In two different decisions, The Life Insurance Council of Saskatchewan’s market practices committee has levied sanctions in the form of warning letters, against two agents for not responding to the council when their respective emails accounts weren’t able to be accessed.
In both cases, the regulator issued warning letters against Jose Antonio De Perio Jr. and Olatunju (Ola) Sunday Obidiya after receiving notification from the market conduct auditor that the licensees had failed to respond to correspondence and failed to provide proof of continuing education (CE) requested during the course of an audit.
In De Perio Jr.’s case, the agent claimed he did not receive the requests for CE certificates. It was later determined that the agent’s managing general agency (MGA) had changed the email council had on file for De Perio Jr., but it was also noted that the email matched that provided in his annual reporting form in September 2023. In Obidiya’s case, meanwhile, the agent stated that he discovered he could not access work emails in April 2023 and had been working with his MGA to address the issue since. “He also indicated that past correspondence from council had been sent to his personal email address,” the decision states.
Both had been served with a notice of proposed action and consensual agreement and undertaking – Obidiya did respond in a timely enough manner, while De Perio Jr. did not.
Despite claims that the agents could not access their emails to know the council had requested information, the decisions state that while the agents did meet their CE requirements – both provided evidence once the council was in touch with them – agents have an obligation to check and respond to correspondence from council, in accordance with legislative requirements.
