The Insurance Council of British Columbia (ICoBC) has announced that work is currently underway to develop a new licensing program for non-insurance businesses involved in incidental sales of insurance – often add-on insurance for products and services that consumers buy or rent.
Under the new rules, the government says businesses will be required to help people make informed decisions about buying add-on insurance.
The provincial government tasked the Insurance Council of BC with issuing and overseeing the new restricted insurance agency (RIA) license. “The RIA license program is being developed and will go through consultation and a legislative rule-making process before RIA licenses can be issued,” the council states in its announcement about the new regulation’s publication.
The Restricted Insurance Agent License Regulation, published in December 2025, comes into force on January 1, 2027. There will be a three-month transition period until March 31, 2027. The council says it expects to start accepting applications in November 2026.
“The new restricted license regime brings oversight, training standards and greater transparency to incidental sales of insurance in BC and aligns the province with similar regimes in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and New Brunswick,” they state.
The list of would-be insurance distributors affected by the regulation ranges from vehicle and equipment and pleasure craft dealers, customs brokers (cargo insurance) and mortgage brokers (credit protection insurance) to portable electronics vendors and others.
“Sales representatives will have to be trained to provide consumers clear, accurate information before purchasing,” they write. “Under the new licensing framework, stores must train employees on warranty insurance terms, reducing the risk of misleading claims about product coverage.”
Travel agents
Prior to the regulations’ development, only travel agents in the province were able to hold restricted travel insurance licenses. These agents will need to transition from their current license to the new restricted insurance agency license by December 31, 2027. “The insurance council will provide a streamlined transition process to support current restricted travel insurance licensees and will contact these licensees directly when this process begins,” the government states.
Legislative changes
The BC government first enacted changes to the Financial Institutions Act to enable the development of a licensing regime for the incidental sale of insurance by non-insurance businesses, back in 2019.
“In BC, insurance products are commonly offered in addition to the sale of consumer goods and services. Many of these point-of-purchase insurance sales by non-insurance businesses have not previously been subject to regulatory oversight,” the insurance council’s information on the new licensing regime states. “This restricted insurance agency license will allow companies/organizations to sell specific types of insurance through its employees or contractors, who will not need to hold their own individual licenses.”
The council adds that unlicensed sales going forward will be considered non-compliant with the Financial Institutions Act and may be subject to enforcement.
Public consultation on the proposed insurance council rules for the new licensing regime will launch in February.
