Insurance agents who want to sell life and accident & sickness insurance in Ontario must apply for a licence with the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA).
About the licence
Sponsorship required with an insurer
As a new life and accident & sickness agent, you must be sponsored by a licensed insurer for your first two years.
- Your sponsoring insurer is responsible for confirming you meet all licensing requirements, and for managing the application process for your licence.
- As the agent, you are responsible for maintaining your licence, such as completing your continuing education (CE) credits maintaining your errors and omissions (E&O) insurance.
Once you have completed your first two years as an agent, you will move to a non-sponsored licence. You can still be connected to the insurer that you started out with, but you will be responsible for renewing your licence.
Fee for a new application
The fee to apply for a new life and accident & sickness licence is $170. This fee will cover the first two years of your licence.
Depending on the arrangement you have with your sponsoring insurer, the insurer may pay the fee OR you may be responsible for paying this fee. Check with your sponsoring insurer for details.
What are the requirements for a new licence?
Education program required for new applicants
Before you apply for a life and accident & sickness licence, you must complete the Life Licence Qualification Program (LLQP). There are two steps:
- Complete the LLQP course. You can find more information, including an overview and a list of approved course providers at About the LLQP course.
- Pass the LLQP exam. You can find more information, including a description, fees and registration link at About the LLQP exam.
Once you have passed the LLQP exam, you have one year to apply for your licence from your “first pass” date.
Note: once you become a licensed life and accident & sickness agent, there are continuing education (CE) requirements that you will need to maintain.
Errors and omissions insurance
As a life and accident & sickness insurance agent, you are required to have an active errors and omissions (E&O) insurance policy. The policy must:
- be in the same legal name that you will use for your agent licence
- include at least a $1 million limit for a single occurrence
- include extended coverage for loss resulting in fraudulent acts
You will need to have the E&O insurance coverage for as long as you hold your licence, regardless of whether you’re actively selling insurance. FSRA conducts random audits to ensure agents are complying with this requirement.
As a newly licensed agent, you may be covered by your sponsoring insurer’s E&O policy. Ask your sponsoring insurer for the following:
- a copy of the E&O certificate showing your legal name
- the policy number and insurance company
- the expiry date of the policy
It is your responsibility to provide any changes to the E&O information to FSRA through Licensing Link.
Checklist for a new licence
Review this checklist to ensure you are ready to apply for a new licence.
Requirements:
- Be sponsored by a licensed insurer throughout your first two years as an agent.
- Complete the LLQP course and exam, with a “first pass” date within 1 year of applying for your licence.
- Ensure you have the appropriate E&O insurance in the same legal name that you will use for your licence.
- If your sponsoring insurer will cover your E&O insurance, check with your insurer for a copy of the certificate and the expiry date.
- Have an Ontario mailing address that can receive registered mail (e.g., no postal boxes).
- Have a personal email address that FSRA can use to contact you.
- Be suitable for a licence.
Once you have met all of these requirements, you are ready to begin the application process.
Ready to apply for a new licence?
1. Ask your sponsoring insurer to set up the new application on your behalf through Licensing Link.
- Your sponsoring insurer will be asked to verify that you are suitable to hold a licence and disclose any details that may be important for the regulator to know.
- Depending on the arrangement, your sponsoring insurer may pay the application fee.
2. Your sponsoring insurer will send you an email with two (2) links:
- In the first link, you will be required to complete a criminal background check through FSRA’s approved vendor Triton Canada (Triton).
New Criminal Record check process
FSRA is changing its licensing process for criminal background checks to ensure the processes remain up to date. Criminal record checks are part of FSRA’s rigorous licence qualification process to protect consumers by ensuring only suitable individuals sell or offer financial products and services in Ontario.
FSRA now requires licence applicants to complete their criminal record checks through our approved vendor Triton. You must use FSRA’s link directing you to Triton’s website. After completing the background check, you will then return to your sponsoring application email and complete your licensing application on FSRA’s website. Please note that a fee of $19.15 applies for Triton’s service, and the background check is valid for 90 days.
If you have any further questions about the new background check process, please contact us.
- You will then return to the sponsoring application email and use the second link to continue your application process.
- You will need to verify your suitability to have a licence by confirming:
- You are familiar with the laws of Ontario relating to the licensing of life insurance agents.
- You will hold yourself out publicly and carry out business in good faith as a life insurance agent in the name in which you are licensed.
- You are not engaged in any other business or occupation that would jeopardize your integrity, independence or competence as an insurance agent.
- You are of good character and reputation.
- You have provided all information about bankruptcies, lawsuits, criminal records, decisions from other regulators or licensing bodies and other employment information.
- You successfully completed the LLQP exam (you will need to provide the score from your confirmation email).
- You are a suitable person to receive a licence and meet all licensing requirements.
- If you need to pay the fee yourself, you can do so on Licensing Link with credit card (VISA, Mastercard) or debit cards (VISA Debit or Mastercard Debit).
- You will then submit the application to FSRA through Licensing Link.
What happens after the application is submitted:
FSRA will send you an email to confirm it has received your application.
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For most applications |
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If the application requires additional review |
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What's required after you're licensed?
You have two years until you have to renew your life and accident & sickness licence. In that time, you should get started on your continuing education (CE) credits.
Continuing education credits required for renewal
To qualify for renewal, you must complete 30 CE credits over the next two years. Keep your certificates of completion for at least 4 years.
What qualifies as a CE credit?
The course must be related to the technical aspects of life insurance to qualify as a CE credit. Here are just some examples of what qualifies and what doesn't.
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Qualifies for CE credit |
Does not qualify for CE credit |
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