Before you can begin selling insurance to your clients, you will have to acquire the appropriate licence. Your first step is to take a life licence qualification program course, as set out by the Canadian Council of Insurance Regulators, then you must write an examination provided by a registered organization. The LLQP course is recognized in all provinces except Quebec (see below).

A number of organizations offer the LLQP program, in both self-study and classroom formats. Classroom courses are available through community colleges such as Ashton College in Vancouver and Durham College in Pickering, Ont. If you are not located near an institution offering the classroom course, or if you prefer to learn on your own, Advocis offers a self-study course through the Foran Financial Institute, which takes about 120 hours of study (www.advocis.ca). The Canadian insurance course, offered by CSI Global Education Inc. (www.csi.ca) is another approved self-study course leading to the LLQP exam.

Course fees, structure, delivery and final exam vary by provider, says Sam Albanese, insurance industry director with Seneca College’s Centre for Financial Services in Toronto, an LLQP program provider.

“All the providers have different delivery methods,” Albanese says. “It’s important to understand how a course is delivered before choosing a provider.”

A full list of the designated LLQP exam providers is available on the Advocis website.

Both the CSI and Advocis online courses provide a textbook that guides candidates through the self-study program in preparation for the final examination.

Once you have passed the LLQP exam, you must then take a provincial licensing exam through a designated LLQP exam provider. A full list is available on the Advocis website.

A full LLQP licence certifies an advisor to provide clients with a full range of insurance products, including: life insurance; living benefits, such as critical illness and long-term care insurance; and insurance-related investment products, such as segregated funds and annuities.

After you have obtained your LLQP, you can continue to beef up your knowledge by taking insurance-related courses in continuing-education credit programs, says Paula O’Brien, an advisor with Richardson GMP Ltd. in Ottawa.

“The more conferences you attend and people you meet,” she says, “the more anecdotes you hear about how a claim that has paid out has helped someone. It’s sharing those stories with clients that makes your case for providing them with insurance much more powerful.”
To acquire an insurance licence in Quebec, you must complete an insurance and financial advisory services program course approved by the Autorité des marchés financiers, which leads to a diploma in collegial studies (DCS). After completing your DCS, you must write an AMF exam, then complete a probationary period working under a certified representative. The probationary period lasts up to three months, depending on the type of insurance. Finally, you must submit an application to the AMF for approval of your licence. — OLIVIA GLAUBERZON