The General Insurance Council of Manitoba is sanctioning Richard Walter Pater, fining Pater, assessing partial investigation costs and stripping the veteran agent of his level 3 general insurance agent’s license after a long series of missed emails from insurers and misrepresentations to clients resulted in his termination for just cause.
A Manitoba life agent from 1989 until 2019, Pater was also a level 3 general agent license after first being licensed as a general insurance agent in November 1995.
In addition to his level 3 license being reclassified to a general level 1 license for two years, he may not work from a home office. Work done by Pater must be conducted inside, not outside of the office of a general insurance agency and he must be supervised in person. “Virtual supervision is prohibited,” the decision states. “After the two-year period, should the licensee wish to re-obtain his general level 2 license, he must submit an application form for council’s consideration following the successful re-completion of the required level 2 education.”
The case details Pater’s failings in six client cases where he failed to renew policies, failed to respond to multiple emails and phone calls from multiple clients, many who did not know their coverage had lapsed, failed to respond to insurers on multiple occasions and made misrepresentations while trying to secure coverage and backdated policies after the fact. Pater also issued invalid certificates of insurance misrepresenting coverage for a policy which had lapsed, delayed getting quotes for months and failed to report that a client had a claim. In one case the client in question remained uninsured for two years.
During the investigation, Pater blamed stress, workload, increased staff turnover and a personal health concern.
“Agents owe a duty to their clients to be competent to perform the services which they undertake on a client’s behalf,” the council’s revised decision states. “The investigation uncovered multiple instances of the licensee’s misconduct when he failed to respond to consumers in a timely manner, failed to be candid and honest with consumers about the status of their policies and failed to respond to insurers on behalf of the consumers, which resulted in multiple Manitoba consumers going uninsured.”
In addition to the license downgrade, supervision and education conditions placed on Pater’s license, he must also pay a fine in the amount of $1,000 and partial investigation costs totaling $5,000.
