RIBO calls for separate recognition of insurance products

The Registered Insurance Brokers of Ontario (RIBO) has called on the Ontario government’s Ministry of Finance for recognition of the unique differences that exist between property and casualty insurance products and their distribution modes compared with the life, deposit-taking and securities sectors operating in the province.In a letter addressed to John O’Toole, the parliamentary assistant to Ontario’s Minister of Finance, RIBO president Darren Hamilton says appropriate consideration should be given to these "differences" by the financial services’ regulatory body in light of the proposed merger between the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) and the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC). "…while many products and services offered to consumers by the life insurance, deposit-taking and securities industries are becoming virtually indistinguishable, the same cannot be said for the property and casualty insurance industry…From a consumer protection standpoint, we believe that appropriate consideration should be given to these significant differences."Hamilton also expressed hope that recently initiated discussions with FSCO over the possibility of expanding RIBO’s role as an industry self-regulating body would be maintained under the new regulatory regime. Specifically, RIBO has proposed that all parties involved in insurance distribution in Ontario, including adjusters, should be regulated under a single body. "These discussions were based on a proposal by RIBO to expand the self-regulatory concepts on which RIBO operates to apply to other insurance intermediary groups, coordinated by a common administration."