The Consumers’ Association of Canada announced today that it would be filing an official complaint with the Federal Competition Bureau regarding the anti-competitive and anti-consumer activities of the insurance industry in Canada.

“This industry continues to portray conflicts of interest, secret commissions, and steering of customers as being good for consumers,” said Mr. Cran. “These activities are not in the interest of consumers and as a result we have decided to launch a complaint with the Competition Bureau asking that they initiate a formal investigation of industry practises”.

“Our Association will also be asking the Competition Bureau to crack open the misleading use of the term Independent Broker” said Mr. Cran. It is clear that some brokers are not independent yet are representing themselves this way to consumers. “When an insurance company owns or has a financial relationship in brokerage offices who represent themselves as being independent, and the broker only sells policies from that one insurer, this is misleading,” said Mr. Cran.

“We have watched in amazement that a major segment of the financial industry in Canada has yet to agree on a simple code of practise that would require them to put the interests of consumers ahead of sales commissions and corporate profits” said Mr. Cran.

“The role of the Competition Act is to oversee actions that harm consumer interests and we are asking that the Bureau now investigate the insurance industry and its practises”, said Mr. Cran. The Association is finalizing its evidence package for the Bureau and will be submitting the entire complaint within the next week.

For more information contact: Mr. Bruce Cran, President, Consumers’ Association of Canada. Tel. (604) 418-8359