Use this form to apply for a licence:

General Insurance:

• Individual or Sole-Proprietor Application
• Corporate or Partnership Application
• Directors, Officers, Partners, and Controlling Shareholders Exhibit Only Form

Life Insurance (Includes Accident and Sickness):

• Individual or Sole-Proprietor Application
• Corporate or Partnership Application
• Directors, Officers, Partners, and Controlling Shareholders Exhibit Only Form

Adjuster:

• Individual or Sole-Proprietor Application
• Corporate or Partnership Application
• Directors, Officers, Partners, and Controlling Shareholders Exhibit Only Form

Travel Insurance:

• Sole-Proprietor Application
• Corporate or Partnership Application
• Directors, Officers, Partners, and Controlling Shareholders Exhibit Only Form

Motor Vehicle:

• As of March 2021, the Insurance Council has ceased issuing licences restricted to the sale or adjusting of one or more specific products.  See more information here or contact our Licensing Team via email at licensing@insurancecouncilofbc.com or via phone at 604-695-2007.

Errors and Omissions Insurance Requirements for Applicants
 
Requirement for Applicants to Confirm They Have Required Errors & Omissions (E&O) Insurance

Effective March 31, 2023, the Insurance Council will require applicants to confirm they are covered by E&O insurance as per Council Rule 7(11). This requirement will be enforced as of May 1, 2023 for all applications.

For more information please see Errors and Omissions Insurance.
                                                                                                                                                                             
Which Applicants Are Required to Submit Confirmation of E&O Insurance

• Accident and Sickness Licence Applicants;
• Life and Accident and Sickness  Licence Applicants; and
• All agencies and firms, including restricted agencies and sole-proprietors.

 
Which Applicants Are Not Required to Submit Confirmation of E&O Insurance

• Individual General Insurance Agents, and Salespersons Applicants*;
• Individual Insurance Adjuster Licence Applicants*;and
• General Insurance Applicants who are a direct employee of an insurer and only sells the products of that insurer as stipulated in Council Rule 7(11)(b).   

*Note: The above exception applies only if the Insurance Council has current confirmation that the applicant's agency or firm is covered by E&O insurance.
 
What Is Considered Proof

• A fully completed Confirmation of Errors & Omissions (E&O) Insurance Form; or
• A copy of the applicant’s E&O Certificate of Insurance.

 
Questions:
If you have any questions regarding providing evidence of adequate E&O Insurance, please contact our Licensing Team via email at licensing@insurancecouncilofbc.com or via phone at 604-695-2007.
 

The Insurance Council has identified a number of business activities where the potential for a conflict of interest is so significant it is either not prepared to issue a licence, or in other cases, requires conditions or restrictions on the licence to address the conflict. Licence applicants and current licensees should review the Other Business Activity section of the Insurance Council website as the potential for conflict of interest should be considered as a part of the application process for licensing as well as ongoing licensed practice. 
 
The list of Other Employment and Business Activities Considered by the Insurance Council as provided in the Other Business Activity section of our website does not cover every possible conflict of interest scenario. Licenses who wish to request a review of their other business activity and would like to receive guidance relating to their other business activities, can submit the completed Request for Review of Other Business Activities form.

Conflict of Interest - Request for Review of Other Business Activities Form

Use this form to change your home or service address, telephone number, or email address. Provide to the Insurance Council within 30 calendar days of the change:

Change Individual Contact Information Form
Change Corporate Contact Information Form

Supervisor Undertaking Form: Used to declare your new supervisor. This form should be provided to the Insurance Council within 5 business days of the change.

Supervision Period Confirmation of Completion Form: As of January 1, 2020, this form must be submitted when the New Life and/or Accident & Sickness agent has completed the mandatory amount of time under supervision and their supervisor is ready to recommend them for unsupervised practice. Please note that supervision must continue until the form has been submitted and reviewed by the Insurance Council.
Note: Use this form when the supervisee has completed the mandatory 2 year supervision period

End Authorization to Represent and/or End Supervision Form: Supervisors and supervisees must complete this form to notify the Insurance Council when a supervision is ceased, while the supervisee is under the mandatory supervision Period.
Note: Use of this form will not release a supervisee from the supervisor requirement


Process Review Statement: Although not mandatory, it is recommended that this form, or something similar be completed for every file the supervisor reviews. You do not need to submit these forms, but are encouraged to retain them for your records.


