Sep 18, 2013 | News
Is the upcoming general insurance continuing education deadline causing in stress in your office? It’s human nature to wait until the last minute, so Ontario Insurance agents – we’re here for you. Ask around your office, and you’ll probably find five or more people who need to complete their CE hours by the Sept. 30 deadline, which is why ILScorp offers group subscriptions to our online continuing education courses.
If you have a group of five or more employees who need to complete their CE courses in order to meet insurance licensing requirements, then a group subscription to ILScorp’s online General Insurance continuing education courses may be the perfect solution to your agency’s insurance training needs.
ILScorp provides online insurance training for more than 22,000 Canadian insurance professionals each year, and the General Insurance subscription offers access to more than 160 courses and 300+ credits hours. Individual subscriptions are priced at only $175, but with a group of five or more, save $50/pp. Group members get unlimited one-year access to ILScorp’s extensive General Insurance CE course catalogue. Individual subscriptions provide six months of access.
Why choose ILS?
- All of our courses are accredited and are written by insurance training experts.
- Our text and video courses engage the user so the learning experience is both interesting and entertaining.
- Access your online insurance CE courses from anywhere you have an Internet connection.
- 160+ courses means you’ll find something relevant to your career.
- 50+ courses have been recently updated and re-accredited.
- Buy now for instant access. Register or renew online and get started today.
Learn more about group subscriptions at ILScorp.com or call 1-800-404-2211 and get started today.
Continuing Education with ILScorp – Fast, Easy, Done!
Sep 17, 2013 | News
Fall is a busy time here at the ILScorp offices with live classes, new courses being launched and continuing education deadlines coming up in Ontario and Alberta.
We want to wish good luck to the approximately 30 students taking part in West Coast Training’s Live Immersion Class in Vancouver this week. By Friday, they’ll be writing their ILS Introduction to General Insurance level 1 licensing exams, and be ready to start their insurance careers! These classes have an average pass rate of 80-85%, thanks in part to the dynamic insurance training by Todd Hochban. But even if you can’t make it to Vancouver, you can still learn from Todd through the ILS online video version of the insurance licensing program.
Some of our team will also be heading to the Westin Bear Mountain Resort in Victoria in a few weeks to host a customized 5-day insurance training course for a group of commercial insurance agents from across Western Canada.
Our development staff have been working hard as we’ve launched new online courses in recent weeks, including: two courses for ICBC Autoplan insurance agents in BC; and an Introduction to Public Sector Procurement, including one specific to Atlantic Canada. These courses, along with the more than 50 recently updated and re-accredited Continuing Education courses, can all be purchased from the ILScorp website.
And the phones and emails are keeping our customer service staff busy, as insurance professionals in Ontario are nearing their continuing education deadline of Sept. 30. This is followed a month later by the Alberta insurance CE deadline of Oct.31. Our staff are here to help Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. – 5 pm Pacific Time at 1-800-404-2211, or you can register for your courses online anytime.
You can always follow our blog to learn more about what’s new at ILS and in the insurance industry, or sign up for the ILStv daily or weekly newsletters and get Canadian insurance news delivered to your inbox.
So that’s what we’ve been up to, now how about you? Are you settling into the busy fall season? Do you see an upswing in business after the summer? Leave us a comment below!
Sep 12, 2013 | News
The Toronto Police Service and insurance company Aviva Canada have released details of a recent insurance scam that has left individuals without auto insurance coverage and cost them hundreds and, in some cases, thousands of dollars.
“With the anonymity and ease of classified websites, we have seen a sharp increase in the amount of fake motor vehicle liability insurance cards, also known as pink slips, being sold online,” said James Russell, Chief Underwriting Officer for Aviva Canada. “Consumers need to be aware that some individuals have made a business out of defrauding others and use this type of scam as a regular source of income.”
On Sept 10, Toronto Police Service officers arrested Serafattin (George) Solak outside of his Edmonton home and he has now been charged with:
- 1 count of Fraud over $5,000
- 13 counts of Fraud under $5,000
- 8 counts of Uttering a Forged Document
- 4 counts of Misleading Receipts
- 8 provincial charges of Sell, Give, Distribute Insurance Card
During the arrest, police officers seized fraudulent Aviva Canada motor vehicle insurance liability cards.
