The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) has imposed a $16,000 administrative penalty on insurance agent Oded Oliver Beer and amended his insurance license after it was found that Beer had misappropriated the funds of his customers.
According to a settlement document from the FSRA, Beer had entered into agreements with 11 of his clients at Industrial Alliance (iA Financial Group) between January 2018 and February 2019. Beer had agreed that he would pay the policyholders’ premiums for up to 14 months if the policyholders agreed to retain their policies for at least the same duration.
Beer had directly paid at the very least $40,455 in premiums on behalf of the policyholders, since his compensation was tied to the duration that these customers held their policies with iA, the document continued. He received a total of more than $102,000 in commissions related to these payments.
But on February 25, 2019, iA informed Beer that they had become aware of “irregular” payments related to him and his customers’ premium payments. Upon review, iA found that the agent owed the insurer some $123,000.
Beer was served a Notice of Proposal by the FSRA on May 21, 2021, regarding the regulator’s proposal to revoke his license and impose administrative monetary penalties. Beer disputed the allegations and had put in a request for a hearing on the matter, but the request was withdrawn on March 10, 2022, after he entered into a settlement with the FSRA’s director of litigation and enforcement.
For violating insurance and provincial laws, Beer has been ordered to pay an administrative penalty of $16,000 – of which at least $6,500 shall be paid to FSRA. He has also been ordered to complete a professional ethics course through an FSRA-approved Life Licence Qualification Program by June 30, 2022. His license has also been amended so that he cannot conduct insurance business without the direct supervision of his designated supervisor. Beer is also required to report his insurance activities to the president of his managing general agency, Toronto Mutual Group.
Documents have also noted that Beer has already repaid iA.
