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 In this section you will find the most recent edition of the RIBO Bulletin along with archived copies from the spring edition 1999 onwards. Feel free to contact us with any questions or comments.
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Art Despard
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Important Notice: Unlicensed Intermediaries (Wholesalers)
RIBO advises brokers to proceed with extreme caution when using unregulated intermediaries. Because Ontario does not require wholesalers to be licensed (the only province in Canada), it is necessary to exercise the appropriate diligence when investigating the credentials of unlicensed and unregulated intermediaries (wholesale brokers) before they place business. We suggest you use our online database (www.ribo.com) to check for registration, contact your local association, or if possible, get a list of reputable references. It is your professional responsibility to ensure you provide clients with the best overall service! If placing business with an unlicensed insurer, please ensure that you comply with Regulation 991, Section 10, and have your client read and sign the unlicensed insurance client consent form. For reference, see the article below and the article by South Western Group.
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Thompson's World Insurance News
Reprinted with permission from the March 6, 2000 issue. A WHOLESALE broker in Ontario for whom an arrest warrant has been issued in B.C. says the original cease and desist order against him there was based on false information. Ian Stuart Smith of Heritage International is also the subject of an investigation in Alberta, Insurance Council gm Joanne Abram said. She said it deals with unlicensed activity. An Ian Stuart, who said he does not go by the name Ian Stuart Smith, said the B.C. order will be fought and that "this could turn out to be a very, very nasty situation for the superintendent of insurance (in B.C.)." B.C. Financial Institutions Commission investigator Ken Fraser said Mr. Stuart had 14 days to appeal the days to appeal the order but did not do so. Mr. Stuart Smith said he did appeal in time but received no response from the regulator. To challenge it now, he will have to go to court in B.C. Last month, an arrest warrant was issued in B.C. for Ian Stuart Smith on eight counts under the province's Financial Institutions Act. Mr. Fraser said he would be picked up if returned to the province. Mr. Stuart said he did not know of any warrant for his arrest. Four of the counts relate to acting as an insurance agent without being licensed and the other four to failing to comply with an order under the Act. FICOM's Mr. Fraser said Ian Stuart Smith of Heritage International was using another broker as an intermediary. He was selling general and professional liability, including directors' liability. While as a wholesale broker he is not required to be licensed in Ontario, he is in all other provinces. RIBO gm Jeff Bear said the question of not requiring registration of wholesale brokers is being discussed with the Financial Services Commission of Ontario. He added: "in our opinion they should all be registered." Mr. Bear said Ian Stuart Smith's license as a broker was revoked in 1997 by that organization's discipline committee. Mr. Stuart said he is not aware of any complaints in Ontario and that he had never been registered in that province. Mr. Stuart told Thompson's the B.C. cease and desist order claims that four brokers said they were solicited by Heritage when, in fact, it was the brokers who approached the wholesaler. Two of these brokers, he said, have come forward to correct this false information. "When they start issuing documents based on false, testimony, that's a problem." He said he believes FICOM has "exceeded its authority," because neither Heritage nor the companies insuring the risk are based in B.C. Heritage has always been based in Ontario, he said, and the insurer and clients it works with are American.
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Placing Business with Intermediaries by South Western Group There seems to be more and more Insurance Intermediaries springing up across Canada. Some are acting exclusively as an Intermediary, and some are Insurance Retailers moving into the wholesale end of our business. Intermediaries are generally managing agencies (MGAs), underwriting managers, or wholesalers, and offer a variety of products and markets to the insurance broker and the end user, your client. When dealing with an intermediary it is of utmost importance to:
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RIBO President Receives Award of Merit RIBO President, Art Despard, received the Year 2000 Insurance Institute of Canada's Award of Merit. The award for outstanding service by a volunteer of the Insurance Institute of Canada was presented in Toronto on February 24 at the Institute's Annual Convocation & Awards Dinner. With close to 50 years of industry experience (he started young), Art's volunteer work in the insurance industry is both extensive and impressive. He has served as President of the Society of Fellows and is a Past President of the Insurance Institute of Ontario. A frequent speaker on insurance matters, Art has been a media representative for the industry. His work has been published in various insurance journals and trade publications throughout North America and Britain. And to top it all off, he continues to lecture extensively to industry groups across Canada and the United States. Please join us in congratulating Art.
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Decisions of the Discipline Committee
Catherine Pamela Ketcheson PARTICULARS OF THE COMPLAINT- FRAUDULENT COLLECTION OF COMMISSIONS- MISAPPROPRIATION OF TRUST FUNDS MISCONDUCT: Ont. Reg. 991, S14(1)
DISCIPLINE COMMITTEE'S DISPOSITION (02/17/00)
Patrick Lee PARTICULARS OF THE COMPLAINT- MISAPPROPRIATION OF TRUST FUNDS MISCONDUCT: Ont. Reg. 991, S14(1); 16(4)
Claude Labreche PARTICULARS OF THE COMPLAINT- MISAPPROPRIATION OF TRUST FUNDS MISCONDUCT: Ont. Reg. 991, s14(1)
DISCIPLINE COMMITTEE'S DISPOSITION (02/17/00)
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Addition & Deletions from the RIBO Register (Nov. 20, 1999 - Feb. 18, 2000)
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Staff Appointments
Susan MacKenzie, B.A., Susan MacKenzie joined RIBO in October as Co-ordinator of Marketing and Communications. New to the insurance industry, Susan comes to RIBO with a background in both publishing and communications. She holds a B.A. in English from the University of Western Ontario and hopes to complete her Certificate in Public Relations from Ryerson within the next few years. Like her RIBO predecessor Martha Grant, Susan grew up in Halifax, Nova Scotia (no connection). Due to lack of job opportunities back home, she moved to the "big city" in 1991 to work for TV GUIDE magazine. After six years of "insane daily deadlines" and several different editorial positions Susan moved her career in a new direction by going back to school part-time and accepting a job in corporate communications. At home Susan spends most of her free time with her two-year-old son Aidan.
Laurie Reynolds Laurie Reynolds joined the RIBO team just before Christmas after taking a brief hiatus from the work force to care for her four-year-old daughter Kayla. Before motherhood Laurie worked for the Management Board Secretariat where she held several positions including Staff Development Clerk and Workers Compensation Clerk. Although Laurie considers herself lucky for having had the opportunity to spend quality time with her daughter, she's happy to be spending her days among adults again.
Madeline Ross If you've called the RIBO office in the past few months you were probably greeted by the cheerful voice of Madeline Ross, our new receptionist. Madeline joins RIBO after holding a variety of positions in some pretty important places, including working for the Attorney General's Office as secretary to four judges in Juvenile Court and later as secretary to the Chief Judge of Family Court. More recently Madeline worked at the Royal Ontario Museum as a Department Assistant in the Scientific Department of Ichthyology and Herpetology where she says, "I actually developed a liking for snakes and a few other reptiles, but the fish side left me cold." Outside of the office Madeline enjoys yoga, hiking and hanging around with her six-year-old granddaughter Emily who she says, "definitely keeps me young and teaches me lyrics from the Spice Girls."
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Members of Council - Registered Insurance Brokers of Ontario
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Member Assistance Directory
P.O. Box 45, 401 Bay Street, Suite 1200, Simpson Tower, Toronto, ON M5H 2Y4
General Manager - Jeff Bear (jeff@ribo.com) Secretary - Lise Clements (lise@ribo.com)
ADMINISTRATION & FINANCE
COMPLAINTS & INVESTIGATIONS
CORPORATION LEGAL SERVICES
MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS
QUALIFICATION & REGISTRATION
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