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Licence Status

An insurance licence can have a status of ‘Active,’ ‘Inactive,’ 'Suspended' or ‘Cancelled.’ You can verify the status of a licence using the Licensee Directory.

Each licence status has requirements and restrictions that licensees must abide by. These are listed below. 

Find out more about the following status types and requirements: 

Active Licence

Inactive Licence 

Suspended Licence 

Cancelled Licence


For a quick comparison of Council’s licence statuses, see our infosheet: What Licence Status is Right for Me?

Active Licence


Licensees with an Active licence may conduct insurance business in British Columbia. 

These licensees are required to:

Inactive Licence


Licensees with an Inactive licence may not conduct insurance business or act as an insurance agent. 


These licensees are required to:


A licence can become inactive in one of two ways: 

  1. A licensee may choose to make their licence inactive if they are not conducting insurance business in the short term, but are planning on activating their licence. To do so, licensees should submit a written request to the Insurance Council's Licensing Department at licensing@insurancecouncilofbc.com.
  2. If a licensee is no longer authorized to represent an agency, their licence becomes inactive. Licensees are required to notify the Insurance Council within 5 business days if they are no longer authorized to represent an agency. Submit a fully completed End Authorization to Represent and/or End Supervision Form by email to the Insurance Council's Licensing Department at licensing@insurancecouncilofbc.com.


Activating an Inactive Licence


If you have an inactive licence, and wish to return to Active Licence status, the following steps apply.

Licensees must make a written request to licensing@insurancecouncilofbc.com to change their status to Active and provide documentation demonstrating that they have:


Download and complete the Add Authorization To Represent Form

New life agents are also required to complete a Supervisor Undertaking Form if they have not previously completed their two-year supervision requirement. 
 

Suspended Licence


Licensees with a suspended license are prohibited from conducting insurance business or acting as an insurance agent, insurance adjuster, or salesperson.

These licensees are required to:
A licence can become suspended in the following ways: 
  1. as a result of a Council Order decision.
  2. if a licensee does not maintain or is not covered by the required Errors and Omissions Insurance for more than 30 calendar days.
  3. if an individual life and/or A&S agent does not have a contract with at least one insurer authorized to do life and/or A&S insurance business in BC for more than 21 calendar days.
  4. if an insurance agency or adjusting firm no longer has a licensed nominee.
  5. if a life and/or A&S insurance agency does not have a written agreement to represent at least one insurer authorized to do life and/or insurance business in BC, except where approved by Council, for more than 21 calendar days.
  6. if a general insurance agency does not have a written agreement to represent and collect premiums on behalf of at least one insurer authorized to do general insurance business in BC, other than the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia, except where approved by Council, for more than 21 calendar days.
  7. if a licensee applies and is granted deferral under the CE deferral program.
 

Reinstating a Suspended Licence


If your licence is suspended, you cannot change it to inactive status. If you wish to return to active licence status, the following steps apply. Please note that certain steps may not apply to agencies or firms.

Licensees must make a written request to licensing@insurancecouncilofbc.com to change their status to Active and provide documentation demonstrating that they have:
Download and complete the Add Authorization To Represent Form

New life agents are also required to complete a Supervisor Undertaking Form if they have not previously completed their two-year supervision requirement. 
 
Note: The suspended licensee is prohibited from engaging in any insurance activities until the Insurance Council approves their request to lift the suspension and their licence is active again.
 

Cancelled Licence


An individual whose licence status is cancelled is not authorized to conduct insurance business or act as an insurance agent. They no longer hold an insurance licence in BC and cannot act as an insurance agent. 
 

A licence can be cancelled in one of two ways:  

  1. The licensee submits an online licence cancellation request through the online portal, this option can be found under ‘Licence Updates’ in the main menu after login, or the licensee submits a fully completed Cancellation of Licence Form by email to the Insurance Council’s Licensing Department at licensing@insurancecouncilofbc.com.     
  2. The licensee does not complete their annual licence renewal.  


Reinstating a Cancelled Licence  


Former licensees wishing to reinstate a cancelled licence may reapply for licensure. 

If a former licensee reapplies within two years of holding an insurance licence in BC, they may be exempt from re-taking qualifying education if they meet the requirements of the Reinstatement Provision.