“We want to emphasize that the charges against Mr. Solak are just one instance. Other would-be criminals are trying this over and over again,” said Russell. “What people are buying from these individuals is not insurance – it’s just a piece of paper that comes with a big risk. Any driver using a fake insurance slip instead of securing valid coverage could potentially be sued for millions of dollars.”
The charges were laid by Toronto Police Service after Aviva Canada provided evidence of fraudulent activity. It is alleged that Mr. Solak advertised insurance for sale on various online classified websites including Kijiji and Craigslist. It is also alleged that he met with a number of potential victims in person, accepted cash or cheques and provided false motor vehicle liability insurance cards.
The Financial Services Commission of Ontario has also issued a public warning about Mr. Solak and his connection to a fake insurance scam.
What happens to those who are caught with false insurance?
Having false insurance means a driver has no insurance at all, which is illegal. If it is discovered that a driver has a false auto insurance card, they could be charged with a criminal offence, possibly leading to first-time penalties of:
- A minimum $5,000 fine, up to a maximum of $25,000.
- Vehicle seizure for up to three months, with the owner responsible for all storage costs.
- Driver’s license suspension for up to one year.
- For a second conviction the minimum fines double, and there is the possibility of being charged with a criminal offence.
What happens to those who have false insurance and who are involved in an auto collision?
Those having a false auto insurance card (meaning no valid insurance) and are involved in a vehicle collision:
- Will not be covered for any collision damage to their vehicle.
- Are not eligible to sue anyone else for damage to their vehicle or bodily injury, even if they weren’t at fault.
- Can be sued for damage to the other vehicles involved in, or for bodily injuries that resulted from, the accident and will be held personally liable leading to wage garnishing or property liens.
It is also important to note that if a family member or friend is driving the falsely insured vehicle, they can be charged and/or sued for damages.
What can consumers do to protect themselves?
Be mindful that if a deal seems too good to be true, it likely is.
- Never purchase insurance with cash.
- Call the company listed on the policy to ensure it is valid.
- Never meet in a public place with someone that claims to be an insurance representative. Insurance brokers or insurers will have branded websites and/or an office; they will not likely ask to make a transaction in a public place.
- Remember that even if the motor vehicle liability insurance card looks legitimate, it could still be a fake.
- Report it, report it, report it! If enough consumers alert authorities of this activity, fraudsters will be easier to capture and convict. Call the Insurance Bureau of Canada’s TIPS line at 1.877.IBC.TIPS, the Financial Services Commission of Ontario’s Fraud Hotline www.fsco.gov.on.ca/TipNow or call 1-855-5TIP-NOW, or Crime Stoppers (1-800-222-TIPS).
Excerpted from Newswire.ca.
Ontario Insurance agents – are you an Ontario Auto Expert? Take the ILScorp course, and learn more about vehicle insurance in Ontario. ILScorp also has two new online courses for BC Autoplan Agents.
Sep 12, 2013 | News
Are you considering an insurance career? Wondering where to find a Canadian insurance training course? ILScorp is here to help you get started working in the insurance industry in Canada, with several online and classroom-based licensing options.
According to Statistics Canada, more than one million Canadians were employed in the insurance and financial sector in 2012 – and there’s always room for more. Consider the following numbers from Insureconomy, a review of the insurance sectors in Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia:
- From 2004 to 2010, total employment in the insurance industry across New Brunswick grew by 49 percent – faster than all other provinces in Canada.
- The insurance industry has been growing steadily in Ontario since 2005, with insurance carriers increasing their workforce by 18 percent. Overall, the insurance industry increased total employment by over 12 percent – well above the provincial employment growth rate of only 4 percent.
- Direct employment in Nova Scotia’s insurance industry has been on the rise since 2005. From 2005 to 2008, 655 new jobs were created by the insurance industry.
There’s never been a better time to get involved in this growing and dynamic industry.
The first step to starting your insurance career is through accredited insurance training and a provincial insurance licensing course and exam.
