The Insurance Council of British Columbia (ICoBC) has ordered life and accident and sickness insurance agent, Sajad Darbishi, to complete a slate of remedial education, pay a fine, investigation costs, and be supervised for two years of active licensing after the agent was found to have sold an unsuitable policy.

During the course of investigations into his conduct, the insurer in the case and the council found that Darbishi also failed to submit insurance business to his supervisors for review, used sales materials that were not approved by his agency and failed to keep proper client notes.

The intended decision in the case makes a point of noting that Darbishi is also licensed to sell life insurance in Ontario. According to the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) database of agent information, Darbishi’s license in that province expires in January 2027.

Darbishi’s conduct was first reported by an insurer in July 2024 after the insurer terminated the agent for the quality of business he submitted over an 18-month period. The council found that 20 of the 41 policies sold by the agent between October 2022 and March 2024 were terminated.

In total, of the 189 policies sold during his new life agent period (2.5 years), only 47 policies (25 per cent of the 189) had been reviewed by his three supervisors. The council, in its intended decision, says this amounts to conducting insurance activities as a new agent without supervision.

“Council concluded that this showed a flagrant disregard for council’s requirement on supervision,” the intended decision in the case states. In the decision, the agent is noted blaming his supervisors, saying one was supervising many new agents at a time, while another was out of the office frequently and difficult to communicate with.

The agent is also being sanctioned for the sale of a universal life policy with $150 monthly premiums. Darbishi says the amount of coverage ($322,368) was determined based on what the client could afford.

“When questioned about affordability, given the complainant’s net monthly surplus of $430 before the monthly insurance premium, the licensee stated that the policy was appropriate. He explained that the complainant wanted a disciplined way to save while also gaining protection against critical illness, disability and death,” the intended decision continues.

At the time, the agent’s sales materials were also called into question. “The insurer found that the licensee used the term ‘money’ instead of ‘target premium’ and the term ‘account’ instead of ‘policy,’ suggesting that the complainant had been misinformed. The insurer concluded that the policy did not fit the complainant’s income or risk tolerance.” (It later refunded all the complainant’s premiums.) Darbishi also reportedly referred to universal life insurance products as wealth accounts and compared them to other savings accounts.

 The complainant allegedly also told the insurer that Darbishi said he could withdraw funds from the policy within two years of issuance without incurring any fees – a claim Darbishi denied, stating that he verbally informed the client that he could not withdraw funds. “The client notes did not reflect this,” the intended decision notes.

The insurance council ordered the agent to complete coursework. (Detailed below.) Darbishi was also ordered to pay a $5,000 fine and costs in the amount of $1,725.

Remedial education

The insurance council, in addition to ordering Darbishi to be supervised for two years of active licensing, also required the agent to complete the following before the end of July 2026:

  • The Council Rules Course for Life and/or Accident & Sickness Insurance Agents
  • The Compliance Toolkit: Know Your Client and Fact-Finding course (available through Advocis)
  • The Compliance Toolkit: Know Your Product and Suitability course (available through Advocis)
  • The Compliance Toolkit: Marketing and Communications course (available through Advocis)
  • The Challenge of Documenting Nothing course (available through Advocis)
  • Making Choices I, II, & III: Ethics and Professional Responsibility in Practice courses (available through Advocis)