Most insurance companies have complied with a new requirement to report detailed information about the sales of their products, the Canadian Council of Insurance Regulators (CCIR) reported on Friday. Those that don’t comply, the CCIR warns, could face enforcement action.
The new reporting initiative, called the Annual Statement on Market Conduct (Annual Statement), was required certain insurers to complete it by May 1. Of those insurers, 90% had submitted the form on time and 94% submitted it by May 5.
The initiative forces carriers to provide a wide range of information on the business conducted during the previous calendar year, such as the number of policies issued and premiums written, the number of policy lapses and cancellations, the volume of business done with each distribution firm, and much more.
The Annual Statement aims to harmonize the information provincial insurance regulators collect in order to help them develop a more comprehensive understanding of the national insurance marketplace.
“We were pleased with the rate of compliance,” says Patrick Déry, the CCIR’s chairman, in a news release. “Overall, the industry has responded positively to the new information return and collaborative approach CCIR members have adopted for information gathering.”
The data being gathered will be used to identify trends and potential risks to consumers, he notes.
“The information we are collecting will help Canada’s insurance regulators to be more proactive,” Déry says. “We will be in a better position to see and respond to potential risks and concerns before consumers are impacted.”
Although only some insurers were obligated to complete the Annual Statement in the first year, the CCIR says, all insurers operating in Canada will be required to participate in future years.
The type of information being collected is expected to evolve over time, the CCIR says.
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