The Insurance Council of British Columbia has fined level 1 general salesperson, Kevin Neil Aquilario, and ordered Aquilario to complete remedial education and pay investigation costs after he was found renewing Autoplan insurance policies with a higher rate class, before reducing to a lower rate class to gain commissions.
The insurance council ultimately decided not to suspend Aquilario, saying he had limited experience and exposure to the insurance industry and that he genuinely believed, based on his experience, training and mentorship that he was permitted to conduct insurance transactions in this manner. That said the council also noted that the conduct took place over 31 transactions – an aggravating factor in the case, they state in the council’s intended decision.
Aquilario was first licensed in July 2015.
The former nominee in question who trained the agent was found to have regularly added optional coverages on client’s renewals, before removing those coverages, often within hours of the transaction being made.
The Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) investigation looked at transactions which had occurred between January 1, 2019 and July 1, 2024. It focused on 649 policies with optional coverage placed by the agency Aquilario worked for. “The former nominee had completed 591 of the 649 optional coverages, of which, 96.8 per cent were removed within seven days of the initial transactions, resulting in commissions of $126,078.42,” they write.
Commonalities included that customers had not purchased optional coverage in recent years, many used ICBC payment plans, the optional coverages were often removed the same or next day and the signatures for the transactions did not match customers’ signatures. “These patterns suggested that the policies were being targeted so that the broker could put through the policy or coverage using the customer’s existing payment information, thereby earning commission on the ICBC optional coverages. Shortly after the coverage or policies were issued but before any withdrawal occurred from the customer’s bank account, the former nominee removed the coverage and adjusted the payment plan withdrawal amount.”
When Aquilario raised concerns with the agency’s co-owner about the former nominee’s activities, nothing came of those discussions. “The conduct the licensee engaged in was a product of his environment and not a reflection of the licensee’s trustworthiness,” the intended decision adds.
In addition to a $2,000 fine, Aquilario must also pay investigation costs in the amount of $1,031.25 and complete the council’s rules course and an ethics course by October 1.
