B.C. insurance agent banned from accessing ICBC database on privacy breach allegation

The Insurance Council of B.C. has banned a general insurance agent’s access to the database of B.C.’s public insurer, the Insurance Corporation of B.C. (ICBC), after the council reviewed allegations that the agent had accessed a third-party’s confidential information without the third party’s consent.
Council’s review of the matter found the agent was subject to an RCMP undertaking to abstain from communicating directly or indirectly with the third-party.
The allegations have yet to be proven in a hearing.
“After reviewing information obtained in the matter, including submissions of the licensee, the third party and ICBC, council has determined on a balance of probabilities the allegations against the licensee are true,” the Insurance Council of British Columbia said in its decision and order.
The council decided that until a hearing is concluded, it would attach conditions to the licensee’s general insurance licence, pursuant to section 231(1)(h) of the Financial Institutions Act.
The conditions are:
1.the licensee is prohibited from directly or indirectly accessing the ICBC database; and
2.the licensee must be under the direct supervision of the nominee of any insurance agency the licensee is authorized to represent.