The general insurance council of the Alberta Insurance Council released its decision in the matter of Jennifer Anderson, a former general insurance agent who reportedly falsified emails, client presentations, applications and documentation which led clients to believe they were insured when they were not.
Anderson was general insurance agent from June 2003 until October 2019 when she was terminated by her former employer for misleading insurers, clients and the agency she worked for.
In a summary of events that lead to her termination, the agency’s vice president of operations wrote that Anderson was to obtain quotes from four insurers as part of her effort to earn the business of a large commercial client. She provided the client with a fraudulent proposal – no formal quotations existed to support the proposal – which was accepted by the client. After supposedly binding the non-existent quotes, Anderson then provided documents, pink cards, certificates of insurance and finance contracts that were all fraudulent. An internal review of ongoing business revealed that there was no documentation supporting the proposal. When asked to provide copies of quotes and binding instructions, Anderson provided an email from one insurer that also turned out to be fraudulent.
“This intentional deception to mislead was to secure unfair or unlawful gain by purporting to have done work that was not completed and to be paid salary and commission income from insurance policies that were fictitious,” the Alberta Insurance Councils’ decision states. The agency’s report further alleged similar fraudulent activity in at least 28 client files.
The insurance council also found that Anderson was given a reasonable opportunity to respond to the allegations but simply chose not to do so. “The public is not well-served when agents simply ignore demands like those made in this case.” In light of all the evidence, the council ordered Anderson to pay a civil penalty of $5,000.
