CALGARY — Alberta's Superintendent of Insurance has revealed insurers were fined more than $3.1 million between 2022 and 2024.For what, you might ask?Overcharging their clients on their auto insurance premiums.Last updated this January, Alberta Superintendent of Insurance's Enforcement Activities report deserves more attention, so the Western Standard has prepared a list of the least-to most-hefty fines of each major insurer.The fines stem from violations of section 602(1) of the Insurance Act, which states an insurance company can only charge for coverage if the price is officially approved and does not exceed the legal maximum.The following list is of insurers charged more than the approved amount or who used a pricing method that wasn’t approved for basic or additional coverage between 2022 and 2024....1. Certas Direct Insurance Company, Peace Hills General Insurance Company, & Travelers Insurance Company of CanadaThis trio of companies is tied, all being charged $5,000 worth of fines due to overcharging their clientele on their automobile insurance premiums.Certas has its headquarters in Quebec, but it does offer auto insurance in the Alberta market. Peace Hills, is based in Edmonton, Alberta, and, of course, sells auto insurance to the Alberta market.Travelers is an American insurer with an Alberta office..2. Belair Insurance CompanyBelair was charged $7,500 in fines between 2022 and 2024 for overcharging clients' premiums on auto insurance.The company is headquartered in Quebec.3. Optimum West Insurance Company Inc. & Zenith Insurance Company Both were charged $10,000 in fines for overcharging auto premiums.Optimum West has its headquarters in Quebec, and Zenith is based in the US..4. Aviva General Insurance Company, Pembridge Insurance Company, & The Personal Insurance CompanyAll three of these guys were charged $15,000 by the Alberta government.Aviva calls England home, while Pembridge has its headquarters in Ontario.As for Personal insurance, Quebec is home.5. Aviva Insurance Company of Canada, Allstate Insurance Company of Canada & TD Home and Auto Insurance CompanyAviva again, you might ask?Yes, all three big-name insurers were charged with $25,000 fines — guilty of overpricing premiums.Allstate is American, while TD's home (pun intended) is in Ontario..6. Certas Home and Auto Insurance Company & Intact Insurance CompanyNext, here are some of the big guns — these two were charged $100,000 for overcharging auto premiums. Both are headquartered in Ontario.7. Sonnet Insurance & Wawanesa Mutual Insurance CompanyThere was a $10,000 difference between these two — but not enough to separate them on the list.Sonnet was charged $140,000 and Wawanesa was charged $150,000 for their part in overcharging auto premiums.Sonnet is Ontario led, while Wawanesa has a Manitoba presence..8. Co-operators General Insurance & Definity Insurance CompanyA very similar number for these two.Co-operators was guilty of a $175,000 fine, and Definity, a bit less, $160,000.Both are based in Ontario.9. Primmum Insurance Company & Unifund Assurance CompanyFor the sake of keeping the list at 10, here's two companies charged less than a million, but still in the six figures.Primmum charged a premium a bit too high, and got fined $500,000, while Unifund Assurance can be assured it owed the government a $625,000 fine..10. Security National Insurance CompanyLast but insuringly not least, Security National was charged a $1,000,000 fine for overcharging auto premiums to their clients between 2022 and 2024.They are headquartered in Quebec.Since 2016, according to the Alberta Civil Trial Lawyers Alberta (ACTLA), insurers have been charged $6.4 million in fines for overcharging auto insurance premiums.
