ILScorp What's New | July 16, 2009

July 16 /09 - Issue #20

In the Industry

In this issue

Insurance promotion on a bank's website

The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions has ruled that, for the purpose of the Insurance Business (Banks and Bank Holding Companies) Regulations, a bank website is not a bank branch.

Here are some facts about the issue.

Issue: The issue was whether, for the purpose of the Insurance Business (Banks and Bank Holding Companies) Regulations, a bank website is a bank branch.

Background: OSFI was asked to rule on the issue above.

Considerations: The definition of "branch" in the Bank Act, both in English and French, refers to physical premises. Furthermore, there are numerous provisions in that statute that specifically distinguish a website from being a branch1. Pursuant to the Interpretation Act, the meaning of the word "branch" in the Bank Act carries over to the Regulations.

Conclusion: OSFI concluded that, for purposes of the Regulations, a bank website is not a bank branch. As a result, a bank may, on its website, promote in Canada any insurance policies or any insurance companies, agents or brokers, subject to the conditions that the Regulations impose on such promotion outside a branch.

Legislative References: Section 2 of the Bank Act defines "branch" as an agency, the head office or any other office of the bank, and in French, "succursale" tout bureau de la banque, y compris son siège et ses agences.

Section 16 of the Interpretation Act provides that where an enactment confers the power to make regulations, expressions used in the regulations have the same respective meanings as in the enactment conferring the power.

• In the Industry
• Friendly Reminder; New courses added; Recession silver lining; Holiday hours

Get all the news you want, all the time with ILSTV

ILSTV has been working hard throughout the summer to bring Canadian insurance professionals the latest industry news.

Don't forget that the news is updated daily. You can access it through the website at www.ilstv.com.

If you prefer email, the ILSTV Daily Newsletter sends the day's news to your inbox, for free, five days a week. The ILSTV Weekly Newsletter is an ideal option for those who want to see the top news stories of the week, at a quick glance. The ILSTV Weekly Newsletter is distributed via email every Friday. To sign up for either of these newsletters, click here.

Issues in the industry

In the last few issues of What's New, we've been asking you what you think is the biggest issue in the insurance industry.

We've been getting great responses so far – concerns range from an impending staffing shortage to worries about the public’s view and knowledge of insurance.

What's on your mind? Send us a note by filling out the following form or emailing editor@ilscorp.com. We'll be compiling the results so we have a good snapshot of issues around the country. This is your chance to have a say!

We look forward to hearing what you have to say!

Suffering from the Recession Blues? Give your career a jump start

As the economy remains a bit sour, there is a silver lining: there has never been a better time to upgrade your skills and build a strong career foundation.

The economy, coupled with the impending retirements of thousands of baby boomers, is making skilled insurance professionals hot commodities.

Now is the perfect time to take your career to the next level.

Work towards your CAIB designation with the help of ILScorp's online CAIB preparation courses. Get all of the knowledge needed to pass each of the four CAIB exams for just over $300 each. (Plus, if there are two or more people in your office looking to take their careers to the next level, you can save even more on the CAIB preparation and other courses by joining our Broker Network.)

ILScorp can also help you kick start your career in life insurance. The fully-online Life Licensing Qualification Program (the first in Canada!) prepares you to challenge the provincial LLQP exam. Pass the provincial exam and you are life-licensed!

For more information on what you can do for your career, contact us at 1-800-404-2211.

General Insurance Agents in Ontario- Your CE deadline is September 30

General Insurance Agents in Ontario are reminded that they need to have all of their mandatory continuing education credit hours in place by September 30 in order to renew their license.

ILScorp is happy to offer hundreds of hours of courses for insurance professionals in any position, so there is plenty of choice for those who still need credit hours.

To get started, visit ilscorp.com or call us at 1-800-404-2211.

Are you in an office with two or more people who need CE credits? Contact ILScorp today to find out how a group membership could save you money.

New courses added to ILScorp Annual Subscriptions

Great news! ILScorp has just added new online video courses to the Annual General Subscription.

ILScorp offers exclusive training for Wawanesa's Salon Select insurance policy. Pampering is big business in Canada, bringing in more than $3.9 billion in 2006 (the last year for which data is available from Statistics Canada.) The ILScorp Wawanesa Salon Select Policy course goes through the policy step-by-step and addresses any issue that might arise in selling this policy. This course is available now and is accredited for General Insurance Agents and Adjusters.

For General Insurance Agents and Brokers, take a look at the series of four courses that deal with SGI CANADA's Commercial General Liability policy. The series examines the ins and outs of the CGL policy, with SGI CANADA wordings paired and scenarios to help you understand and apply the information.

Written and presented by ILScorp founder Steve Hawrishok, the courses give comprehensive product knowledge and like all ILScorp courses, they’re available online so you can access them from anywhere at any time.

These courses are included in the Annual General Subscription.

If you don't have an Annual General Subscription yet, what are you waiting for? You can have access to 170 online courses (that’s 370 credit hours!) for just $150 per year.

For more information, click here.

Holiday hours at ILScorp

Summer is flying by! It seems like we just celebrated Canada Day, and it’s time for another holiday. The ILScorp office will be closed on Monday, August 3 for the Civic Holiday. We will be open again on Tuesday, August 4.

Even though our office is closed, you can still access all of your online courses at www.ilscorp.com.

Forgot your username or password and the office is closed? Don’t worry – you can easily retrieve this information by clicking the "Forgot Password?" link that is right next to the log in button on the ILScorp home page. Simply enter the email address that is used for your eLearning account and the information will be sent to you.

We hope you have a great long weekend.

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