Complaint Against an Insurance Agent

It is the duty of an insurance agent to provide full disclosure to a client of all information required to make an informed decision about the product or service being recommended.

An agent must not engage in any practice that is deceptive or misleading and must at all times act with the best interests of the client in mind.

Any person who is aware of improper conduct by an insurance agent is encouraged to contact the Insurance Council office at compliance@skcouncil.sk.ca

The Council will review the circumstances pertaining to the agent's conduct and take appropriate action.

1-2 Powers and functions

(1) LlCS/GICS shall:

(a) exercise the powers and carry out the functions and duties authorized, pursuant to the Act and the regulations;

(b) accept and exercise the powers and carry out the functions and duties delegated to it by the Superintendent; and

(c) carry out the functions and duties outlined in these bylaws.

(2) LlCS/GICS shall establish a process to regularly evaluate the effectiveness of LlCS/GICS.

(3) LlCS/GICS shall appoint three members to ICS, pursuant to clause 5-26( 1) (a) of the regulations.

(4) LlCS/GICS shall ensure that ICS obtains and maintains Directors and Officers liability insurance that protects the officers and members of LlCS in the performance of their duties, pursuant to clause 5-85(1 )(e) of the Act, and clause 5-32(1 )(h) of the regulations.

4-1 Professional misconduct

(1) For the purposes of the Act, the regulations and these bylaws, professional misconduct is a question of fact but includes any matter, conduct or thing, whether or not disgraceful or dishonorable that:

(a) is contrary to the best interest of the public;

(b) may harm the standing of persons licensed under the Act; or

(c) is a breach of the Act, the regulations or these bylaws.

(2) Without limiting the generality of subsection 4-1(1), a licensee may be guilty of misconduct if the licensee:

(a) fails to place the interests of the consumer before those of the licensee or others;

(b) takes advantage of a vulnerable person;

(c) fails to disclose to a consumer or insurer any conflict of interest that may exist;

(d) fails to ensure that a consumer or insurer is fully informed of all relevant information that will allow the consumer or the insurer to make an informed decision;

(e) fails to reasonably ascertain through prudent fact gathering a consumer’s insurance needs;

(f) fails to reasonably carry out a consumer’s lawful instructions;

(g) fails to protect a consumer’s personal information;

(h) divulges a consumer’s personal information unless authorized to do so by the consumer or as required by law;

(i) engages in any practice that is coercive or has the intended effect of inducing a consumer into making a decision that is not in the best interests of the consumer, pursuant to section 7-12 of the Act;

(j) in the course of promoting, selling or servicing insurance business, provides in any advertising or other communications information that is false or misleading, pursuant to section 7-12 of the Act;

(k) makes a material misstatement in an application for licence or report to continue a licence, pursuant to clauses 5-39(1)(a) and 5-64(1)(a) of the Act;

(l) rebates or offers to rebate all or any portion of an insurance premium;

(m) indicates that the premium to be paid for a policy is an amount that is different from the amount of the premium set out in the policy, pursuant to subsection 7-5(1) of the Act;

(n) gives or offers to give anything of value in excess of twenty-five dollars per year for the purposes of inducing a consumer to make an insurance decision, pursuant to section 7-4 of the regulations;

(o) when charging a consumer a fee, fails to have the consumer agree in writing before the service is provided to the amount of the fee and the reason for the fee, pursuant to subsection 7-9(2) of the Act;

(p) demonstrates an unsuitability or an untrustworthiness to act as a licensee, pursuant to clauses 5-39(1)(b) and 5-64(1)(b) of the Act;

(q) fails to deal with consumer complaints or disputes in a timely forthright manner or to refer the consumer to the appropriate person or authority;

(r) fails to follow sound business practices or maintain proper records;

(s) is a Designated Representative and fails to carry out his or her responsibilities as outlined in the Act, the regulations, or these bylaws, including Schedule B – Operating Principles for the Designated Representative;

(t) fails to exercise reasonable and prudent oversight and review when acting in a supervisory capacity;

(u) fails to reasonably respond to inquiries from GICS or ICS; or

(v) when acting as a crop hail adjuster or a crop hail adjuster’s representative, fails to adjust crop hail insurance claims using established crop adjusting procedures set out in a current version of the council-approved crop hail adjuster manual.