Provincial regulatory body slams proposed financial legislation

Quebec’s “rushed” Bill 92 in its current form decreases consumer protection and removes transparency from the financial services industry, says the province’s self-regulatory body for damage insurance agents, brokers and claims adjusters.

On April 8, Quebec’s finance minister tabled Bill 92, which “proposes various measures aiming to modernize, streamline and reinforce the framework of Quebec’s financial sector by amending several laws administered by the [financial services regulator, the Autorité des marches financiers (AMF)],” Blakes says in a bulletin.

One of the key measures proposes amalgamating the self-regulatory body for damage insurance agents, brokers and adjusters, the Chambre de l’assurance des dommages (ChAD), with the Chambre de la sécurité financière (CSF), the self-regulatory body for professionals working in Quebec’s financial services industry. The bill proposes amalgamating these two organizations (the old chambers) into one new chamber: the Chambre de l’assurance.

“This New Chamber would carry out the functions previously performed by its predecessors, namely overseeing the mandatory continuing education, ethics and discipline of claims adjusters, financial planners and representatives in insurance of persons, group insurance and damage insurance, as well as representatives of mutual fund dealers and scholarship plan dealers.”

But ChAD says in a May 20 press release the bill abolishes professional supervision by removing a discipline committee. It also removes transparency that comes with access to information laws and removes recourse in the case of a problem with a professionals, says a French-language translation of ChAD’s press release.

“The intent of Bill 92 appears to be to reduce the scope of the activities currently supervised by the Old Chambers to limit the responsibilities of the New Chamber to sector[s] and sector classes…outside of the area of securities,” Blakes says. “A transition committee established in accordance with provisions proposed in Bill 92 would oversee the transfer of the material, financial, human and documentary resources from the Old Chambers to the New Chamber.

“This will ensure the continuation of the Old Chambers’ activities, including their ongoing…inquiries and hearings of complaints before their discipline committees.”

The bill also specifies that the AMF may, by regulation, “impose governance standards with respect to risk management, compliance and commercial practices that would apply to firms, independent partnerships and independent representatives,” Blakes says. It would also strengthen the powers of AMF and the Financial Markets Administrative Tribunal by increasing penalties to which financial sector participants are exposed in the event of non-compliance with the provisions of several sector-specific laws, including those governing insurers, financial services cooperatives, deposit institutions and trust companies.

From a claims adjusting perspective, the bill proposes targeted relaxation of requirements for adjusters to address the shortage of these professionals. “ The large number and value of claims submitted to insurers in August 2024 following the record rainfall from Hurricane Debby in southern Quebec likely led the Minister to conclude that these measures were insufficient to enable the industry to adequately meet the needs of insured persons when an extreme weather event occurs,” Blakes says.

Under the proposed changes, AMF would allow “on an exceptional basis and for a given period, the settlement of claims for amounts exceeding $5,000 by persons authorized…to electronically handle high-volume, low-dollar-value claims under the supervision of a certified claims adjuster.”

The following people could act as claims adjusters in Quebec, subject to conditions the bill determines:

• Damage insurance representatives (agent or broker) holding a certificate authorizing the pursuit of activities as such agents or brokers
• Persons who previously held a certificate authorizing the pursuit of activities as a claims adjuster
• Persons authorized to pursue activities as claims adjusters outside Quebec.

Blakes says a committee held special consultations and public hearings on May 20. “With only one day of consultation scheduled, we expect the bill to receive assent in its final form quickly, potentially even by the end of the current parliamentary session on June 6, 2025.”

Once adopted, draft regulations will be released to fully implement the proposed amendments and subject to a consultation period before being enacted.”