(February 7) – A report which suggests that the pre-licensing process for the insurance industry has got general approval from the Canadian Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors. CAIFA has filed its response to the Canadian Insurance Self-Regulatory Organization’s report regarding life agent education.
“It is important to significantly raise the bar in respect of the entry-level standard and to standardize the pre-licensing process,” says CAIFA.
CAIFA has its own recommendations which it says should “provide more flexibility” than the recommendations presented by CISRO. It supports the proposal to integrate the two step licensing process, but it demands “more credible” continuing education requirements. CAIFA says continuing education should be made mandatory in each jurisdiction and should be targeted to each agent’s business.
CAIFA says it supports high school graduation as minimum for licensing. But pre-license training requirements need to be more flexible, says CAIFA. And classroom-based training should not be mandatory, contends CAIFA.
It supports the idea that prospective agents must pass not only the entire qualifying exam, but also specific sections within the exam. However it raises some issues some issues with the administration of this protocol. It recommends that 70% be the passing grade for the overall examination and 60% for the individual modules, and failures rewrite only the parts they fail, not the entire exam.
CAIFA recommends that equivalency credit should be given in specific areas. For example that a licensed mutual fund rep shouldn’t have to complete the investment funds module. It also recommends that every prospective course provider should have to “present and defend its program in order to be accredited”.
It supports the notion of an advisory committee including representatives of insurance regulators, life insurance companies, industry associations and consumers to ensure that the educational standards are maintained and upgraded as necessary.
-IE Staff