Toronto, ON (Sept. 23, 2014) – The Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario (IBAO) has announced that 5 of the top 10 insurers in Canada will now accept business quotes using a standardized consent language that moves the onus of responsibility of consent to the insurer versus the broker for quotations where credit scoring is used to rate or underwrite the policy.
Over the past year the IBAO has been working with insurers to develop the broker consent language and since gaining consensus has sent this wording to their online quote providers for adoption. Five of the largest insurers have agreed to use this language and each of the BMS vendors have been sent the language to embed into their system.
“This wording will enable our Brokers to obtain consent on behalf of the insurer in respect to a quotation that includes personal credit information including credit score, as permitted by law,” said IBAO CEO Randy Carroll. “This is a big win for the broker network. I would encourage any other insurer who would like a copy of the consent language that we have adopted to call the IBAO for information.”
IBAO stresses that it has not changed its position as it relates to credit scores being used to rate or underwrite insurance, however the change in wording merely shifts the onus of responsibility for the collection and use of the information back to the insurer.
“Many brokers do not know that they are exposing themselves to risk when they collect clients’ credit information without consent,” said IBAO President Chris Floyd. “Under the previous language, brokers were responsible for the collection and use of credit information, even though they were not the ones using it. Having this new language in place will shift the onus back to the insurer.”
This language is respective to only those quotes where credit is used in the quoting process to determine rate.
About IBAO
The Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario is a ‘not for profit’ association that represents and serves the interests of over 12,000 independent Property & Casualty Insurance Brokers in the Province of Ontario. For information about IBAO, visit www.ibao.org to receive timely news and information updates.
Source: Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario
