BC broker takes insurance decal from agency, is suspended for two years
The Insurance Council of British Columbia has ruled that a former licensee is not eligible to hold an insurance license for at least two years and must pay the Council’s $1,237.50 investigation costs after she took an Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) auto insurance decal from her agency without registering it or renewing her insurance. The Council says April Dawn Fraser, once a Level 1 licensed insurance salesperson at Capital West Insurance Services, affixed the decal to her car and drove without insurance until she was caught by the police.
The Council said in February 2009, Fraser was involved in an at-fault car accident. Her vehicle had been rated in the wrong territory at the time of the accident, so ICBC held her financially responsible for the full amount of the damages – $10,933.60. Council said Fraser agreed to ICBC’s offer to reduce the amount owing to $500 if she paid within a certain time frame, but she did not pay. In May 2009, ICBC’s collections department sent Fraser a certified letter for payment, but the letter was returned. Fraser’s automobile insurance then expired on July 3, 2009. In order to renew her insurance, she was required to pay the outstanding debt of $10,933.60 but Fraser claimed she did not have the money to pay the debt to ICBC so did not renew her insurance.
Council said that on August 12, 2009, Fraser took an ICBC insurance decal from her agency and affixed it to her vehicle without registering the decal or renewing her insurance. Five days later she was pulled over by the police while driving to work and found to be in violation of the Motor Vehicle Act for driving without insurance. She was ticketed $598 for the infraction.
“Council found the above mentioned facts constituted a breach of section 231(1)(b) of the Act in that the Former Licensee failed to act in a trustworthy manner and did not demonstrate that she intends to carry on the business of insurance in good faith and in accordance with the usual practice of the business of insurance,” the Council wrote in a disciplinary note posted on its website.
“In particular, the Former Licensee abused her position as an insurance licensee by misusing an ICBC insurance decal for personal benefit … Further, Council viewed the Former Licensee’s use of the decal as akin to theft, thereby triggering questions as to her suitability,” the note added.
Council said by driving without insurance, Fraser placed both ICBC and the public at risk. “This, in Council’s view, is conduct that cannot be tolerated,” the note added.
Fraser’s employment with the agency was terminated in August 2009.
The full decision can be read online. (PDF)
