Canadian consumers can now keep track of which insurance firms and sales reps have been disciplined more easily.
That;s because a new database called the Canadian Insurance Regulators Disciplinary Actions (CIRDA) has been released by the Canadian Insurance Services Regulatory Organization (CISRO) and the Canadian Council of Insurance Regulators (CCIR). It provides a single point of access for decisions taken by multiple Canadian insurance regulators. A link to the database will also be provided on the CCIR’s website.
The database will consist of all public actions taken since 2008 against insurance companies, insurance intermediaries and individuals licensed to sell insurance products. It’s especially helpful since the process for publishing regulatory decisions varies by jurisdiction, which means consumers and advisors alike have had to check with every local regulator independently when researching insurance companies or brokers, rather than accessing information in one place.
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However, people will only see the decisions made by most insurance regulators on the database since some still haven’t been granted legislative authority to reveal findings. Vigilant research is still a good option for consumers.
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Disciplinary actions in the new database will be presented in the same format as they currently appear on individual regulatory websites. Further, RSS subscriptions will be available free of charge and will provide near real-time notification of new disciplinary actions as they are posted by participating insurance regulators.
“We are very pleased to offer the public this significant improvement in search capabilities,” says Ron Fullan, chairperson of CISRO and executive director of the Insurance Councils of Saskatchewan. “By eliminating the need to search across multiple databases to obtain regulatory decisions, each provincial insurance regulator will have improved access to timely information that may enable them to make better decisions about their own registrants and applicants.”
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