For more information about New Life and/or Accident and Sickness Agent supervision requirements, see the Insurance Council's notice ICN 19-004 Guidelines for Supervision of New Life and/or Accident & Sickness Agents.

Add/Update Agency Nominee

Complete this form to add/update the nominee information of a licenced agency or firm. The Insurance Council must be notified within 5 business days of the change: Agency Nominee Amendment Application Form

Effective August 1, 2023, new nominees must be approved by the Insurance Council and have taken the prerequisite course: Nominee Responsibilities and Best Practice. The course is administered by the Insurance Council and is available in two streams:

• Nominee Responsibilities and Best Practice Course for Life and/or Accident & Sickness Nominees and Applicants
• Nominee Responsibilities and Best Practice Course for General Insurance and Adjuster Nominees and Applicants

Current nominees do not need to take the nominee course unless they are submitting a request to be appointed as a nominee for another agency or firm.

More on how to register for the course here.


Add/Update Temporary Agency Nominee

In exceptional circumstances, where an insurance agency or adjusting firm ceases or will cease to have a nominee, the insurance agency or adjusting firm may apply to nominate, on a temporary basis to be determined by Council if accepted, an individual who does not meet the requirements under Council Rule 2(11). The temporary nominee is responsible for all insurance activities of the agency or adjusting firm per Council Rule 7(6). Please refer to the Temporary Nominee policy on the Insurance Council’s Policies & Other Documents page for more information.

Complete this form to add/update the temporary nominee information of a licenced agency or firm. The Insurance Council must be notified within 5 business days of the change: Temporary Agency Nominee Application Form 

If an insurance agency or adjusting firm requires an extension to the one month appointment, a request must be made in writing, which will be considered by the Licensing Committee.

Agency Purchase or Amalgamation

Download and complete this form to notify the Insurance Council of an Agency/Firm purchase or amalgamation. Please note, there is a fee for amendment of corporate ownership information.

Purchase and/or Amalgamation Notification Form
Fee Schedule

Individual Licensees who are leaving one employer and moving to another, adding another employer, or ceasing employment with an Agency must notify the Insurance Council in writing via email within 5 business days.

Please use the following forms when adding or removing an Agency/employer:

• Add Authorization to Represent Form: Complete this form to add a new employer or Agency. Please note your Agency must approve your authorization to represent them. This form is also required if you would like to add an unaffiliated representation.
• End Authorization to Represent and/or End Supervision Form: Complete this form when you cease employment with your Agency and you no longer represent them. Unaffiliated agents can use this form to indicate they are ceasing to act as independent agents. Please note the licence status will become inactive if there's no other authorization to represent attached to your licence.

Corporate Licensees/Nominees (or authorized delegates) can update authorizations to represent through the Online Portal, by signing into the corporate licence account.

Add ATR:

• Log into the portal.
• Click on Manage Authorizations to Represent (ATR).
• Select Create ATR.
• Fill in the required information. If you receive any error messages, correct the information or contact the licensing department for assistance.
• Review the information, make any necessary changes, and click Continue.
• A confirmation message with a green check box will indicate that your request has been processed and the new information will be displayed on the Licensee Directory.

Some ATR requests will still need to be processed by the licensing department. Specifically, these include anyone with a supervisory requirement, level 3 licensees and nominees. For these requests, please complete and submit an Add Authorization to Represent Form.  

End ATR:

• Log into the portal.
• Click on Manage Authorizations to Represent (ATR).
• Select End ATR.
• Fill in the required information. Please note you can enter a future end date and the representation will be terminated as of the date you have selected. If you receive any error messages, correct the information or forward your request to licensing@insurancecouncilofbc.com for processing. 
• Review the information, make any necessary changes, and click Continue.
• A confirmation message with a green check box will indicate that your request has been processed.

If you encounter any technical difficulties when removing the authorization to represent, you can submit a completed End Authorization to Represent/and or End Supervision Form by email to the Licensing Department at licensing@insurancecouncilofbc.com.

