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File an Insurance Complaint
BCFSA is responsible for the regulation of insurance companies operating in British Columbia. Our responsibilities are to:
- Ensure that insurance companies are appropriately authorized;
- Ensure that authorized insurance companies meet their financial obligations with policyholders; and
- Oversee and address statutory market conduct issues.
If you are unsure whether your insurance company is authorized by BCFSA, check the list of regulated insurance companies.
BCFSA can investigate complaints involving a breach of the legislation and regulations BCFSA administers.
You can expect the following from our complaint process:
What to Expect
BCFSA will:
- Complete a thorough and impartial review of your complaint.
- Consider all relevant facts and allegations raised from the complaint and any potential breach of the legislation and regulations we enforce.
- Respond to your complaint and provide you with information that may help you address the concerns you have raised, if applicable.
- In some cases, refer you to other resources better suited to address your concerns.
What Not to Expect
BCFSA will not:
- Investigate a complaint that is outside of BCFSA’s jurisdiction or fulfill your investigation request without supporting information or evidence.
- Mediate and solve a dispute or disagreement between you and an insurance company.
- Review claims to confirm coverage, scope or value of the claim.
- Compel an insurance company to change their decision related to a policy or a claim.
- Share information about our regulatory decision or regulatory action that we are working on unless they become public.
Insurance companies that conduct business in B.C. must comply with certain obligations when they deal with customers. For example, they must have the authorization to offer specific products or they must ensure they have a process in place to handle consumer complaints.
Some examples of matters that BCFSA can review include:
- Unauthorized insurance business;
- Unlicensed insurance agents, salespersons, or adjusters;
- Coercive tied selling; or
- Non-disclosure of a financial institution’s identity in advertising or other documents relating to its business.
Please refer to Insurance Decisions for insurance companies that BCFSA has reviewed and the results have been made public.
Before Filing a Complaint
There are various reasons why you may wish to file a complaint against an insurance company. This guide can help you determine the appropriate process for addressing your concerns based on your individual circumstances. Otherwise, you can follow these general steps to address your concerns
- Contact the representative or the manager of the insurance company.
- Contact the senior management of the insurance company, or its internal ombudservice.
- If the matter is not resolved with the insurance company and you have obtained a final position letter from the insurance company, the next step is to contact a third party for an independent review of the complaint.
- If your complaint is against a property and casualty insurance company, contact the General Insurance OmbudService (“GIO”).
OR
If your complaint is against a life and health insurance company, contact the OmbudService for Life and Health Insurance (“OLHI”).
At any time during this process, you can contact BCFSA to file a complaint. We will not be able to mediate or advocate on a consumer’s behalf. However, the complaints we receive can help us identify and monitor systemic issues in the insurance marketplace and address them accordingly.
Additional information:
- If your complaint pertains to insurance agents, salespeople or adjusters, please contact the Insurance Council of British Columbia.
- For complaints pertaining to the regulation of the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (“ICBC”) mandatory insurance rates, please contact the BC Utilities Commission. For claim disputes and appeals or fairness complaints, please refer to ICBC’s website for further information. BCFSA does not have oversight of claim disputes or fairness complaints related to ICBC.
- If your concern involves any legal matter, you may consider obtaining legal advice. You can contact the Lawyer Referral Service of the BC branch of the Canadian Bar Association at (604) 687-3221 or toll free at (800) 663-1919.
- For copies of Power of Attorney and Undertakings for insurers — please contact the Canadian Council of Insurance Regulators.
File a Complaint: Next Steps
Please complete the BCFSA Insurance Complaint Form. Include copies of all related documentation with your complaint. This includes copies of correspondence to and from the financial institution. Please also ensure your concerns and expectations for resolution are clearly stated.
File an Insurance Complaint Online (will open in a new tab)
In order to address your complaint, some or all of the complaint details may be sent to the financial institution. This allows the financial institution the opportunity to provide a complete response to the issue for our review.
Allegations of any sort of misconduct should be accompanied by any available evidence to allow us to begin an inquiry. If such evidence cannot be provided, our ability to conduct any type of review of the matter may be limited.
Please note that the Freedom of Information and Protection of Personal Information Act applies to BCFSA records and information.
We do not generally get involved in individual disputes about business decisions, service quality, legal, civil and/or contractual matters. Insurance policies are legal contracts and the rights and responsibilities of both parties involved are written within the agreement. Resolving individual claims disputes between policyholders and insurance companies is the responsibility of the court system.
If a complaint involves an issue about a financial institution which BCFSA regulates but is a matter which does not generally fall within our authority, you can still submit your complaint. You will receive correspondence acknowledging we have received your complaint, but no inquiry will be conducted. The complaint will be logged and kept in our file.
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