After a client’s written complaint to the Registered Insurance Brokers of Ontario (RIBO) regarding the non-renewal of their rental property insurance policy, the broker in the case is being reprimanded after mail indicating as much to the client was delivered to the wrong address.
Ryan David Myers, agreed he was guilty of misconduct after his firm’s own processes failed to bring the non-renewal to the client’s attention before coverage expired.
In December 2020, an insurermailed a non-renewal notice to the complainant saying it would not insure a standalone rental property and the coverage would cease January 30, 2021. The insurer set the non-renewal notice by regular mail which was delivered to a neighbour’s address by mistake while the neighbour was out of the country. By the time the correspondence came to the client’s attention, the property had been without coverage for three days.
Although the brokerage became aware of the insurers’ position on December 16, 2020, the notice letter was not scanned into the broker management system until more than a month later, on January 22, 2021. When Myers became aware of the situation, eight days before the client’s coverage was set to expire, he sent a registered letter, which was also delayed, and not received by the client until February when the coverage had expired.
“In the panel’s view, this was an urgent situation that warranted attempts at immediate contact by phone or e-mail, documented in the broker management system, rather than sending another letter which was not treated as urgent by brokerage staff,” the reasons for decision in the case states.
They also observed that the brokerage’s renewal review process begins 30 to 45 days in advance of policy renewals. “Some members of the panel were concerned that this was an insufficient time to address issues that can arise on renewal,” the decision adds.
In addition to a reprimand, RIBO ordered Myers to pay a fine of $1,500.
