(December 19 – 10:00 ET) – Consumers are better protected when life insurance companies establish high standards of conduct and compliance, according to a report released today by the Financial Services Commission of Ontario.

The report, “Conflicts of Interest, Compliance and Governance in Financial Services was prepared for FSCO by Richard Leblanc, a lawyer, certified management consultant and lecturer at York University.

“The principles contained within Mr. Leblanc’s report are applicable across the financial services industry,” Dina Palozzi, CEO of FSCO and Superintendent of Financial Services, noted. “We urge all companies to review their practices in light of this study.”

Palozzi pointed to recent examples of two companies which discovered inappropriate behaviour and took action: the inappropriate trading cases at Transamerica Life Insurance Co. and Standard Life Assurance Co.

Palozzi said both firms faced situations involving employee conduct and compliance issues where the companies detected the problem and policyholders were reimbursed.

As part of its new market conduct review process, FSCO is monitoring and enforcing compliance. “Consumer confidence in the marketplace depends on all companies setting and meeting high standards of ethical behaviour. With this report, we are taking steps to ensure that confidence.”
-IE Staff