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Annual Licence Renewal


Annual licence renewal (formerly called annual filing) for all licensees opens April 1, 2022. The deadline to complete your annual licence renewal is June 1, 2022.

Annual licence renewal is done through the Insurance Council's online portal and consists of:

  1. Completing the Annual Licence Renewal Declaration, and 
  2. Remitting the annual licence renewal fee.

 

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About Annual Licence Renewal


Who needs to complete annual licence renewal?

All insurance licensees must submit an annual licence renewal declaration and fee for each licence held, whether their licence status is active, inactive, or suspended. The renewal deadlines and fees are the same for all licensees, regardless of the class of licence held. All licensees must submit a declaration, regardless of who pays the annual licence renewal fee. 

Nominees are reminded that an annual licence renewal declaration and fee is required for each corporate licence, in addition to their own individual licence.


How much is the annual licence renewal fee?

  Received by June 1, 2022 Received by August 2, 2022
Individual Renewal Fee $260 $260 + $150 late renewal fee
Corporate Renewal Fee $475 $475 + $300 late renewal fee


Annual licence renewal fees include $25 government fee.

*Licensees who have not submitted their declaration and fees by August 2, 2022 will have their licence(s) automatically terminated.

It is the responsibility of the individual licensee to ensure that the annual licence renewal fee is received by the Insurance Council, even if their agency or firm is submitting the payment on their behalf


How do I submit my annual licence renewal?

All annual licence renewal declarations and payments must be done via the online portal. The Insurance Council has discontinued paper form.  

  • Sign into Insurance Council's online portal. 

  • Complete the annual licence renewal declaration and pay your fee with Visa, Mastercard, or Interac Online debit. If your agency or firm is submitting your fee, you must submit your own declaration and then follow-up with them to confirm that the fee has been paid.

Detailed instructions for individual licence renewals and bulk payments are available. More information and FAQ for the Online Portal can be found here, and you can watch an overview video on the annual licence renewal process below.
 

 

How to complete your annual licence renewal
A 10 step guide.
Learn more

What is an annual licence renewal declaration?

Depending on the type and class of licence held with the Insurance Council, licensees will be asked to confirm a number of statements related to their licence requirements. No supporting documentation needs to be submitted at the time that the declaration is made, but licensees should maintain proper records in case they are audited by the Insurance Council.


Have questions?

Our online portal support team can assist with your online portal account access or navigating the renewal process on the portal. Please email portal@insurancecouncilofbc.com or call our main line at 604-688-0321 (or 1-877-688-0321) and press 6.

Our Practice and Quality Assurance team can assist with the practice questions or any questions related to the declaration statements. Please email practice@insurancecouncilofbc.com or call 604-695-2008 or call 1-877-688-0321 and press 3.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Annual Licence Renewal 101

Do I Need to Renew My Licence?

Online Portal

(redirects to Online Portal page)

Payments

Continuing Education

Late Annual Licence Renewal

Annual Licence Renewal 101

My agency/firm pays my annual licence renewal fee. What do I need to do?

Each licensee is responsible for completing their annual licence renewal declaration via the online portal, and can then select the option that they have an agreement with their agency/firm that the agency/firm will submit the fee on their behalf. Please confirm this with your agency/firm before selecting this option.

It is the responsibility of the individual licensee to ensure that the renewal fee is paid and received by the Insurance Council, even if the licensee's agency/firm is submitting the payment on their behalf.

I have a life licence and a general licence. Do I need to submit an annual licence renewal for both?

If you hold more than one licence with the Insurance Council, you are required to submit a declaration and a renewal fee for each licence that you hold.

I have a licensed corporation/partnership. What do I need to do?

It is the nominee's responsibility to submit an annual licence renewal and fee for the corporation. If the corporation is licensed for general and life insurance, two annual licence renewal declarations and two fees are required. The nominee is also required to submit an annual licence renewal declaration and fee for each of their own individual licence(s).

What happens if I don't submit an annual licence renewal?

Where a licensee has not met the annual licence renewal requirements by August 2, 2022, the licence will be automatically terminated for non-renewal. If your licence is terminated for non-renewal, you are not permitted to conduct insurance business in British Columbia until the Insurance Council has approved your licence application.

For more information about reinstating an insurance licence, please review the Reactivation Provision.

Continuing Education

Do I need to complete my continuing education before I submit my annual licence renewal?

You must complete your continuing education credits by May 31, 2022. The declaration requires you to confirm that you have completed your continuing education or will complete by May 31, 2022, so you can submit your annual licence renewal before you have completed your continuing education but you are responsible for ensuring that your credits are complete by May 31, 2022.

For more information about continuing education, please reach out to our Practice and Quality Assurance team at practice@insurancecouncilofbc.com. 

If I submit a late annual licence renewal, does that allow me additional time to complete my continuing education?

No. Continuing education must be completed by May 31, 2022.

Do I Need to Renew My Licence?

I'm not conducting insurance business right now and my licence is inactive. Do I need to submit an annual licence renewal?

Yes. An annual licence renewal declaration and fee is required for all licences, regardless of active, inactive or suspended status.

My licence was issued between March 1 and May 31, 2022, do I need to submit an annual licence renewal this year?

No. Licences issued between March 1 and May 31, 2022 have a first annual licence renewal date of June 1, 2023.

Payment

I am an agency/firm and I want to pay the annual licence renewal fees on behalf of licensees who are authorized to represent my agency/firm. How can I do that?

Agencies/firms will need to ask their licensees to sign into the online portal and submit their annual licence renewal declarations through their individual portal account. When the agency/firm logs into their online portal account, they can then submit payment for all of the licensees whose status shows in the list as "Pay Fees Due for Renewal" via Visa, Mastercard, Interac Online debit, or prepaid account. Click here to access instructions on how an agency/firm can use the portal.

How do I pay by EFT?

Agencies/firms can pay by EFT only with a prepaid account, which must be set up with the Insurance Council's accounting team in advance (see instructions below). As these accounts take time to set up and time must be allowed for the transfer and deposit of funds, the account must be set up by May 15, 2022 in order to ensure that the funds are available for the agency/firm's use in time for the June 1st deadline.

Agencies/firms are eligible to set-up a prepaid account if they are submitting payment for a minimum of 40 licence renewal fees.

How do I set up and use a prepaid account?

Prepaid accounts is a new option offered in 2021 for annual licence renewal fees only. After the conclusion of the late licence renewal period, the Insurance Council will return any unused funds in the prepaid account.
To set up a prepaid account:

  1. Send an email to accounting@insurancecouncilofbc.com and include:
    • The agency or firm's legal name
    • Corporate licence number
    • Your contact information
  2. The Insurance Council's finance team will email you a form to fill out. Complete and return the form.
  3. Within three business days, the Insurance Council's finance team will confirm via email that the prepaid account is set-up.
  4. Add funds to the prepaid account via credit card through the online portal or by making arrangements with the Insurance Council's finance team if you would prefer to use EFT or corporate cheque.
To use funds in a prepaid account, add the fees to the payment items and then select Pay with Prepaid Account. You can access the transaction history (including deposits, payments and all receipts) by selecting Manage Prepaid Accounts from the portal main menu and then clicking on the Account ID.

Late Annual Licence Renewal

I hold an active insurance licence and I missed the June 1 annual licence renewal deadline and will be submitting a late renewal. Can I still conduct insurance business?

Yes, your insurance licence remains valid until August 2, 2022. If we have not received your annual licence renewal fee by the end of day on August 2, 2022, your licence will be automatically terminated for non-renewal.