Who Decides?

The CIP Society Ethics Series

 An elderly client of a brokerage in a small town contacted her insurance broker to make some changes to her homeowner’s policy. The client indicated that she preferred to deal in-person and, thus, made an appointment to visit the brokerage. The owner of the brokerage knew the client rather well, as he too grew up in the community. In fact, when his father owned the brokerage before him, the woman was then a client as well.

The client arrived on schedule and was joined by her middle-aged daughter. The daughter appeared to be agitated and annoyed with her mother during the visit, constantly raising her voice when her mother did not seem to understand what was being said. Occasionally, this behaviour bordered on abuse, and the broker was upset and uncomfortable.

Although the client did not appear to fully understand what was being explained to her, she agreed to accept the changes because her daughter said she must. The elderly client did not have a power of attorney in place, but seemed to rely on her daughter a fair bit.

The broker was deeply unhappy about this encounter and felt that he should take some kind of action. But what should (or could) he do?

Sharon Lillico, BSc, CIP
Assistant Vice President, Insurance Services
LMS PROLINK Ltd.

The challenge presented in this scenario is that the broker does not want to get in the middle of the client and daughter relationship, and possibly risk overstepping his bounds. However, the broker is presented with a person who may not be competent to make decisions (the client) and a questionable advisor with no power of attorney (the daughter). Certainly, considerations around the broker’s duty of care arise!

The broker in this small town would most likely know the daughter. He can call her and ease into a conversation about the visit, saying that he noticed it was stressful for her and that he understands the difficulties she must be facing supporting her mother at this stage in her life.

The broker can take the opportunity to share the names of various community services that provide support in the care of elderly persons, as well as give some contact phone numbers. This offer of assistance should be welcomed by the daughter and demonstrates the broker’s proactive support.

At the same time, the broker should phone the client directly to arrange to reassess any changes on the homeowner’s policy made during the appointment. He could then offer to visit the home to review these changes once they have been completed.

At the time of the visit, and in general conversations with the client, the broker should get a fair idea of the client’s situation. The broker should then follow up with written recommendations according to his usual professional standard.

In this way, the broker is supporting both the client and her daughter, getting help for the both of them, while alleviating his concerns about duty of care.

Scott Maskell, B.A., CIP 
Vice President
Glenny Insurance Broker Limited & P. Tomlinson Insurance Broker Inc.

The local brokerage, with its deep community roots and long-term clientele, must be prepared for such experiences as described in the scenario, as an aging population relies heavily on others to aid them in decisions. Unfortunately, occasionally, children of the aging clientele can be impatient, frustrated and behave poorly in such circumstances.

It is important for the broker to ensure that the client – the elderly lady – is the one making the decisions and, if she is not capable, that the broker receives proper documentation before allowing others to direct or take over the decision-making process.

Here are a few actions that the broker could take in response to the encounter:

1. Ask the client to return for another visit without her daughter.

2. Recommend the client return with a different family member or trusted individual.

3. Suggest a follow-up meeting with the client to ensure that she has understood the information presented to her. Instead of simply asking a “yes” or “no” question, ask the client whether or not she can recall the changes that were made to her policy and to articulate those changes.

4. Depending on the severity of the daughter’s actions towards her mother, the situation could warrant a report of elder abuse.

Despite the poor encounter, the elderly client and daughter did attend the meeting together, and there is a distinct possibility that the broker will need to interact with both in the future.

As a broker, he should ensure he is a professional and does not become emotionally engaged in the situation because of the daughter’s actions. It is important to be mindful of that in order to effectively advise the client in the future.

Miriam Weerasooriya, BBA, FCIP, CRM
Independent Consultant

Brokers often ask clients what keeps them up at night; we rarely turn the tables on ourselves to see how our actions, or lack thereof, might do the same to us.

Canada is an aging society with seniors over the age of 65 accounting for 14.4% of the current population, representing the fastest-growing sector, Employment and Social Development Canada reports in its 2011 population survey statistics. Estimates show that this group will double in the next 25 years, so the situation described will undoubtedly arise more frequently in our industry.

As insurance brokers, our first obligation is to our client. We are there to ensure our client’s property is maintained at the highest level possible, and to explain the options available to achieve that end goal. In this case, the broker represents the elderly mother and it is her best interest he is bound to preserve.

Practically, the daughter may be heir to the property, but until such time as either power of attorney or other transfers are affected, the broker’s duty is to the mother. And that means doing the uncomfortable thing if the daughter is contravening the mother’s best interests.

Having aging parents myself, I can appreciate how awkward it would be for the broker to insinuate a caregiver might not be acting aboveboard. The alternative is worse – hiring a professional broker to give advice only to have it put aside because an unqualified relative simply demanded it.

Ultimately, the broker in this situation must speak with the client to fully explain and document the options, including the broker’s opinion on best course of action. The client must have access to all information to properly make a decision and should not do so under duress, as appears to be the case in the scenario described. Once documented, the client is then free to do as she wishes.

If the broker is still troubled by the daughter’s behaviour toward the mother, a call to a provincial seniors abuse support line, the RCMP division, or one of the many elder abuse services available through the Canadian Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse should be considered.

There are many things out of our control to keep us awake at night, but acting with integrity for a client should not be one of them.

THE LAST WORD

While it can be helpful to have a family member present when discussing policy changes with an elderly client, the pushy daughter described in the scenario appears to have made decisions on behalf of her mother without power of attorney, and the situation needs to be addressed by the broker.

The broker has to investigate to determine if the client was coerced by the daughter. While the broker may not want to involve himself in the family’s situation, he should follow up with the client to ask her to confirm that she understands the changes to her policy and that she is comfortable with the decisions that were made during&
nbsp;the appointment.

The broker should give her information regarding her rights and stress that only she has the decision-making power over her policy. The broker can also provide contact information for individuals or agencies that can assist the client if she believes the daughter was acting improperly as attorney.

Alternatively, if the broker suspects that the client is unable to assess the situation on her own, he may contact the local Office of the Public Guardian and/or Trustee, which serves to protect the interests of the most vulnerable persons. The office will conduct an investigation and determine the most accommodating way to co-ordinate legal steps to help the client manage her affairs.

While assessing the client’s comprehension level during a meeting is always important, it becomes even more so when vulnerable persons are involved. It is the broker’s ethical responsibility to ensure that the client understands what is being discussed, and to act accordingly if he or she suspects that family members are taking advantage of the client.

The CIP Society represents more than 17,000 graduates of the Insurance Institute of Canada’s Fellow Chartered Insurance Professional (FCIP) and Chartered Insurance Professional (CIP) Programs. The CIP Society, through articles such as this, is working to bring ethical issues to the forefront and provide learning opportunities that enhance the professional ethics of all insurance professionals.