The Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) says it is working with other Canadian insurance regulators to create a uniform national proficiency standard in the life insurance industry.
The Quebec regulator said Tuesday that it is actively working through the Canadian Insurance Services Regulatory Organizations (CISRO) toward the national harmonization of career entry-level requirements for individual and group insurance (life and health).
“A qualification program is currently being developed that will include all jurisdictions across Canada,” it says. “The project is integrating the best elements of the current Life Licence Qualification Program (LLQP) and Quebec programs into a program that is consistent throughout the country.”
It points to a recent letter from CISRO chair, Ron Fullan, that aims to clarify certain aspects of the project. That letter, from late April, notes that the AMF will be responsible for creating and maintaining the curriculum, standardized course material, and the exam question database. An initial governance committee to oversee the new standard has been created, including representatives from Alberta, British Columbia, New Brunswick, Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan.
The updated exam will standardize the course material to ensure consistency, and to enhance consumer protection by having regulators set minimum proficiency requirements, it notes. Currently, there appears to be a wide variance in exam preparation, it says, with first-time pass rates ranging from 62% to 95+%. The new exam will also focus on four modules: life insurance, accident & sickness insurance, segregated funds and annuities, and ethics.
The new program will bring changes in Quebec, including the implementation of a mandatory pre-exam course, the merging of group insurance and tax into specific modules, and the elimination of the educational prerequisite, it says. In the rest of the country, aspiring reps will see a new open-book modular exam, and consistent course material developed under the direction of the CISRO.
It also says that the updated LLQP will be funded by a user-pay mechanism, which will “significantly reduce the risk to the program and ensure its long-term integrity”. The costs of the new exam will incurred by applicants in all jurisdictions, it notes, whereas the costs associated with the introduction of the LLQP in 2002 was borne by reps in just three provinces. “Overall, a single program for all jurisdictions will greatly increase the cost efficiency compared to trying to maintain separate programs,” it says, noting that the precise cost is unknown, but will not exceed $140 per rep.
The updated LLQP is to be implemented as of Jan. 1, 2016; and the course material is expected to be distributed in the first quarter of 2015, it notes.