Suitability and Conflict of Interest Requirements
To qualify for licensure, applicants must meet requirements established by the Financial Institutions Act and the Insurance Council Rules. This includes requirements related to a person's
suitability to hold a licence, as well as
business activities which might conflict with their role as an Insurance Council licensee.
Before registering for an exam, individuals looking to become licenced to sell insurance in British Columbia should be aware of the Insurance Council's Rule 3(2), which articulates those requirements.
To issue an insurance licence, the Insurance Council must be satisfied that the applicant:
- has met all of the requirements set out in the Financial Institutions Act and the Insurance Council Rules;
- is trustworthy, competent and financially reliable;
- intends to publicly carry on business as an insurance agent, salesperson or adjuster in good faith and in accordance with the usual practice of the business of insurance;
- has not in any jurisdiction:
- been refused, or had suspended or cancelled, an insurance licence or registration;
- been convicted of an offence; or
- been refused or had suspended or cancelled a licence or registration in any other financial services sector or professional field;
for a reason that reveals the applicant unfit to be an insurance agent, salesperson or adjuster; and
- does not hold other business interests or activiities which would be in conflict to the duties and responsibilities of a licensee, or give rise to the reasonable possiblility of undue influence.
For more information about other business interests or activities, see Other Business Activity
For information about how the Insurance Council reviews suitability, see Getting a Licence