Sep 12, 2013 | News
The Toronto Police Service and insurance company Aviva Canada have released details of a recent insurance scam that has left individuals without auto insurance coverage and cost them hundreds and, in some cases, thousands of dollars.
“With the anonymity and ease of classified websites, we have seen a sharp increase in the amount of fake motor vehicle liability insurance cards, also known as pink slips, being sold online,” said James Russell, Chief Underwriting Officer for Aviva Canada. “Consumers need to be aware that some individuals have made a business out of defrauding others and use this type of scam as a regular source of income.”
On Sept 10, Toronto Police Service officers arrested Serafattin (George) Solak outside of his Edmonton home and he has now been charged with:
- 1 count of Fraud over $5,000
- 13 counts of Fraud under $5,000
- 8 counts of Uttering a Forged Document
- 4 counts of Misleading Receipts
- 8 provincial charges of Sell, Give, Distribute Insurance Card
During the arrest, police officers seized fraudulent Aviva Canada motor vehicle insurance liability cards.
“We want to emphasize that the charges against Mr. Solak are just one instance. Other would-be criminals are trying this over and over again,” said Russell. “What people are buying from these individuals is not insurance – it’s just a piece of paper that comes with a big risk. Any driver using a fake insurance slip instead of securing valid coverage could potentially be sued for millions of dollars.”
The charges were laid by Toronto Police Service after Aviva Canada provided evidence of fraudulent activity. It is alleged that Mr. Solak advertised insurance for sale on various online classified websites including Kijiji and Craigslist. It is also alleged that he met with a number of potential victims in person, accepted cash or cheques and provided false motor vehicle liability insurance cards.
The Financial Services Commission of Ontario has also issued a public warning about Mr. Solak and his connection to a fake insurance scam.
What happens to those who are caught with false insurance?
Having false insurance means a driver has no insurance at all, which is illegal. If it is discovered that a driver has a false auto insurance card, they could be charged with a criminal offence, possibly leading to first-time penalties of:
- A minimum $5,000 fine, up to a maximum of $25,000.
- Vehicle seizure for up to three months, with the owner responsible for all storage costs.
- Driver’s license suspension for up to one year.
- For a second conviction the minimum fines double, and there is the possibility of being charged with a criminal offence.
What happens to those who have false insurance and who are involved in an auto collision?
Those having a false auto insurance card (meaning no valid insurance) and are involved in a vehicle collision:
- Will not be covered for any collision damage to their vehicle.
- Are not eligible to sue anyone else for damage to their vehicle or bodily injury, even if they weren’t at fault.
- Can be sued for damage to the other vehicles involved in, or for bodily injuries that resulted from, the accident and will be held personally liable leading to wage garnishing or property liens.
It is also important to note that if a family member or friend is driving the falsely insured vehicle, they can be charged and/or sued for damages.
What can consumers do to protect themselves?
Be mindful that if a deal seems too good to be true, it likely is.
- Never purchase insurance with cash.
- Call the company listed on the policy to ensure it is valid.
- Never meet in a public place with someone that claims to be an insurance representative. Insurance brokers or insurers will have branded websites and/or an office; they will not likely ask to make a transaction in a public place.
- Remember that even if the motor vehicle liability insurance card looks legitimate, it could still be a fake.
- Report it, report it, report it! If enough consumers alert authorities of this activity, fraudsters will be easier to capture and convict. Call the Insurance Bureau of Canada’s TIPS line at 1.877.IBC.TIPS, the Financial Services Commission of Ontario’s Fraud Hotline www.fsco.gov.on.ca/TipNow or call 1-855-5TIP-NOW, or Crime Stoppers (1-800-222-TIPS).
Excerpted from Newswire.ca.
Ontario Insurance agents – are you an Ontario Auto Expert? Take the ILScorp course, and learn more about vehicle insurance in Ontario. ILScorp also has two new online courses for BC Autoplan Agents.
Sep 12, 2013 | News
Are you considering an insurance career? Wondering where to find a Canadian insurance training course? ILScorp is here to help you get started working in the insurance industry in Canada, with several online and classroom-based licensing options.
According to Statistics Canada, more than one million Canadians were employed in the insurance and financial sector in 2012 – and there’s always room for more. Consider the following numbers from Insureconomy, a review of the insurance sectors in Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia:
- From 2004 to 2010, total employment in the insurance industry across New Brunswick grew by 49 percent – faster than all other provinces in Canada.