Canadian provinces each have varying rules and regulations for insurance training, licensing and continuing education for insurance agents and adjusters.
ILScorp offers the newest level 1 insurance licensing program – the ILS Introduction to General Insurance – now accredited in BC, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The Introduction to General Insurance can be completed online any time, or register for the ILScorp Virtual Classroom, or for a live immersion classroom program.
ILScorp also offers exam preparation courses for Fundamentals of Insurance, CAIB (Canadian Accredited Insurance Broker) and RIBO (Registered Insurance Brokers of Ontario).
All of these exam prep courses are offered online, and are designed to prepare you to write the exam in your home province. They are also available as Virtual Classrooms and, in select locations, as live immersion classes.
To learn more about the insurance licensing requirements for your province, visit ILScorp.com or call us at 1-800-404-2211 to discuss your training needs.
Sep 11, 2013 | News
Residents of Atlantic Canada are being urged to review their home insurance policies ahead of what is expected to be a challenging storm season.
The Insurance Bureau of Canada says homeowners should review their insurance policies before storms hit so they know what they are—and aren’t—covered for.
Amanda Dean, the Atlantic vice-president of the IBC, told the St. John’s Telegram newspaper that the bureau — the national trade association for home, car and business insurers — commissioned a report last year that suggests severe weather events will get steadily worse during the next 40 years.
“For the Atlantic region, including Newfoundland and Labrador, that means more hurricanes,” she said. “And if some of the predictions we’ve been hearing, certainly from meteorologists… this is going to be quite the hurricane season coming upon us this fall. We want to talk a bit about what consumers can do in advance of having to put in such a claim, so things you can do, knowing what you’re covered for, knowing your home insurance policy.”
Insurance brokers and agents are trained to walk people through their policy, Dean said. And it is important to know what your policy covers.
Dean used the example of sewage backups as something that’s covered by some policies, but not by others.
“Heavy amounts of rain can fall in a short period of time,” she said. “That overwhelms any system, and sewage and other waste water can back up into homes through the drains in the floors, the toilets, the sinks.”
Dean said it isn’t about encouraging people to buy more insurance, but about making sure they have coverage that fits their needs.
“It’s your possession. Let’s be honest: buying a home is probably the most expensive investment that we’re going to make in our lives,” she said. “Some folks, if you’ve had the mortgage paid off for years and you don’t have insurance, just think of what could happen financially. You could potentially be ruined during a hurricane. A tree limb tears off, comes through your roof and causes an extensive amount of damage. Where are you going to get the money from to repair that home?”
Since insurance is essentially a pool of money that might have many people drawing from it, said Dean, it’s in everyone’s interests to try to keep claims down so it’s there when it’s needed in times of major disasters, such as 2010’s hurricane Igor or the recent Alberta floods.
For more information about home insurance, contact your local licensed insurance agent or broker.
Insurance agents in Canada are continually upgrading their knowledge, with continuing education training for insurance agents being mandatory in most provinces, and they are your best source for insurance information.
Sep 9, 2013 | News
ILScorp has added two
new courses for BC insurance agents looking to enhance their Autoplan knowledge. “Introduction to BC Autoplan Insurance”
provides new orientation training for those wanting to learn more about ICBC’s Autoplan insurance in BC, while “ICBC Autoplan Coverages and Exclusions” provides in-depth insurance training on ICBC’s Autoplan insurance coverage and exclusions.
The material in the introductory course is tailored for beginners to the industry, while the Coverages and Exclusions course reviews more details about ICBC’s Autoplan. Both courses review: ICBC Autoplan coverages and exclusions; Accident benefits; Underinsured Motorist Protection; Hit-and-Run & UMP; Third-party liability; what ICBC covers and more.
As always with ILScorp insurance training courses, the emphasis is on providing high quality information. The information gathered for both courses been supplemented, in part, by a variety of insurance sources including:
ICBC; the BC Ministry of Finance;
Insurance Bureau of Canada; and the laws and regulations for BC’s auto industry.
Both courses are offered fully online in an interactive format, complete with pre-course knowledge assessment, and a post course exam. Each course should take about one hour to complete, and offers one continuing education credit hour.
