The provincial NDP is asking questions about fines for three companies that were kept quiet.
Manulife Financial Corp., the Manufacturers Life Insurance Co. and Benesure Canada Inc. paid $150,000 in fines related to the Mortgage Protection Plan, but the settlement was swept under the rug.
The B.C. NDP is taking the provincial government to task for failing to notify the public after fining the three companies for breaking laws that govern the insurance industry.
"They were fined $150,000. It was all kept very quiet, no policy holders were notified, and we find that a little troubling," said Mike Farnworth, the NDP’s critic for public safety and the solicitor general, outside the legislature.
According to the settlement agreement, the Manufacturers Life Insurance Co., Manulife Financial Corp., and Benesure Canada Inc. agreed in February 2014 to pay the fine plus $31,152 to cover the cost of the investigation.
The settlement doesn’t include details of what happened, but the issue revolves around the Mortgage Protection Plan that the companies sold as mortgage insurance. It is unclear how many consumers were affected by the contraventions.
The companies were found to have contravened four sections of the Financial Institutions Act, including regulations that require financial institutions to identify themselves clearly on documents relating to their business, in addition rules that forbid the operation of an unauthorized insurance business and the payment of commissions to unlicensed agents.
"Thousands of B.C. homeowners purchase mortgage insurance to help protect their single largest asset," Farnworth said in the legislature. "They expect government to regulate the insurance industry appropriately."
When asked by Farnworth whether the government had notified the people who bought mortgage insurance from the companies, the RCMP or regulators in other provinces where the companies do business, Finance Minister Mike de Jong responded by saying he was not in position to answer, but would take the questions on notice and respond in the legislature when he could.
A copy of the agreement related to the settlement between the government and the three companies, that the NDP provided to reporters, states Benesure commits "not to conduct unauthorized insurance business in British Columbia," and that Manulife and Manufacturers will make sure its products are clearly explained and "are not marketed so as to create the misunderstanding that they are insurance products."
According to the agreement, the companies were to replace their marketing materials so it was clear who the actual insurer would be, what someone would need to do if they had a claim, and who to contact if they had questions. Training for people selling the product was to include "the fact that the insurance purchase is optional and that must be disclosed to consumers."
The B.C. NDP is taking the provincial government to task for failing to notify the public after fining the three companies for breaking laws that govern the insurance industry.
"They were fined $150,000. It was all kept very quiet, no policy holders were notified, and we find that a little troubling," said Mike Farnworth, the NDP’s critic for public safety and the solicitor general, outside the legislature.
According to the settlement agreement, the Manufacturers Life Insurance Co., Manulife Financial Corp., and Benesure Canada Inc. agreed in February 2014 to pay the fine plus $31,152 to cover the cost of the investigation.
The settlement doesn’t include details of what happened, but the issue revolves around the Mortgage Protection Plan that the companies sold as mortgage insurance. It is unclear how many consumers were affected by the contraventions.
The companies were found to have contravened four sections of the Financial Institutions Act, including regulations that require financial institutions to identify themselves clearly on documents relating to their business, in addition rules that forbid the operation of an unauthorized insurance business and the payment of commissions to unlicensed agents.
"Thousands of B.C. homeowners purchase mortgage insurance to help protect their single largest asset," Farnworth said in the legislature. "They expect government to regulate the insurance industry appropriately."
When asked by Farnworth whether the government had notified the people who bought mortgage insurance from the companies, the RCMP or regulators in other provinces where the companies do business, Finance Minister Mike de Jong responded by saying he was not in position to answer, but would take the questions on notice and respond in the legislature when he could.
A copy of the agreement related to the settlement between the government and the three companies, that the NDP provided to reporters, states Benesure commits "not to conduct unauthorized insurance business in British Columbia," and that Manulife and Manufacturers will make sure its products are clearly explained and "are not marketed so as to create the misunderstanding that they are insurance products."
According to the agreement, the companies were to replace their marketing materials so it was clear who the actual insurer would be, what someone would need to do if they had a claim, and who to contact if they had questions. Training for people selling the product was to include "the fact that the insurance purchase is optional and that must be disclosed to consumers."