- The insurance industry has been growing steadily in Ontario since 2005, with insurance carriers increasing their workforce by 18 percent. Overall, the insurance industry increased total employment by over 12 percent – well above the provincial employment growth rate of only 4 percent.
- Direct employment in Nova Scotia’s insurance industry has been on the rise since 2005. From 2005 to 2008, 655 new jobs were created by the insurance industry.
There’s never been a better time to get involved in this growing and dynamic industry.
The first step to starting your insurance career is through accredited insurance training and a provincial insurance licensing course and exam.
Canadian provinces each have varying rules and regulations for insurance training, licensing and continuing education for insurance agents and adjusters.
ILScorp offers the newest level 1 insurance licensing program – the ILS Introduction to General Insurance – now accredited in BC, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The Introduction to General Insurance can be completed online any time, or register for the ILScorp Virtual Classroom, or for a live immersion classroom program.
ILScorp also offers exam preparation courses for Fundamentals of Insurance, CAIB (Canadian Accredited Insurance Broker) and RIBO (Registered Insurance Brokers of Ontario).
All of these exam prep courses are offered online, and are designed to prepare you to write the exam in your home province. They are also available as Virtual Classrooms and, in select locations, as live immersion classes.
To learn more about the insurance licensing requirements for your province, visit ILScorp.com or call us at 1-800-404-2211 to discuss your training needs.
Sep 11, 2013 | News
Residents of Atlantic Canada are being urged to review their home insurance policies ahead of what is expected to be a challenging storm season.
The Insurance Bureau of Canada says homeowners should review their insurance policies before storms hit so they know what they are—and aren’t—covered for.
Amanda Dean, the Atlantic vice-president of the IBC, told the St. John’s Telegram newspaper that the bureau — the national trade association for home, car and business insurers — commissioned a report last year that suggests severe weather events will get steadily worse during the next 40 years.
“For the Atlantic region, including Newfoundland and Labrador, that means more hurricanes,” she said. “And if some of the predictions we’ve been hearing, certainly from meteorologists… this is going to be quite the hurricane season coming upon us this fall. We want to talk a bit about what consumers can do in advance of having to put in such a claim, so things you can do, knowing what you’re covered for, knowing your home insurance policy.”
Insurance brokers and agents are trained to walk people through their policy, Dean said. And it is important to know what your policy covers.
Dean used the example of sewage backups as something that’s covered by some policies, but not by others.
“Heavy amounts of rain can fall in a short period of time,” she said. “That overwhelms any system, and sewage and other waste water can back up into homes through the drains in the floors, the toilets, the sinks.”
Dean said it isn’t about encouraging people to buy more insurance, but about making sure they have coverage that fits their needs.
“It’s your possession. Let’s be honest: buying a home is probably the most expensive investment that we’re going to make in our lives,” she said. “Some folks, if you’ve had the mortgage paid off for years and you don’t have insurance, just think of what could happen financially. You could potentially be ruined during a hurricane. A tree limb tears off, comes through your roof and causes an extensive amount of damage. Where are you going to get the money from to repair that home?”
Since insurance is essentially a pool of money that might have many people drawing from it, said Dean, it’s in everyone’s interests to try to keep claims down so it’s there when it’s needed in times of major disasters, such as 2010’s hurricane Igor or the recent Alberta floods.
For more information about home insurance, contact your local licensed insurance agent or broker.
Insurance agents in Canada are continually upgrading their knowledge, with continuing education training for insurance agents being mandatory in most provinces, and they are your best source for insurance information.
Sep 9, 2013 | News
ILScorp has added two
new courses for BC insurance agents looking to enhance their Autoplan knowledge. “Introduction to BC Autoplan Insurance”
provides new orientation training for those wanting to learn more about ICBC’s Autoplan insurance in BC, while “ICBC Autoplan Coverages and Exclusions” provides in-depth insurance training on ICBC’s Autoplan insurance coverage and exclusions.
The material in the introductory course is tailored for beginners to the industry, while the Coverages and Exclusions course reviews more details about ICBC’s Autoplan. Both courses review: ICBC Autoplan coverages and exclusions; Accident benefits; Underinsured Motorist Protection; Hit-and-Run & UMP; Third-party liability; what ICBC covers and more.
As always with ILScorp insurance training courses, the emphasis is on providing high quality information. The information gathered for both courses been supplemented, in part, by a variety of insurance sources including:
ICBC; the BC Ministry of Finance;
Insurance Bureau of Canada; and the laws and regulations for BC’s auto industry.
Both courses are offered fully online in an interactive format, complete with pre-course knowledge assessment, and a post course exam. Each course should take about one hour to complete, and offers one continuing education credit hour.
