B.C. insurance agent banned from accessing ICBC database on privacy breach allegation

The Insurance Council of B.C. has banned a general insurance agent’s access to the database of B.C.’s public insurer, the Insurance Corporation of B.C. (ICBC), after the council reviewed allegations that the agent had accessed a third-party’s confidential information without the third party’s consent.Council’s review of the matter found the agent was subject to an RCMP undertaking to abstain from communicating directly or indirectly with the third-party.The allegations have yet to be proven in a hearing. “After reviewing information obtained in the matter, including submissions of the licensee, the third party and ICBC, council has determined on a balance of probabilities the allegations against the licensee are true,” the Insurance Council of British Columbia said in its decision and order. The council decided that until a hearing is concluded, it would attach conditions to the licensee’s general insurance licence, pursuant to section 231(1)(h) of the Financial Institutions Act. The conditions are:1.the licensee is prohibited from directly or indirectly accessing the ICBC database; and 2.the licensee must be under the direct supervision of the nominee of any insurance agency the licensee is authorized to represent.