The Alberta Insurance Council has published an agreed statement of facts and joint submission between the council and Shahzad Gurmani, after the former adjuster filed a renewal application in May 2020 which failed to disclose that he’d been sanctioned for misconduct by the Registered Insurance Brokers of Ontario (RIBO) in November 2019.
Licensed as an adjuster from June 2018 to January 2021, the council was advised that Gurmani was terminated by his employer after finding out that he was found guilty of misconduct and failed to report the offence. When asked why he responded no to a question about whether or not he’d ever been convicted of an offence under the Insurance Act or the Criminal Code, Gurmani stated that he did not think an adjusting license was the same as a broker’s license.
Gurmani, formerly a registered insurance broker in the Greater Toronto Area, was fined $5,000 in Ontario and suspended for 12 months. He must also complete a series of prescribed courses, including the RIBO Level 1 Exam before he can reapply for registration. The sanctions were levied after it was discovered that Gurmani took money from clients and deposited it into his own personal accounts without ever transferring the premiums to the brokerage’s trust account or back to any of the insured’s accounts.
For failing to disclose the sanctions on his renewal application, the Alberta Insurance Council has additionally assessed a civil penalty of $1,000.