Sep 6, 2013 | News
A recent poll from TD Insurance reveals that although 89% of Canadians feel they are ‘somewhat’ or ‘extremely’ likely to know what to do following an auto accident, only 31% know the exact steps to take. In a real-life situation, how prepared would you be to deal with an accident safely and efficiently?
“Fender benders resulting from drivers making sudden stops in intersections, or pulling out of a parking spot without checking first happen every day, so it’s important to be prepared and know what steps to take afterwards,” says Dave Minor, a vice president at TD Insurance. “The actions you take after a minor accident can affect your insurance coverage, so be sure to review the steps with your insurance provider when you renew your policy each year.”
Minor offers the following tips to drivers:
- Keep calm – Being in an accident is stressful, but try not to panic or make rash decisions. Don’t accept money or admit fault for the collision, and don’t agree to just forget about it. Most drivers (87%) say they know not to accept money or accept fault, as this can affect the coverage their insurance company will provide for the incident.
- Safety first – Check to make sure everyone involved is safe. If anyone is injured, do not move them, doing so could worsen their injuries. If you’re able to safely move your vehicle out of the flow of traffic, and protect it from further damage, do so. “Your number one priority after getting into an accident is making sure everyone in the vehicle is safe. Once you’ve established the safety of the passengers, take steps to protect everyone from any additional damage by moving your vehicle out of traffic.”
- Call the police – Call 911 to report the accident if anyone is injured, if you believe that there is major damage to your vehicle, or if you think a criminal act may have been committed.
- Take notes – Include details of the accident and identification of the vehicles and people involved, including emergency personnel or witnesses on scene. If possible, take pictures or video, and/or draw a diagram of the accident scene to assist with documentation of a claim. Keep a notepad, pencil, and a checklist of things to do after a collision in your glove compartment, just in case.
- Call your insurer – Most insurance policies require you to report any accident involving loss or damage to people or property. If you don’t report an accident, it may affect your coverage down the road. If another driver involved reports the accident, their insurance company may contact your insurance provider, which could lead to cancellation or non-renewal of your policy if you have not reported the accident yourself. “Contact your insurance provider as soon as possible to inform them of the accident, not only to cover yourself and your car, but for help with how to handle the situation,” says Minor. “Your insurance provider can confirm all of the information you should be collecting from the other party. They can also offer a list of recommended repair shops in your area that can help with getting your vehicle back in shape even faster. Review your policy before repairs are made to make sure you understand the limitations of your coverage.”
TD Insurance commissioned Environics Research Group to conduct an online custom survey of 2,466 Canadians aged 18 and older, who have driven in the past 12 months. Responses were collected from February 7-18, 2013.
Do you provide your clients with information on what to do and who to contact in case of an accident. Are you familiar with how accidents can affect their auto insurance rates?
ILScorp, Canada’s leader in online insurance training has two new continuing education courses for BC Autoplan agents, as well at the Ontario Auto Expert course, to help you understand the auto insurance options available and better serve your clients.
Sep 4, 2013 | News
Are you looking to complete the Life Licensing Qualification Program (LLQP) for life insurance agents in Canada? Now you can prepare to write the exam with ILScorp’s first fully online Life Licensing Qualification Program in Canada. The online LLQP is a one-step licensing program designed to help you prepare to work in the life insurance industry.
The ILS LLQP insurance training program is a comprehensive streaming-video course, designed to give students the knowledge and skills to successfully challenge their provincial LLQP examination. The online training program provides six months of access to the LLQP Life Insurance Course in video format, a series of exam-type case studies, an online mock exam and your certification exam.
Typically students will spend between 80 and 120 hours preparing for the provincial LLQP exam, and with the ILScorp LLQP you can review any subject before moving on in the course. The ILScorp LLQP negates the need for a textbook, as all of the information to successfully challenge the LLQP provincial exam is included in the online course. Case studies, sample exam questions and scenarios are all part of the online curriculum.
Access the course whenever it suits your schedule, and from anywhere you have an internet connection. Work at your own pace and when it’s convenient for you.
The ILScorp LLQP online course is facilitated by Bob Ransom, CLU, CHFC and CFP. Mr. Ransom has been an active member of the Canadian insurance and financial services industry for more than 30 years. He has spent many of those years in the development and delivery of Accident and Sickness and Life Insurance Certification courses and related workshops. View a demo of the LLQP course here.
The ILScorp LLQP course is available for $299.95. For more information about this and other online insurance courses, visit ilscorp.com or call 1-800-404-2211.
