BCFSA REPORT, INSURANCE COMMISSIONS AND, REFERRAL FEES
Guest User
On June 16, 2020, the BC Financial Services Authority (BCFSA) released a report on the first phase of their investigation into the issues in the Strata insurance market, namely, renewals with premiums at multiple times greater than the previous year’s premiums, limited coverage or, the ability for some Strata Corporation’s to obtain coverage in any fashion.
(Please see https://www.bcfsa.ca/pdf/publications/StrataInsuranceMediaRelease.pdf for the BCFSA media statement and links to the full report. Additionally, see our blog post entitled “Strata Corporation Insurance Alert - January 2020” in the News section of our website www.teamworkpm.com.)
On June 23, 2020, the BC Ministry of Finance announced they will be taking steps in an effort to address the widespread insurance industry issues facing many Strata Corporations in BC. Included in these steps, will be the order to “end the practice of referral fees between insurers or insurance brokers and strata property managers or other third parties;” https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2020FIN0033-001143.
It is imperative we advise our clients, we do not request or receive commission, referral fees or any financial remuneration from any individual or company providing services to our clients. We take this matter very seriously and view the acceptance of such an amount without the express disclosure to the client as prescribed in the Real Estate Services Act, Council Rules, as unethical. It is our policy to decline referral fees and work solely for the benefit of our clients.
Along with this information, we are providing each client a letter from their Insurance Broker, stating Teamwork Property Management has not received commissions or referral fees.
Although this does not end the pain you may be experiencing due to the current issues with the strata insurance market, it is our hope by providing this statement and the letter from your Corporation’s Insurance Broker, you can rest assured we are not profiting from the situation and are acting in accordance to the Real Estate Services Act, Rules and professional ethical standards.
We appreciate your continued business and support.
Tom Quinton
Managing Broker