paying agent funds in satisfaction of the applicable redemption price.

The Indenture defines “lien” as any mortgage, pledge, hypothecation, lien, encumbrance, charge or security interest of any kind; “obligation” as indebtedness for money borrowed or indebtedness evidenced by a bond, note, debenture or other evidence of indebtedness; “purchase money lien” as (i) any mortgage, pledge, hypothecation, lien, encumbrance, charge or security interest of any kind upon any capital stock of any restricted subsidiary acquired after the date of the Indenture if such purchase money lien is for the purpose of

If an event of default relating to a default in payment of principal of (or premium, if any, on) or interest on the Notes, or to a default in the performance, or breach, of any other covenant or warranty of the Company applicable to the Notes but not applicable to all outstanding securities issued under the Indenture, or to a default in the payment, at stated maturity, of, or to the acceleration of, any indebtedness for money borrowed shall have occurred and be continuing, the trustee or the holders of not less than 25% in principal amount of the Notes then outstanding may then declare the principal of all Notes to be due and payable immediately. If an event of default relating to a default in the performance, or breach, of any other covenant or warranty in the Indenture applicable to all securities issued thereunder and then outstanding shall have occurred and be continuing, the trustee or the holders of not less than 25% in principal amount of all securities issued under the Indenture and then outstanding (treated as one class) may declare the principal amount of all the securities then outstanding to be due and payable immediately. If an event of default described in clause (e) above shall occur, other than with respect to one of the Company’s subsidiaries, the principal amount of all the securities will automatically, and without any action by the trustee or any holder, become immediately due and payable. In each case, the holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding Notes may under certain circumstances rescind and annul such declaration by written notice to the Company and the trustee. In the event of a declaration of acceleration because an event of default specified in clause (d) above has occurred and is continuing, such declaration of acceleration shall be automatically annulled if the indebtedness which is the subject of such event of default has been discharged or the holders thereof have rescinded their declaration of acceleration in respect of such indebtedness, and written notice of such discharge or rescission is given to the trustee by the Company and countersigned by the holders of such indebtedness or their representative, within 30 days after such declaration of acceleration in respect of the Notes, and no other event of default has occurred during such 30-day period which has not been cured or waived during such period.

The holders of not less than a majority in principal amount of the outstanding Notes, in the case of an event of default applicable to such series but not to all outstanding securities, or a majority in principal amount of the outstanding securities of all series, in the case of an event of default applicable to all outstanding securities, may waive any past default and its consequences, except a default in respect of the payment of the principal of (or premium, if any, on) or interest on any security or in respect of a covenant or provision of the Indenture which cannot be modified or amended without the consent of the holder of each outstanding security affected thereby.

The Indenture provides that the trustee shall be under no obligation to exercise any of the rights or powers vested in it by the Indenture at the request or direction of holders of securities unless such holders shall have offered to the trustee reasonable funding, security and indemnity against the costs, expenses and liabilities which might be incurred by the trustee in compliance with such request or direction. Subject to such provisions for the indemnification of the trustee, the holders of not less than a majority in principal amount of the securities of any series (with respect to any remedy, trust or power relating to any default in payment of principal (or premium, if any, on) or interest on the securities of such series or any default in the performance or breach of any other covenant or warranty of the Company applicable to the securities of such series but not applicable to all outstanding securities issued under the Indenture) or the holders of not less than a majority in principal amount of all securities issued under the Indenture and then outstanding (treated as one class) (with respect to any other remedy, trust or power) shall have the right to direct the time, method and place of conducting any proceeding for any remedy available to the trustee, or exercising any trust or power conferred on the trustee, with respect to such securities.

The Company may discharge certain obligations to holders of Notes which have not already been delivered to the trustee for cancellation and which have either become due and payable or are by their terms due and payable within one year by irrevocably depositing with the trustee trust funds in an amount sufficient to pay at maturity the principal of and interest on the Notes.

The Company may, at its option, and at any time, elect to have its obligations discharged with respect to all outstanding Notes. This is referred to as “defeasance.” Such defeasance means that the Company shall be

In order to exercise either defeasance or covenant defeasance with respect to the Notes, (i) the Company must irrevocably deposit with the trustee, in trust, for the benefit of the holders of the Notes, cash in U.S. dollars, certain U.S. government obligations, or a combination thereof, in such amounts as will be sufficient, in the opinion of a nationally recognized firm of independent public accountants, to pay the principal of and interest on the outstanding Notes on the stated maturity (or Redemption Date, if applicable) of such principal or installment of interest; (ii) in the case of defeasance, the Company shall have delivered to the trustees an opinion of counsel in the United States stating that (x) the Company has received from, or there has been published by, the Internal Revenue Service a ruling or (y) since the date of the offering memorandum for the Initial Notes, there has been a change in the applicable U.S. federal income tax law, in either case to the effect that, and based thereon such opinion of counsel shall confirm that, the holders of the outstanding Notes will not recognize income, gain or loss for U.S. federal income tax purposes as a result of such defeasance and will be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the same amounts, in the same manner and at the same times as would have been the case if such defeasance had not occurred; (iii) in the case of covenant defeasance, the Company shall have delivered to the trustees an opinion of counsel in the United States to the effect that the holders of the outstanding Notes will not recognize income, gain or loss for U.S. federal income tax purposes as a result of such covenant defeasance and will be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the same amounts, in the same manner and at the same times as would have been the case if such covenant defeasance had not occurred; and (iv) the Company must comply with certain other conditions.

The Indenture provides that the Company and the trustees may enter into supplemental indentures without the consent of the holders of the Notes or the holders of the securities of any other series to: (a) evidence the succession of another person to the Company and the obligations assumed by such successor under the Indenture; (b) add to the Company’s covenants for the benefit of the holders of the securities of any series or to surrender any right or power conferred upon the Company by the Indenture; (c) add events of default for the benefit of the holders of the securities of any series; (d) change or eliminate any provisions of the Indenture, provided that any such change or elimination shall become effective only when there is no security issued under the Indenture then outstanding of any series created prior thereto which is entitled to the benefit of such provision; (e) secure any series of securities; (f) establish the form and terms of any series of securities permitted to be issued under the Indenture; (g) evidence the acceptance of appointment by a successor trustee under the Indenture and provide for or facilitate the administration of one or more trusts under the Indenture by one or more trustees; (h) cure any ambiguity, correct or supplement any inconsistency or make any other modification, provided that such action does not adversely affect the interests of the holders of outstanding securities of any series in any material respect; and (i) supplement any of the provisions of the Indenture to the extent necessary to permit or facilitate the defeasance or discharge of any series of securities, provided such action does not adversely affect the interests of the holders of securities of any series in any material respect.

The Indenture also contains provisions permitting the Company and the trustees, with the consent of the holders of not less than a majority in principal amount of all securities issued under the Indenture then outstanding and affected (treated as one class), to add any provisions to, change in any manner or eliminate any of the provisions of, the Indenture or modify in any manner the rights of the holders of securities under