Posted January 9, 2025
On or about December 23, 2024, RIBO was notified of ongoing court proceedings that may impact brokers with dealings with TruStar Underwriting Inc., a RIBO licensee. As TruStar is a Managing General Agent that serves as an intermediary between brokerages and insurers, RIBO promptly issued an alert to all our licensees encouraging them to carefully review any business dealings they may have had with Daniel Moses and/or TruStar.
As with all Managing General Agents in Ontario, TruStar’s registration with RIBO is of a voluntary nature. As a RIBO licensee, they are bound to all applicable rules and regulations. We are carefully monitoring the situation.
As always, RIBO’s concern is with insurance consumers who may be negatively impacted. Any affected party is encouraged to contact us through our complaint web form.
Below are the messages we sent to all RIBO licensees on December 23, 2024, January 8, 2025, March 6, 2025 and November 20, 2025.
November 20, 2025
On November 14, 2025, court documents were filed by Grant Thornton Limited as the court-appointed receiver (“the Receiver”) for TruStar Underwriting Inc. (“TruStar”) seeking to bar any claims for insurance premiums held by TruStar if certain information deadlines are not met. This resulted in an Order of the Court establishing final deadlines for the submission of policy and premium information by Brokers, Direct Customers and Insurers relating to the premium trust funds held by TruStar.
The court documents indicate that approximately $32.8 million CAD and $243,000 USD was on deposit in TruStar’s trust accounts as at the date of the Receivership.
Since the date of the Receivership in late 2024, both the Receiver and RIBO have advised Brokers to confirm coverage for their customers directly with Insurers and/or replace coverage where appropriate.
From March 2025 to late August 2025, the Receiver contacted all known Brokers who dealt with TruStar to capture policy information. RIBO understands that, despite reminders, not all Brokers have responded to outreach by the Receiver and the documents filed in the court suggest that the Receiver has only received responses from 113 of 173 Brokers.
To ensure that the information collected by the Receiver is as thorough as possible, the Court has ordered that Brokers make reasonable efforts to review their records and provide the Receiver with certain information by the dates set out below. This request applies irrespective of whether Brokers wish to file a claim for the trust funds.
If they have not already done so, Brokers who dealt with TruStar must complete a Broker Information Sheet to notify the Receiver about the existence of any insurance policies (including any extension or renewal) placed with TruStar from January 1, 2020 up to and including December 24, 2024 (including policies that lapsed or expired up to that date). This includes policies issued by Merlin Underwriting Inc., TruStar’s predecessor company.
In order to ensure you and your customers remain eligible for a potential premium refund claim on available trust funds, Brokers should be aware of the following claims bar dates that have been established by the Court:
By December 12, 2025, Brokers must submit a Broker Information Spreadsheet including the relevant policy information in electronic format to the Receiver.
By December 12, 2025, Direct Customers must directly provide written notice of a proprietary claim to the trust funds to the Receiver.
By January 23, 2026 (or 42 days after receiving the Insurer Information Spreadsheet from the Receiver), Insurers must submit a completed Insurer Information Spreadsheet to the Receiver.
Subject to any future Order of the Court, failure to disclose the existence of any policy could completely bar or prevent a Broker and/or their customers or Direct Customers from making any claim for premium refunds from the TruStar trust accounts.
The Receiver will be publishing information about the deadline to disclose information about any known TruStar policies in the National Post and/or other trade publications.
The court documents and full details are available in the creditor update on Grant Thornton Limited’s website.
Brokers play a key role in protecting consumers. To examine existing broker practices about working with Managing General Agents (MGAs), RIBO will send a Mandatory Information Return (MIR) to all retail brokerage licensees. On March 10, Principal Brokers will receive instructions on how to complete the MIR online.
Completing and submitting the MIR is mandatory within 10 business days (due end of day March 21 for individual firms). Additional information may be requested and collected by RIBO in accordance with its public protection mandate. Where appropriate, RIBO may refer matters for potential investigation to RIBO’s Compliance, Conduct and Investigations Department.
Results from the MIR will be used to assist RIBO in preparing broker and MGA best practices and guidance.
As part of the MIR, RIBO will also gather information to determine the extent to which licensees had dealings with Daniel Moses and/or TruStar Underwriting Inc. to assess the potential impact of any alleged misconduct by Daniel Moses of TruStar Underwriting Inc. on the Ontario brokering sector and consumers.
Further to our correspondence on December 23, 2024 relating to the alleged wrongdoings of TruStar Underwriting Inc. (“TruStar”) and Daniel Moses, TruStar is now under receivership by a court-appointed Receiver, Doane Grant Thornton (“DGT”).
Additional background information, court orders and notices from the Receiver are available on DGT’s website. RIBO encourages brokers who have had business dealings with TruStar to read the Notices to Creditors, Clients and other Stakeholders section.
RIBO’s immediate concern is on consumer protection and ensuring that customers have coverage.
RIBO expects brokers to work directly with their clients and applicable insurers to verify that valid and sufficient coverage is in place and, if not or if uncertain, to discuss options with clients including placing alternative coverage.
The Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario (IBAO) has drafted a set of general instructions that brokerages who provided policies written through TruStar may wish to reference. These instructions align with RIBO’s expectations.
We appreciate the additional time and effort required to conduct the necessary analysis. We also know that you, as an insurance professional, understand the necessity and urgency of acting in the best interests of your clients.
It is also essential for RIBO to understand the extent, timeframe and scope of this matter. To that end, RIBO continues to gather relevant information. We have also been in contact with the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA), who are in a similar information-gathering stage.
Although it is a Managing General Agent (MGA), TruStar voluntarily holds a RIBO license and is accordingly subject to the same overall regulatory requirements as any other RIBO licensee. As such, brokers and/or their clients can file a formal complaint through RIBO’s website. Where appropriate, RIBO will take the necessary disciplinary action.
By Orders of the Honourable Mr. Justice Peter Osborne dated November 14, 2024 and December 10, 2024, a continuing injunction has been granted against Moses concerning a series of alleged schemes wherein TruStar has purportedly bound risks and collected premiums when in fact no such coverage has been bound. This conduct has put brokers and their customers at risk.
A further hearing was set to occur on December 20, 2024. TruStar is licensed with RIBO in Ontario and is licensed in other jurisdictions as an agency.
Brokers and their clients should carefully review any business dealings they have had with Moses and/or TruStar to ensure that any policies underwritten by TruStar are confirmed in writing by the insurer on risk as having been bound and premium remitted.
RIBO licensees and/or members of the public that have been involved in an invalid insurance transaction with Moses and/or TruStar may file a complaint against them using our online complaints form. Further announcements will be made when more information becomes available. Please share with your staff as appropriate.
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