The general insurance council of the Alberta Insurance Council has published its decision to fine an agent new to the industry for falsely declaring the completion of continuing education (CE) hours when those hours had not been completed. According to the decision, Nandini Mahajan will pay a civil penalty of $1,000, the most the council can demand in the case.
The agent is a holder of a general insurance, level 1 certificate of authority since February 2021. During an Alberta Insurance Council CE audit, Mahajan was ordered to produce CE certificates for all declared CE completed within the 2020-2021 certificate term. The agent responded to the demand with a course record which listed courses completed and in progress.
When the council’s compliance department advised that they would require the actual CE certificates, Mahajan responded with the same course results and certificates for courses that were not actually declared. He says when he received a course exemption, the course provider called the exemption a credit, which he interpreted as meaning he would receive CE credits for the course. He adds that his mistake was a misunderstanding and not an intentional attempt to deceive.
“Council considered that this was the agent’s first renewal and that they were new to the industry, however the mistake made by the agent was not acceptable. Based on these factors and the evidence before council, the council orders that a civil penalty of $1,000 be levied against the agent.”
