Speaking exclusively to The Insurance and Investment Journal, RBC Insurance has confirmed that its 2016 advisor sales conference held in Maui next month will be their last.

RBC Insurance said they had been reviewing these conferences for a while, and given the CLHIA’s recommendations they decided to end theirs in 2016, and planned to deliver more educational conferences going forward.

“We will be looking to deliver quality educational events for select independent advisors focused on the industry, clients and practice management,” said Gopal Bansal, spokesperson for RBC Insurance.

This news comes in the wake of the recent decisions made by Great West Life/Canada Life and Manulife to put an end to their sales-volume based travel conferences. Other insurers are expected to follow.

Follows CLHIA report on insurance distribution

These decisions follow a recent report by the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association (CLHIA) on insurance distribution in Canada. The report said travel incentives could contribute to a “perception of a conflict of interest.”

CLHIA vice president of Distribution and Pensions, Leslie Byrnes said their recommendations sought to end the perception of a conflict of interest.

“Our recommendation is manufacturers that distribute through independent channels should be restricted from offering conferences in which they pay for advisors to attend. The advisor should pay their own expenses to attend, and this would remove the perception of a conflict of interest,” she said.