Canada. Dept. of Insurance : Before Confederation, the licensing of insurance companies in the province of Canada was directly under the supervision of Parliament, to which the requisite reports were made by the companies each year.
In 1867, the Department of Finance was created the day after Confederation. It was given the responsibility of supervising insurance, and an Insurance Clerk was appointed for this purpose.
An increase in the Department's insurance responsibilities resulted in the creation of the Office of Inspector of Insurance, and in 1875, a superintendent of Insurance was appointed (38 Vic., c. 20). The Superintendent of Insurance was required to retain a record of the documents filed by the companies in the Superior Courts, the securities these companies deposited with the Receiver General and the licences issued to the companies. He was also required to visit the head offices of each company and examine their books at least once a year and report his findings to the Minister of Finance. The latter had to prepare an annual report showing the full particulars of each company's business for presentation to Parliament.
Thought then turned to creating a separate department, due to the government's increasing supervision of the insurance field. The Department of Insurance (9-10 Ed. VII, c. 32) was created in 1910 and vested with the authority to enforce all insurance legislation except that relating to marine insurance. The Superintendent of Insurance became Deputy Minister of the new department, which continued to be administered by the Minister of Finance, although it was totally separate from the Department of Finance from that point forward.
In 1924, the Insurance Act, 1917, was amended formally creating the Department of Insurance as a separate department, even though it had been so designated in the Insurance Act, 1910 (9-10 Edw. VII, Cap. 32). When the Insurance Act was repealed in 1932, the Department was reconstituted by the Department of Insurance Act (22-23 Geo. V, c. 45) and until 1987 by the Department of Insurance Act (R.S.C., 1952, c. 70).
The Superintendent was indeed required to act in accordance with the Minister's instructions, and examine and report periodically on all matters relating to the enforcement of each of the following acts and orders or regulations pertaining thereto: Canadian and British Insurance Companies Act; Civil Service Insurance Act; Cooperative Credit Associations Act; Foreign Insurance Companies Act; Loan Companies Act; Pensions Benefits Standards Act; Small Loans Act; Trust Companies Act; Part 1 of the Excise Tax Act.
The Department was divided into four branches - Actuarial, Administrative, Examination and Registration and Deposit - which were responsible for all the duties of the Department which maintained offices in Toronto, Montreal, Winnipeg, Halifax and Vancouver.
