Once a shortfall has been identified during a continuing education (CE) audit, in British Columbia, $1,000 is the baseline penalty for each year a licensee is without sufficient CE. This is frequently reduced when the agent in question is cooperative and accepting of the fact that remedial action is warranted.
This was the outcome published in a recent intended decision from the Insurance Council of British Columbia, concerning Alycia Jaime Braun. A life and accident & sickness insurance agent since October 2016, Braun was audited in June 2025 and asked to provide CE records for the 2024/2025 licensing period. Although she completed her annual renewal declaration in May 2025 affirming that she’d met all of the council’s CE requirements, it was found that she could not demonstrate that she had obtained the requisite 15 credits.
Although she had completed some CE within the licensing period and later completed an additional 9.5 CE credits on June 26 that year as makeup credits, the intended decision in the case notes that Braun still has not made up the remaining 2.25 credits outstanding. The agent says she did not verify that certain courses would qualify for CE and made the incorrect assumption that they would.
That Braun accepted and acknowledged the misconduct, accepted that remedial action was warranted and that she cooperated with the audit were all identified as mitigating factors in the case. “Council did not identify any significant aggravating factors,” the intended decision states.
In response, the council cut the $1,000 baseline penalty in half, fining Braun just $500. “In these circumstances, council determined that no costs shall be assessed against the licensee.”
In addition to the fine, Braun must also complete two courses, the Council Rules Course for Life and/or Accident & Sickness Insurance Agents and the Continuing Education Requirements & Guidelines Course, along with the outstanding 2.25 CE credits not yet completed.
