The Insurance Council of British Columbia has stopped short of ordering financial sanctions for Joshua John Krenus, owner and CEO of Alteri Insurance Brokers Inc., instead reprimanding Krenus and ordering him to complete remedial coursework after a client was left uninsured and documents were forged to cover up the clerical error.
The nominee in the case, Colin Gordon Brown, was fined $5,000, ordered to complete coursework and was barred from acting as a nominee again for two years of active licensing.
When the agency’s strata client, whose insurance was not renewed due to a clerical error in the agency’s broker system, attempted to contact the agency to obtain documentation – evidence of their insurance to support a water damage claim – the strata was twice provided with documentation which appeared to have been falsified.
When asked about the altered documents, Krenus, a level 1 salesperson first licensed in April 2019 (Krenus is also a life and accident and sickness life agent since February 2016), told the council’s investigators that Amanprit Singh Ghaug, the agent who was supposed to have sold the policy to the strata, gave him the documents but that he was not aware of who made the alterations.
“In response to a question about who was responsible for the altered documents, Brown stated that he discussed the matter with both the licensee and Ghaug, and both said they did not know who did it,” the council’s intended decision states.
They add that the evidence indicated Krenus was conducting insurance business that should’ve been supervised without any meaningful supervision. The council also found no notable mitigating factors. They say Krenus’ flippant attitude towards the investigation was an aggravating factor. Despite this, the council stopped short of issuing a monetary sanction.
In addition to the reprimand, Krenus must complete four courses: The Insurance Council Rules Course for General Insurance Agents, Salespersons and Adjusters, the Insurance Brokers Association of British Columbia’s Errors and Omissions Prevention for New Brokers, an ethics course through the Insurance Institute of Canada and the Nominee Responsibilities and Best Practices course for life and accident and sickness insurance agents. Krenus was also ordered to pay the council’s investigation costs in the amount of $1,468.75.
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