About the Proposed Rule Amendments
The information below describes the rule amendments as originally proposed during the March 28-June 1 consultation.
Rule 2(11.1)
What is the proposed change?
2(11.1) is an addition to Rule 2 that would enable the Insurance Council to approve a person who would not otherwise meet the requirements to act as a nominee on a temporary basis so that an agency or firm’s licence is not suspended in cases where an agency or firm ceases to have a nominee under exceptional circumstances.
What is the rationale?
Agencies/firms are required to have a nominee who is responsible to the Insurance Council for the activities of the agency/firm and its employees.
Under the existing Rules, if an agency/firm loses their nominee, the agency/firm’s licence would be suspended, leaving the agency/firm unable to conduct any insurance business until another appropriately qualified licensee could be put in place as the new nominee.
Proposed Rule 2(11.1) provides a mechanism for Council, in exceptional circumstances, to approve a nominee on a temporary basis who doesn’t meet the requirements to be a nominee. This would enable agencies/firms to continue to operate in the short-term with a temporary nominee until a qualified nominee is available.
Rules 2(11)(a), (b), (c), (d), 2(12)
What is the proposed change?
These proposed changes to the wording for Rule 2(11) and 2(12) update and clarify Nominee qualifications.
Changes to Rule 2(11) incorporate and expand on the wording from subsection 2(11)(a) to make it clear that a nominee must be approved by the Insurance Council and that, while a nominee does not need to be based in BC, they must be responsible for the agency/firm operating in BC. Subsection 2(11)(a), is repealed, as the content is now articulated in the preceding Rule (2)(11) paragraph.
Rule 2(11)(b) is amended to include the requirement that a nominee for a life and/or accident & sickness agency have held a life and/or accident & sickness licence for five of the last seven years in a Canadian jurisdiction (see proposed changes above - "What's changed and why"). It, along with 2(11)(c) and (d), and 2(12), introduces a nominee course as an eligibility requirement to act as the nominee for a corporate licence. Other changes in these sections clarify that a nominee must hold a level 3 licence, rather than simply qualifying for one.
What is the rationale?
Updates to wording aligns this part of the Rules with the Financial Institutions Act, Section 170 and more clearly articulate nominee licence and experience qualifications as a means to avoid ambiguity for individuals applying to be a nominee.
The completion of a nominee course as a prequalification requirement to become a nominee would standardize the training that licensees would receive regarding the responsibilities and the standard of oversight expected for their role. The Insurance Council has observed gaps and inconsistencies in nominees’ understanding of their role, which can result in rule breaches. This change seeks to avoid those breaches and resulting disciplinary outcomes for licensees.