The Insurance Council of British Columbia (ICoBC) ordered Mengyuan (Mia) Li, a life and accident and sickness insurance agent, to pay $3,125 in investigative costs and to complete several remedial courses for breaches to its rules and Code of Conduct as a result of misrepresented employment income on a client’s Policy application, among other transgressions.
In 2021, as a new life agent, Li accepted a client, JH, a student in a registered massage therapy program who was referred to her by a colleague. Li sold JH four products; a registered retirement savings plan (RRSP); a tax-free savings account (TFSA) that required payment of a weekly premium; another TFSA that consisted of a lump-sum transfer from an existing investment; and a policy with life coverage of $221,872 through an insurer.
Although JH was unemployed with no annual earnings when he purchased his Policy, he was listed as a self-employed registered massage therapist earning $85,000 a year. Li said she genuinely believed JH was employed and that he was given multiple opportunities to correct that information, but did not do so before signing the contract.
In 2022, JH contacted Li to request a withdrawal of funds from his policy to pay for the medical care of a family member. Li advised him he could not receive his premiums back, but she created a GoFundMe account and donated five dollars to assist him.
When JH learned the GoFundMe account was open to public donations, he deleted the account and formally complained to Council. He also alleged that Li misrepresented his employment income on the policy application.
Li told investigators, when asked about her due diligence practices, that she did not typically ask clients for proof of income because the majority of her clients were her friends, and she did not feel she needed to vet that information. When asked if she ever verifies client documents, she said she had asked some clients for a screen capture of their RRSP or TFSA contribution room or Notice of Assessment, but that she did not require formal proof of those documents to initiate a policy.
Council determined that Li’s conduct raised “significant” concerns about her competency. The decision said Li’s “naivety and inexperience in the industry were noted as factors impacting her competency. The Licensee's business practice consisted of basic planning, but did not meet the standard that a fully qualified life insurance agent should offer their clients.”
Council also found that Li breached her obligation of client confidentiality when she created the GoFundMe account on behalf of the complainant. Moreover, she prepared presentation slides using the insurer’s logo without authorization.
Mitigating factors included Li’s limited experience in the insurance industry at the time, and the isolated nature of her misconduct. The Council noted that Li was sympathetic to her client, and co-operative with the Council.
However, it was determined that Li’s actions were “willfully blind when she deliberately refrained from making inquiries to confirm or deny facts provided to her by the complainant. The licensee failed to consider different insurance products when making recommendations, offered rudimentary planning and had knowledge gaps in her insurance concepts. Council determined that without corrective action, the Licensee’s practice of insurance could pose a risk of harm to the public.”
Failure to pay the investigative costs and complete the remedial courses within 90 days of the order, by November 3, 2025 “will result in the automatic suspension of the Licensee's licence,” said the decision.
