The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) reminded stakeholders in a monthly eblast communication that it will no longer accept license renewal applications from life insurance agents if those applications do not contain complete and accurate continuing education (CE) information.

“It is mandatory for agents to complete 30 hours of continuing education before their license expires. They must report specific details on their renewal applications, including course name and provider, completion date and number of hours,” FSRA states in its September communication.

FSRA’s guidance indicating its interpretation of the Insurance Act and its regulations, along with the approach it will take going forward, was published in February 2022.

In the guidance document, the regulator says eligible topics must be related to the technical aspects of life insurance or accident and sickness insurance. Education related to increasing sales and lead generation do not meet the CE requirement.

Other courses which do not qualify for CE credit in the province include health, stress management or exercise courses, recruiting courses, office skills or management training, or training on company-specific products.

Similarly, hours cannot be claimed where course details cannot be supplied or where the agent registered but did not attend. Hours can also not be claimed for time spent as an instructor or where the agent is repeating a course unless there is demonstrated new content.

Hours of CE obtained that exceed the minimum requirement during the license term can also not be used to meet the CE requirement for subsequent periods.

For agents who are not resident in Ontario, FSRA says it considers the CE requirement to be met if the agent’s home jurisdiction has a CE requirement that is equivalent or exceeds Ontario’s requirement of at least 30 hours of CE taken every two years. “If the home jurisdiction requires less than 30 hours every two years, the agent must complete additional hours to meet Ontario’s 30-hour requirement,” FSRA states in its guidance document, Life Agent Reporting Requirements and Related Insurer Obligations. 

FSRA says the new approach it is taking when accepting license renewal applications will lead to increased efficiency and fewer processing delays.