Ontario financial regulator issues guidelines for licensing life agents
In line with its mandate to better protect financial consumers, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) has announced new requirements to ensure that life and health insurance agents are qualified to work in the industry.
The FSRA has issued final guidelines establishing three reporting obligations for life agents: errors and omissions insurance, continuing education credits, and the agents' contractual insurers.
“Strong regulatory supervision, supported by each insurer's responsibility for its agents, is critical to ensuring that agents comply with the law and sell products that consumers need and can afford,” the provincial regulator said in a statement.
When agents apply to renew their license, the guidance establishes a new method for them to give details of completed continuing education courses.
Incorporating comments from a recently concluded consultation of stakeholders, the guidance was amended to include giving an agent a 30-day window to disclose changes to the insurers with whom he or she has a contract.
It also defines requirements for individual life agents working on behalf of a corporation or partnership, and specifies that education aimed at enhancing sales and lead generation does not satisfy the criteria for continuing education.
The advice came into fruition on February 25, 2022. Moving forward, all life agents must include information about their completed continuing education courses on their renewal applications in Licensing Link as of this date.
In Ontario, there are approximately 55,000 licensed life agents and over 6,000 corporate and partnership life agents.
