Every insurer I can place business with.

Not represented

Two companies appear on my agency’s standard disclosure form that I do not represent: B2B Bank and People Corporation. I cannot advise on or place their products. They are named here only so that a form you may see elsewhere does not mislead you.

Beyond the nine insurers above, I represent no non-insurance financial product or service provider — no deposit-taker, no investment lender, no group benefits provider.

Conflict-of-interest disclosure

CISRO’s Principles of Conduct require intermediaries to identify, disclose and manage conflicts of interest. Ontario’s O. Reg. 347/04 requires written disclosure of any actual or potential conflict. These are mine:

• I am paid by the insurer, not by you. My compensation arrives only when a policy is issued. Recommending that you buy nothing is always the option that pays me least.
• Commission varies by product. Permanent life insurance pays a materially higher commission than term life for the same client. Whole life and universal life pay more than critical illness. This is a real pull toward the more expensive product.
• Commission varies by insurer. Two insurers offering near-identical coverage may pay me differently. Ask me to show you the comparison. I will.
• Commission scales with face amount and premium. A larger policy pays more. This is why the written needs analysis is completed before any product is discussed, and why recommendations are capped at the calculated gap.
• My agency relationship is exclusive in effect. I place business through World Financial Group Insurance Agency of Canada Inc. (WFGIA), which holds the insurer contracts and supervises my advice. I have no ownership interest in any insurer listed above, and no insurer has an ownership interest in me.
• Renewal and persistency compensation exists. Some contracts pay ongoing service commission while a policy stays in force, and can claw back first-year commission if a policy lapses early. That gives me an interest in you keeping a policy — which usually aligns with yours, but not always.

Nothing on this page is a substitute for the disclosure you will receive in writing before you sign an application. If anything here differs from that document, the signed document governs — and tell me, because it means this page needs fixing.

How to verify me

• Alberta: search the Alberta Insurance Council public registry at abcouncil.ab.ca.
• Ontario: search the FSRA licensee list at fsrao.ca.

You should do this for any advisor, including me. It takes under a minute and it is the single most useful thing a consumer can do before a first meeting.