The General Insurance Council of Manitoba is sanctioning Jordan C. Brooks, a level 3 general insurance agent, after Brooks removed his client from a property insurance policy, without the client’s consent and without obtaining the proper authorization documentation.
The client in question complained to the insurance council in November 2021 after Brooks removed the client from an insurance policy which insured a jointly owned home. The timeline of events saw Brooks adding a property to the policy, identified as location B in the insurance council’s decision, before removing the client and location A, the insured home, from the policy. The refund was then credited to the remaining client, identified as consumer B, because they were the only listed insured remaining. Brooks then told the complaining client to take the issue of the refunded premium up with consumer B.
According to the insurer in the case, Brooks should not have deleted the client without first obtaining a signed release of interest (ROI) or a registered letter, both of which Brooks claims have done to save cancellation fees. “This is diametrically opposed to the requirement set out by insurer A regarding how to remove a named insured’s interest from an insurance policy,” the decision states. “Agents owe a duty to their clients to be competent to perform the services which they undertake on a client’s behalf.”
For violating sections of Manitoba’s Insurance Act which contemplate misrepresentation, fraud, deceit and dishonesty, along with sections contemplating competency and trustworthiness, the insurance council fined Brooks $500 and assessed investigation costs in the amount of $1,500.