Proposed regulation governing administrative penalties imposed under the Insurance Act
Regulation Number(s):
NA
Instrument Type:
Regulation - LGIC
Bill or Act:
Insurance Act
Summary of Decision:
The Insurance Act has been amended to provide the Superintendent of Financial Services with the authority to impose administrative penalties for contravening a requirement established under the Act, and provide the Lieutenant Governor in Council the power to make regulations governing administrative penalties imposed under the Act.
Ontario Regulation 408/12 (Administrative Penalties) has been approved to govern administrative penalties imposed under the Act.
Further Information:
Proposal Number:
12-MOF023
Posting Date:
October 31, 2012
Summary of Proposal:
Bill 55, the Strong Action for Ontario Act (Budget Measures), 2012 amended the Insurance Act to provide the Superintendent of Financial Services with the authority to impose administrative penalties for contravening a requirement established under the Act, and provide the Lieutenant Governor in Council the power to make regulations governing administrative penalties imposed under the Act.
The Insurance Act amendments would be proclaimed in force at the same time as the regulations.
The proposed administrative penalties regulation under the Insurance Act may:
· Prescribe provisions of the Act or the regulations for the purposes of general or summary administrative penalties;
· Prescribe criteria the Superintendent is required or permitted to consider when imposing a general or summary administrative penalty;
· Prescribe the amount of a penalty, or the method for calculating the amount of a penalty, and prescribe different penalties or ranges of penalties for different types of contraventions or failures to comply and for different classes of persons;
· Authorize the Superintendent to determine the amount of a penalty, if the amount of the penalty or the method for calculating the amount of the penalty is not prescribed, and prescribe criteria the Superintendent is required or permitted to consider when determining this;
· Authorize a penalty to be imposed for each day or part of a day on which a contravention or failure to comply continues;
· Authorize higher penalties for a second or subsequent contravention or failure to comply by a person;
· Govern the manner of paying the penalties;
· Require that a penalty be paid before a specified deadline or before a deadline specified by the Superintendent;
· Authorize the imposition of late payment fees respecting penalties that are not paid before the deadline, including graduated late payment fees; and
· Prescribe lesser maximum administrative penalties and the requirements established under the Act to which the lesser maximum penalties apply.
Contact Address:
Cathryn MacFarlane
Senior Manager
Industrial and Financial Policy Branch
Ministry of Finance
Frost Building North, 4th Floor
95 Grosvenor Street
Toronto, ON M7A 1Z1
Fax: 416-325-1187
Effective Date:
January 1, 2013
Decision:
Approved