Unlicensed Alberta agency fined
The Alberta Insurance Council (AIC) has issued a fine of $1,000 to J. Ross Allan Financial Services Ltd. for operating without a valid and subsisting certificate of authority and for acting as a life and accident and sickness insurance agent without a license for more than 14 months, between February 2017 and May 2018.
In an agreed statement of facts and joint submission to the AIC, James Allan, the firm’s designated representative, and investigators agree that the agency sold four policies during this unlicensed period, earning more than $443,619 in commissions. Allan told the AIC that the agency was not notified that their certificates of authority had been suspended.
In transacting business without a license, the AIC says the agency contravened sections of the Insurance Act which state that “no business may act or offer to act as an insurance agent in respect of a class of insurance unless the business holds a valid and subsisting insurance agent’s certificate of authority for that class of insurance.” Similarly, the Act also states that “no individual may act or offer to act as an insurance agent in respect of a class of insurance unless the individual is an employee of a business that holds a valid and subsisting restricted insurance agent’s certificate of authority for that class of insurance.”
By entering into the agreed statement of facts and joint submission, the agency and its designated representative waive their right to a hearing, review or judicial review or appeal of the decision. Allan has agreed that the agency will pay the $1,000 civil penalty.