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World Insurance Report

Time to back the consumer

Canada’s strict rules on insurance sales within banks look unlikely to change dramatically in the near future but lobbying has begun for some modifications. Raymond Protti, president and chief executive officer of the Canadian Bankers Association, says the insurance industry can handle the competition. Much has changed since the decision in 2001 not to alter the rules restricting insurance sales by banks and some of the absurdities should now be addressed, Mr Protti says.

By far the most important item left on the table from the last Bank Act review in 2001 is what’s usually referred to as “insurance retailing by banks”. These are the prohibitions in the Bank Act on virtually all insurance activities in bank branches, in particular the sale of insurance. These prohibitions have been in place for decades. They have never made sense and they don’t make sense now, particularly for consumers who are trying to navigate the complicated and confusing insurance marketplace. In fact, in all the previous rounds of legislative reform, the interests of the consumer have been lost in what is turned into an “insurer vs. bank” debate.

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