The Alberta Insurance Council has fined Leeland Financial Group Ltd. $500 after the agency and its designated representative, Richard Lee, failed to respond to a formal demand for information when the agency was being investigated over a complaint made about the agency.
The agency has held a life certificate of authority “off and on” since February 1996, and a life accident and sickness certificate of authority “off and on” since February 1989.
When the insurance council was investigating the complaint against Leeland, investigators emailed the agency and called the agency on the deadline date in September 2021 for replying to the regulator’s demand. Investigators sent the information once more that same date and re-sent the formal demand again the next day. When investigators then tried to email the demand on multiple occasions in October, they were met with responses which showed the email to be undeliverable.
“By the date (in November) the report was provided to the agency the AIC (Alberta Insurance Council) still had not received a response to the demand from the agency,” the council writes in its decision. “The designated representative, on behalf of the agency, did respond, but it was outside of the period set forth in the demand.” (The agency furnished the council with a response to its demand in December.)
“Council agreed that the agency was provided a reasonable opportunity to respond to the demand. Despite the reasons provided by the designated representative, the agency failed to respond when called upon,” the Alberta council writes. “Council is of the view that the public is not well-served when insurance intermediaries fail to comply with demands like the demand made in this case.”
