A B.C. broker has been suspended for two years and fined $1,000 for passing off a client’s cancelled vehicle license plates as his own, giving the appearance that his vehicle was insured when in fact it wasn’t. Ping Hong (Gary) Chow was licensed as a Level 1 general insurance salesperson from 1997 until he terminated […]
By David Gambrill | November 10, 2020
3 min read
While the global COVID pandemic may have sharpened the insurance industry’s focus on providing digital solutions to customers quickly, the speed at which the industry can move remains limited by traditional barriers such as a carrier’s organizational culture, regulation, and legacy systems. Panellists at the online conference Future of Insurance Canada, organized by Reuters Events, […]
By David Gambrill | November 3, 2020
3 min read
Government and the industry should take a close look at the structure and regulation of “middle players” in the commercial property and casualty insurance market, Ontario brokers heard last week at their annual convention. “We know there are some things happening in the market where some rules…do not apply to everyone in our market, and […]
By Greg Meckbach | October 26, 2020
4 min read
A Manitoba broker received a $250 fine recently for failing to advise a client that his policy had been moved to a different insurer until two weeks after the policy had expired. In its decision, the Insurance Council of Manitoba found that on Jan. 1, 2019, an unnamed brokerage had cancelled its contract with Insurer […]
By David Gambrill | October 19, 2020
3 min read
British Columbia’s Liberal party, which ruled the province from 2001 through 2017, is promising to open auto insurance up to competition if voters return the Liberals to power in the Oct. 24 election. “The ICBC monopoly is a failure and it’s time to offer drivers cheaper rates — that’s what competition will do,” Liberal leader […]
By Greg Meckbach | October 7, 2020
3 min read
Programming errors are cited as the culprit for why some Alberta auto clients have been charged higher rates than those approved by the Automobile Insurance Rate board. Six auto insurers (ultimately owned by Economical, TD Bank and Intact) had to pay a combined total of $725,000 in administrative penalties last year for over-charging, Alberta’s superintendent […]
By Greg Meckbach | October 2, 2020
2 min read
A B.C. broker received a $1,000 fine and was ordered to complete a course in auto insurance for her role in trying to help a man purchase a car for his son-in-law. The provincial broker regulator found that the broker, Lini Outh, had fraudulently transferred the ownership and insurance to the son-in-law without his knowledge […]
By David Gambrill | September 29, 2020
3 min read
Personal auto insurance brokers who don’t offer an endorsement that would limit an insurer’s right to restrict its coverage to actual cash value could be increasing their errors and omissions risk, a senior broker has cautioned. Alberta and Ontario have optional endorsements to auto policies that insure vehicles up to the actual purchase price instead […]
By Greg Meckbach | September 21, 2020
4 min read
A former broker who has vowed never to return to the insurance industry has been ordered to pay a $5,000 civil fine for claiming to be a CE instructor when he had not in fact taught the course he claimed he had. Sean Ronson Nethercott was formerly a Level 2 general insurance broker and a […]
By David Gambrill | July 22, 2020
3 min read
A “lack of appropriate office procedures,” in addition to a “casual” approach to handling a client file, led to a series of miscues that resulted in coverage not being bound for a married couple who reported a theft of their property in a storage facility while moving their residence, the B.C. Insurance Council has found. […]
By David Gambrill | July 15, 2020
4 min read