The General Insurance Council of Saskatchewan (GICS) has entered into a consensual agreement and undertaking with Signature Risk Partners Inc., after it was discovered the managing general agency had been working without a license for more than three years in the province, between 2022 and 2025.
The firm’s unlicensed status was discovered by a broker who refused to pay an invoice for risk from the company, on the basis that Signature was not licensed.
The firm’s license, in place from November 2017 until January 2022, was cancelled after their consumer protection bond was cancelled by Intact Insurance Company and not replaced. When the broker noted the firm’s unlicensed status, Signature inquired with the regulator, which in turn led to an investigation.
When the suspended license was discovered, the firm also stopped conducting business in the province. In the undertaking, it is noted that all of the affected policyholders are represented by licensed local brokers. “Signature did not have direct dealings with Saskatchewan residents,” the agreement states.
In determining an appropriate penalty, the council reviewed its own undertakings involving unlicensed activity over the past decade. Penalties ranged between $500 and $7,100. It then turned to two recent decisions from outside of the province, using one from the Alberta Insurance Council (AIC) where the agent in question was fined $75 per demonstrated offence, for a total civil penalty of $5,025.
Given that the length of unlicensed activity and the mitigating factors in the case were most similar to this decision, the council says accordingly, a per-instance approach is appropriate. Based on 137 policies written during the period in question, the council decided to fine Signature $10,275. It also assessed investigation costs totalling $2,200.
