The Insurance Council of British Columbia has sanctioned Harpal Kaur Sandhu in an order after the agent was terminated for making three fraudulent insurance disability claims on her own policies.
First licensed as an accident and sickness insurance agent in July 2011, Sandhu became a life agent as well in March 2015. She held an independent sales representative agreement with an insurer until it was terminated by the insurer in September 2019.
In an email from the insurer, the company says Sandhu claimed that she was unable to do the duties pertaining to her usual occupation or perform her usual daily activities on three occasions. The insurer paid out $3,993.33 on the first claim, $3,971.67 on her second claim. The third claim was denied by the insurer.
During the first period she claimed total disability, the firm’s internal reports show numerous policy applications being submitted to the insurer. “This demonstrated that the licensee continued to work during her total disability period,” the regulator writes in its intended decision. The third claim was denied after the insurer determined it to be fraudulent, as Sandhu travelled to India and attended a sales convention in Las Vegas while she was supposed to be disabled.
When interviewed by the insurer’s representatives, Sandhu expressed confusion about the insurer’s definition of total disability. "She stated that she was totally disabled during the periods she made claims, but felt that making telephone calls to service her clients was important,” they write.
The council adds that she also failed to acknowledge her wrongdoing during the regulator’s review, accusing her district manager of pressuring her to continue to work. “The licensee was unaware of any formal policy in place to advise her district manager or human resources of her periods of total disability. Furthermore, the licensee was unable to provide any documentation that supported her claim that her district manager knew she was on total disability,” they write. They add that at the review, she was also able to recite the appropriate definition of total disability.
“Council has concluded, based on the seriousness of the licensee’s misconduct, that the licensee poses a potential harm to the public,” they conclude.
In addition to a fine of $7,500, Sandhu must also pay costs of $1,687.50, must complete the Council Rules Course for life and accident and sickness insurance, must complete the Disability Income Insurance Course, the Individual and Group Course, and must be supervised for two years after returning from a one-year suspension if she decides to return to the industry.