Licence Cancellation

Individuals and agencies can request a licence cancellation through the Insurance Council's online portal:

1. Go to the online portal and log into your account.
2. From the main menu, click on " Licence Updates." 
3. Follow the steps to enter all the information required. Once complete, you will receive a message that your licence cancellation request has been submitted.
4. On approval of your request, you will receive a confirmation email from the Insurance Council's Licensing team. 

 
Alternatively, you can submit a Cancellation of Licence Form by email to the Licensing Department at licensing@insurancecouncilofbc.com.

Please note that after a licence is cancelled, you no longer hold an insurance licence and cannot conduct insurance activities. If you or your agency wish to be licensed, you are required to submit a new licence application.

Download and complete this form, attaching copies of name-change documents to change your name on your licence.  Please note, there is a fee to change your name (see form for details).

Submit your name change to the Insurance Council within five business days.

Change of Name Form and Fee Schedule


Notes for Trade Name/Operating Names:
 

A trade or operating name, 

• is a name other than your given name under which you conduct your business.  

• is the identifier that most people will use to refer to your business.  

• can optionally be the full or shortened version of your corporate name.  

Trade names must meet the following requirements for approval by the Insurance Council: 

• Must be registered with BC Registry. 

• Should include a descriptive element to explain the nature of your business and broaden the range of naming options available. 

• Must not be a name that could lead the public into believing it’s an insurance company. 

• Must not be similar to an existing licensed agency or firm, or another trade name. (i.e., must have a descriptive element to differentiate it from another licensee’s name).
  This includes: 
  • Concerns raised by a third party. 
  • Similar sounding names (but different spelling). 
  • Adding or removing one or two letters from a name. 

• Must not imply the business has expertise in a specific area (unless its licensee or authorized reps are qualified). 

• Must not purport to be a financial planner unless the licensee meets the requirements of a financial planner. 

• Must not use the term and Associates unless there are two or more licensees in the business. 

For online presence, the trade name must not use the same domain name as another licensee’s legal name or trade name. 

Individuals can apply for a licence upgrade through the Insurance Council's online portal:

1. Go to the online portal and log into your account.
2. From the main menu, click on "Apply for Licence Upgrade.”
3. Follow the steps to enter all the information required. Once completed, you will receive a message that your licence upgrade application has been submitted. Review qualifications for general or adjuster licence upgrades to ensure you have completed the necessary requirements for a licence upgrade.
4. On approval of your request, you will receive a confirmation email from the Insurance Council's Licensing team. 

 
Alternatively, you can submit a New Licence Upgrade Application Form by emailing the Licensing Department at licensing@insurancecouncilofbc.com.

 

In an effort to increase accessibility and fairness, the Insurance Council will accommodate a properly identified and documented limitation of an Accommodation Applicant which is associated with or caused by a Protected Characteristic under the BC Human Rights Code.

In addition, the Insurance Council may also accommodate:

• A properly identified and documented medical condition of an Accommodation Applicant, which includes illness and other temporary and treatable conditions such as broken bones; and
• Other circumstances that are not related to an Accommodation Applicant’s Protected Characteristic or medical condition, including a family member’s medical condition or other extenuating circumstances impacting the Accommodation Applicant.

Accommodation does not mean that an Accommodation Applicant will be excused from having to meet Insurance Council requirements, or that the requirements will be lowered.

• Accommodation means that the Insurance Council will seek to provide reasonable options to remove any barriers to an Accommodation Applicant that is trying to meet an Insurance Council requirement.

Accommodation Applicants must make a request for accommodation as soon as possible by submitting an Accommodation Request Form by emailing the Licensing Department at licensing@insurancecouncilofbc.com. Once all of the relevant information is received by the Insurance Council, including any additional supporting documents that are requested, the Insurance Council will make a reasonable effort to provide a decision to the Accommodation Applicant within 30 calendar days.

For more information about the types of accomodations considered, required documentation, process and timelines, see our Accomodation Policy.

If you have any questions,  please contact our Licensing Team via email at licensing@insurancecouncilofbc.com or via phone at 604-695-2007.