Topic Legal
Ontario insurance regulator to review compliance with auto reforms, suitability of product recommendations
April 11, 2011 by Canadian UnderwriterOntario’s insurance regulator, the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO), is planning to conduct a number of market conduct reviews in 2011 – one to assess compliance with the province’s auto insurance reforms, and another one concerning the suitability of…
Ontario court allows proposed vote of mutual policyholders to replace The Economical’s board to proceed at the company’s AGM
April 7, 2011 by Canadian UnderwriterThe Ontario Superior Court of Justice has ordered the Economical Mutual Insurance Company to proceed with a vote of its mutual policyholders on proposals to remove and replace the insurer’s board of directors at its upcoming annual general meeting. Toronto…
Expert panel seeks comment on its definition of catastrophic impairment
April 4, 2011 by Canadian UnderwriterThe Catastrophic Impairment Expert Panel is seeking comments on its final report on the definition of “catastrophic impairment” under Ontario’s Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule (SABS).The report will be posted on the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO)’s Web site for…
Ontario to consider administrative monetary penalties for breaches of Insurance Act
March 30, 2011 by Canadian UnderwriterThe Ontario government is proposing to review of the Ontario Insurance Act, including the possibility of introducing administrative monetary penalties.The government made the review known in its 2011 budget. This would be the first review of these major parts of…
Ontario insurance regulator outlines insurers’ rights and responsibilities in curbing “questionable or abusive claims”
March 25, 2011 by Canadian UnderwriterOntario’s insurance regulator, the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO), has issued a bulletin outlining an insurer’s “rights and responsibilities to challenge questionable or abusive claims.”The bulletin comes in the wake of the province’s auto insurance reforms, implemented on Sept.…
Insurance and Bank Web site regulations may have to wait for the federal election
March 25, 2011 by Canadian UnderwriterCanada’s government has now officially fallen, and the resultant election will likely postpone the official seal of approval of new regulations prohibiting banks from promoting unauthorized insurance on their Web sites.Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government fell in a non-confidence…
Ontario broker regulator cautions about use of filters in online quoting services
March 24, 2011 by Canadian UnderwriterBrokers need to make sure they are not using technology as a means to sidestep regulatory obligations, particularly with regard to the use of filters in online quoting services, the president of the Registered Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario (RIBO),…
Government’s budget includes plans for regulatory framework on P&C demutualizations
March 23, 2011 by Canadian UnderwriterThe federal government’s proposed budget, introduced on Mar. 22, 2011, confirmed the government was working on a regulatory framework that would allow property and casualty insurance companies to demutualize.As of press time, the budget was widely anticipated to be defeated,…
IBC urges consumers to learn how to identify insurance fraud
March 23, 2011 by Canadian UnderwriterThe Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) estimates insurance fraud to be a multi-million-dollar business in Ontario, contributing to the high cost of auto insurance in the province. IBC recognized Fraud Prevention Month in March, by urging consumers to take the…
B.C. Insurance Council suspends license of agent, agency, pending investigation into allegations including fraudulent transfer of a car
March 22, 2011 by Canadian UnderwriterThe B.C. Insurance Council has suspended the license of agent Yik Lun Hui and insurance agency Roadways Insurance Agencies Inc., pending the outcome of a council investigation into allegations that Hui failed to carry out his duties and responsibilities as…
Consumer can seek class action certification, despite contract fine print: Supreme Court
March 18, 2011 by Canadian UnderwriterThe Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that a B.C. woman can still launch a class action lawsuit against her cellphone provider, even though the fine print of her contract had a clause that waived her right to sue.In Seidel…
Argentina changes reinsurance rules: reinsurance must be purchased through national or registered reinsurers
March 11, 2011 by Canadian UnderwriterArgentina has changed its reinsurance rules, cautions the insurance broker Marsh.“Argentine Superintendency (SSN) mandated last month that reinsurance in Argentina must be purchased through national or registered reinsurers,” Marsh Canada notes on its Web site. “This resolution follows the measures…