Study 5 - The Regulatory Environment

Question 1

1) What are 4 responsibilities of provincial regulators?

Answer 1

1) Monitoring compliance of provincial legislation
2) Monitoring solvency of provincially incorporated insurers
3) Licensing insurers
4) Licensing adjusters, brokers and agents

Question 2

2) State a responsibility of federal insurance authorities

Answer 2

• Consumer protection is at the heart of all government regulations.
• The focus regulation is 1) solvency 2) market conduct 3) affordability of insurance 4) availability
• Affordability and availability are of most concern for mandated products.

Question 3

3) What government department or regulatory body is responsible for insurance in your province?

Answer 3

• FSCO - Superintendent of insurance
• Provincial insurance legislation is mainly concerned with market conduct issues, policy wordings, including statutory conditions, affordability and availability.

Question 4

4) What major issues are addressed by provincial insurance legislation?

Answer 4

• Due to federal and provincial mix of legislation, rules may impose conflicting requirements or overlapping requirements causing confusion and added costs.
• Provinces have so many individual needs; the luxury of uniform legilation has not been feasible.

Question 5

5) What do regulators control about insurer advertising?

Answer 5

How an insurer’s name appears in advertising, correspondence and policy contracts.

Question 6

7) Privacy concerns

Answer 6

• Request for access
• Use and disclosure of information
• Collection without consent
• Wording of company’s consent

Question 7

9) What is the office of the superintendent of financial institutions? (OSFI)

Answer 7

• OSFI is the primary regulator of federally chartered canadian and foreign P&C companies
• OSFI supervises and regulates all banks, trust/loan companies, insurance companies and credit co-ops

Question 8

10) Mission of OSFI

Answer 8

-To protect the interests of depositros, shareholders, policyholders from undue loss, provide a framework for public confidence.

Question 9

11) What are the regulator functions of OSFI?

Answer 9

Developing and interpreting legislation and regulations, including guidelines and approving requests as required.

Question 10

12) What are the supervisory functions of OSFI?

Answer 10

• Assessing the safety and soundness of the institutions under its mandate
• Evaluating a company’s risk profile, financial condition, risk management practices, and compliance with applicable laws and regulations.