CCIR seeks comment on privilege/whistle-blowing

The Canadian Council of Insurance Regulators (CCIR) is circulating a consultation paper that discusses giving insurers privilege over self-assessment documents and providing protection for whistle-blowers.
The document discusses the value of moving towards risk-based regulation, in which “more supervisory attention” is paid “to higher risk companies and less to low risk companies.”
In such a system, the document notes, regulators would “encourage insurers to voluntarily introduce good governance practices that reduce insurers’ risk of non-compliance.” To test compliance, insurers would be encouraged to do voluntary self-assessments of risk.
The key is whether such self-assessments could be used in civil actions against insurers. “Representative Canadian insurers have confirmed that behavior is affected by considerations of litigation, particularly in regard to making decisions on whether and how to do voluntary self-assessments,” the consultation paper says.
The CCIR is considering granting insurers privilege over voluntary self-assessment documents. Whistle-blowing protection would “complement” the granting of such privilege, the consultation document notes.
“Whistle-blower protection is useful to a risk-based regulatory system,” the document says. “A whistle-blower is one source of information that can help determine whether an insurer is high-risk. The information provided by this person can not only show that a company is a high-risk company but also that regulatory action should be taken.”
The deadline for responding to the CCIR on the consultation document is Feb. 28, 2006.