Insurance Council of B.C. suspends agents

The Insurance Council of B.C. recently released disciplinary findings against a broker who used insurance premiums from clients to pay business and personal expenses and another agent who accessed confidential files at the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) to spy on his ex-girlfriend.

Theodore (Ted) Young Lee of International Insurance Agencies Ltd. had his licence suspended for two years and was prohibited from holding a senior position with an insurance firm for 10 years. The council also fined him $5,000 and assessed $2,125 in costs.

The council noted that Lee’s firm, which he purchased in 2007, experienced financial difficulty because of the location’s proximity to rapid transit construction. With the agency in debt, Lee used his clients’ premium payment to pay business expenses and compensate him and his wife.

“By failing to remit premiums to insurers as required, approximately 40 international clients had their property insurance policies cancelled for nonpayment of premiums,” council stated in its decision.

In another decision, the council cancelled Mohamed Alie Jalloh’s general insurance licence for four years after he attempted to access confidential information about his former girlfriend on ICBC’s database on three separate occasions “for purposes other than to conduct an insurance or vehicle transaction.”

Jalloh “did not appear to be prepared to accept responsibility for his actions and instead attempted to question the motive and integrity of everyone involved in the investigation,” the council noted in its finding.

It also ordered him to pay $28,547 in hearing and investigation costs. The improper access to confidential information took place while Jalloh was working at Johnson Meier Insurance Agencies and Allied Insurance Services.