100 Years of Cooperation for Canadian Insurance Regulators

FREDERICTON, Oct. 6, 2014 /CNW/ - One hundred years ago this year, four provincial insurance regulators gathered in Calgary to discuss ways to promote compatibility in the laws governing insurance contracts. It was the beginning of what is known today as the Canadian Council of Insurance Regulators (CCIR).

In the 100 years since then, the organization that became the CCIR has been at the forefront, promoting consistent regulation across jurisdictions and leading the way in reforms to protect consumers and maintain confidence in the insurance sector.

"Today's CCIR is focused on improving the insurance regulatory and supervisory system in Canada to make it more efficient and effective in serving the public interest," said CCIR chair Carolyn Rogers.   

To mark our 100^th anniversary, regulators from across Canada met October 2 and 3 in Fredericton to unveil a new strategic plan.

CCIR has established three equally important strategic priorities, one priority each focused on consumers, regulators, and industry:

• Align supervision with international best practices to enhance consumer protection.
• Work collaboratively with regulatory partners to grow and leverage national regulatory capacity.
• Partner with industry stakeholders to identify opportunities to reduce inter‐jurisdictional barriers.

The full strategic plan can be viewed here: http://www.ccir-ccrra.org/en/about/Strat_Plan.asp

Some of our recent and upcoming initiatives include:

• Working with the Canadian Insurance Services Regulatory Organization (CISRO) to launch the Canadian Insurance Regulators Disciplinary Actions (CIRDA) database. This database will improve consumer protection through a one stop website where consumers can determine whether an insurance agent or broker has been disciplined in their locality or in other provinces or territories.
• Undertaking a review of travel insurance to ensure that consumers understand their coverage and that they are treated fairly at the time of a claim.
• Building on the initial review and report on electronic commerce, conducting further inquiries into this rapidly changing technology to ensure that consumers are protected.

We're proud of our accomplishments over the last 100 years and we're looking forward to new opportunities to protect consumers and build confidence in our insurance sector.

Quick Facts:

• CCIR includes regulators from all of the provinces and territories and the federal Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions.
• CCIR has a permanent Secretariat staffed by a Policy Manager and an Administrative Coordinator. The Secretariat provides research, project management, technical, and administrative support for CCIR's initiatives.
• The current chair of CCIR is Carolyn Rogers, CEO and Superintendent, Financial Institutions Commission, British Columbia.
• The Vice Chairs are Doug Murphy, Superintendent of Insurance, Nova Scotia, Patrick Déry, Superintendent of Solvency, Autorité des marchés financiers, Québéc, and Philip Howell, Chief Executive Officer and Superintendent of the Financial Services Commission of Ontario.

Learn More:

We hope you'll take a moment to visit our website to learn more about what we do and our plans for the future: http://www.ccir-ccrra.org/en/

SOURCE: Canadian Council of Insurance Regulators (CCIR)

Media Contact: (for interviews or photos from the Fredericton meeting), Greg Dickson (Vancouver) 604-660 3905