The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) is releasing guidance to provide standards for the fair treatment of customers in the insurance sector, the regulator said in a release on Tuesday.
The new guidance will harmonize practices for the fair treatment of customers with the guidelines created in 2018 by the Canadian Council of Insurance Regulators (CCIR) and Canadian Insurance Services Regulatory Organizations (CISRO), the release said.
The guidance will promote principles that support fair customer treatment throughout the lifecycle of insurance contracts and reduce burden on licensees while setting service delivery expectations for insurers, agents and customers, it said.
“Helping insurers and agents treat customers fairly using a common approach in Ontario both promotes high standards of business conduct in the sector and protects the interest of insurance customers,” FSRA said in the release.
The regulator recently completed a consultation on the proposed guidance, with industry and consumer stakeholders expressing general support in following CCIR and CISRO’s guidance on fair treatment.
FSRA’s new guidance will come into effect on Jan. 1.