The General Insurance Council of the Alberta Insurance Council has levied a civil penalty of $200,000, the maximum allowable in the case, against Lonny Ladouceur for providing false and misleading information in insurance transactions.
The council’s case against the agent began when Ladouceur himself reported that he had completed applications for auto insurance, falsifying addresses so clients could receive lower premiums. He asked for grace in the matter so that he could continue his career.
The decision in the case then documents a litany of transgressions that include leaving multiple clients uninsured without their knowledge, policies cancelled for nonpayment because fees the agent collected were not remitted to the agency or insurer (the decision does not discuss misappropriation) and many instances where drivers were not updated and vehicles were not removed from policies. In one instance, a stolen trailer was not covered, as it had never been added to the client’s policy in the first place. In another, a client was being contacted by a collections agency for premiums already paid to Ladouceur.
The insurance council took particular issue with the fact that the agent did not collect signed fee agreements, as required by the Insurance Act in Alberta. All told, in 40 documented incidents the agent “took actions that negatively impacted clients in insurance transactions,” the decision states.
Licensed periodically since July 2003, the general insurance, level 2 agency certificate of authority held by Ladouceur expired in June 2023.
“The council finds, on 40 counts, the agent’s conduct was intentional and it is fraud, deceit, dishonesty, untrustworthiness and/or misrepresentation,” the decision concludes. The council, allowed to impose a civil penalty not exceeding $5,000 per demonstrated offence, imposed the maximum allowable penalty.
