The Canadian Council of Insurance Regulators (CCIR) has published its 2022 Annual Statement on Market Conduct Public Report, showing the number of complaints received by insurance regulators during the year and notable year-over-year changes identified during Annual Statement on Market Conduct (ASMC) collection of industry information.
Developed in 2017, the ASMC collects data from both the life and health and property and casualty (P&C) industries. For the P&C industry, commercial policies were excluded from the report’s data.
In both insurance sectors, they say the vast majority of respondents say they are in compliance with Fair Treatment of Customers (FTC) guidance and have mechanisms in place to demonstrate that compliance. Cancellation and non-renewal rates were stable or returning to pre-pandemic levels in 2022 and premium volume remained the most prevalent factor considered by insurers when measuring staff performance and determining incentives or commissions.
In the life and health industry meanwhile, the average number of agent distribution contracts in the independent distribution channel continued to increase – up eight per cent in 2022. Ontario saw a modest increase in complaints relative to its population size, while Quebec had a similar decrease. Specifically, Ontario saw an increase of 6.6 per cent over the previous year, while Quebec’s complaints declined 6.2 per cent.
The CCIR states that it expects companies conduct outreach to customers using tools such as customer satisfaction surveys. Of those surveyed, only 54.3 per cent of life and health and 62.7 per cent of P&C companies solicited feedback in this manner. “All insurers, regardless of size are encouraged to explore all possible avenues to allow the voice of their customers to be heard,” they state.
The report also looks at commission ratios, performance measurement mechanisms, claims ratios and claims volume, claims denials, main reasons for the denial of claims and complaint handling. In 2022, the total number of life and health company complaints was 6,425. Broken down, 2,848 of the complaints were related to individual policies, while 3,577 complaints were related to group coverage.
In P&C, the total number of complaints filed in 2022 was 4,528 – 4,251 were personal, while 277 were commercial product related complaints.
Respondents to the survey include 70 life and health insurers, 56 of which were actively writing new business. In P&C, 225 companies responded, of which 160 were actively writing new personal lines business.
“CCIR members see value in publishing this report to communicate observations to the industry and Canadian customers,” they write. “Insurers are encouraged to review this report and consider how their organization is conducting business in a manner that meets CCIR’s expectations regarding the fair treatment of customers.”
