The Insurance Council of British Columbia (ICBC) has suspended an agent’s licence after, it says, he failed to respond to inquiries from the regulator about alleged improprieties with client funds.
The ICBC has suspended the licence of David Mark Stevens saying in its order that it believes “there is an immediate risk to the public”, and that the length of time required to complete an investigation and make a decision “would be detrimental to the due administration” of insurance legislation.
The order indicates that the council has commenced an investigation into an allegation that Stevens “illicitly accessed and used funds totalling more than $141,000.00 from clients’ life insurance policies for personal benefit, without the knowledge and consent of the clients”. That allegation has not been proven.
But, the council’s order says that he has refused “to make a prompt reply to inquiries… regarding the matter”, and did not attend its office for an interview after being served with a subpoena. It says that the allegation of improprieties, along with the failure to reply to its inquiries and its subpoena, “are serious and speak to his suitability to hold an insurance licence.”
As a result, it decided to suspend the licence immediately, “until such time as the licencee attends council for an interview regarding the matter, or the investigation is complete and the matter has been considered by council”. It notes that he has the right to request a hearing on this order within 14 days, or he can appeal the order to the Financial Services Tribunal.