Licensing delays at Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) have frustrated Ontario life agents for months. Understaffing and long processing times at FRSA have led to some licences lapsing before they’re renewed, and industry professionals are demanding service improvements.
One life agent who asked not to be named had a licence that was set to lapse on Sept. 30. She applied to renew on Aug.1, just as the 60-day renewal window opened.
She contacted FSRA for an update a week before her licence’s expiry. The FSRA agent was helpful and escalated the matter, but informed her that all she could do was wait.
“If it (a licence lapse) happens, how do my clients get service?” she said.
The advisor’s licence was renewed on the morning of Oct. 1, after lapsing overnight. While the close call hasn’t impacted her business, she wished that FSRA would’ve provided a definite processing timeline.
She isn’t the only life licensed financial professional to experience FSRA’s licensing delays. A managing general agency (MGA) she doesn’t work with reports similar stories.
Kirk McMillan, president at The Gryphin Advantage, said several of his agents’ licences lapsed during renewal.
The renewal slowdown has been going on for at least two years, McMillan said. Gryphin reminds all its agents that FSRA has a backlog and that they should renew as soon as the 60-day window opens.
A significant increase
As of Oct. 8, FSRA’s website said it’s processing insurance applications from Aug. 28. There are 60,000 life agents in Ontario as of Oct. 2025, according to a FSRA report, and licences are renewed every two years, translating to about 2,500 renewals per month.
“You look at that volume they’re going through; it’s a lot to keep up with,” McMillan said.
Since November 2024, FSRA has been handling a significant increase in licensing applications for insurance agents, the provincial regulator told Investment Executive in an email. While 75% of licence applications are processed within 20 business days, 60% of renewals are processed within one business day.
In Gryphin’s experience, agents who have been reviewed by a regulatory body get extra scrutiny from FSRA, McMillan said. This includes actions from other provinces or other agencies like the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO).
In 25% of cases further review is required, FSRA may need an applicant to provide additional information about their education, or explain new information provided in their application, for example, FSRA said.
McMillan advises agents who have been reviewed by any regulatory body to provide more information than usual and ensure they disclose all regulatory actions against them. While those applications take longer, they should go through as long as agents make proper disclosures.
Agents should also apply as soon as the renewal window comes up, Simone said. If a licence lapses, agents won’t be allowed to provide advice or perform licensed activity like renewing term policies.
Some advisors have even hired lawyers to send a letter to FSRA noting that the regulatory body was taking away the agent’s ability to earn income and fulfil their responsibility to treat customers fairly, McMillan said.
If an agent’s licence does lapse, they can get another member of their team to take over for insurance work, or contact someone in their professional network, McMillan said. But if an agent is newer or has a smaller network, Gryphin will help them connect with other agents also using Gryphin as an MGA.
The renewal processing times have improved since April, McMillan noted. But he would like to see more harmonization across provinces as there haven’t been any issues with renewals in other jurisdictions.
Since September 2024, FSRA has made weekly updates to its application processing date on its website and added communications to licensees and applicants to keep them informed of their application status, the regulatory body said.
However, FSRA is unable to provide definitive renewal timelines as all applications are unique, it said. The processing time for each application that requires further review will depend on multiple individual factors.
“FSRA currently emails all applicants to provide a point of contact when an application is assigned or when additional information is requested,” FSRA said. “We will continue to prioritize those applications which are at risk of facing a disruption to their business.”