Insurance council orders close supervision after agent reported by company

The Insurance Council of British Columbia has issued an order requiring life accident and sickness insurance agent, Yanzhi (Carolyn) Jia to be supervised for two years after an insurer reported her for submitting 50 unique applications where the residential address and payor information were the same. “The licensee was listed as the payor for all applications, which were closed prior to any contract issue after the insurer requested supporting documentation for the transactions,” the council’s intended decision states. 

The regulator stopped short of fining the agent for her conduct.

Licensed since June 2020, an insurer submitted a life agent reporting form (LARF) disclosing Jia’s application activity, which occurred over the course of two days in November 2020.

All 50 clients shared the same address because they lived at a Canadian university, according to Jia. “She put herself as the payor on the applications because many of them were international students in Canada and were not able to set up a Canadian bank account at the time of the applications,” the decision continues.

When the council sent emails to clients listed in the information provided by the insurer, all emails were returned as undeliverable. Further research confirmed that 23 of the telephone numbers listed on the applications were associated with local businesses.

The applications were made by members of Jia’s skiing group. After the insurer informed Jia that she could not use her personal banking information, the applications were closed. When asked if she checked the identities of all 50 clients, she further confirmed that she only checked IDs for 25 or 30 clients. Many only had student IDs as their identification.

“Council had difficulty accepting the speed at which the licensee processed the applications,” they write. “There was insufficient evidence to prove that the licensee was dishonest in her responses to council, although there were concerns about the licensee’s credibility.” 

The intended decision goes on to say Jia showed a lack of basic understanding of the business of insurance and did not act in a competent manner with clients. “Also, there was no evidence to suggest that the licensee adequately considered the clients’ needs.” 

In addition to the two-year period of supervision the council ordered, it also ordered Jai to pay investigation costs in the amount of $2,625 and ordered her to complete remedial coursework.