The Quebec financial services regulator, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), has confirmed that it will permit the sale of life insurance over the Internet without the involvement of a licensed representative.

In a report published on April 2, the AMF laid out its basic guidelines for how insurance should be offered over the Internet in Quebec. The report presents the results of a public consultation in which the AMF received twenty submissions from various stakeholders who are involved with the on-line distribution of life insurance.

"Today we are presenting eleven guidelines aimed at finding an appropriate balance between the orderly development of electronic life insurance sales and the protection of the public," said AMF CEO Louis Morisset. "It is up to the government to decide whether regulatory changes are required in order to implement these guidelines."

One of the guidelines adopted by the AMF indicates that online insurance transactions may be conducted without the involvement of a representative provided that certain conditions are met, namely that the consumer is able to have access to an representative should he need one, that the consumer is informed of the importance of obtaining advice from a licensed insurance representative, or that the consumer is provided with adequate self-assessment tools.

The report also outlines other guidelines adopted by the AMF that deal with the disclosure of essential information, distribution without a representative, the reliability of transactions, the protection of personal information, as well as with advertising and social media.