News Bytes – Mortgage Brokers: It’s time to renew your insurance certificate

The Insurance Act (the Act) requires that every business that acts as an insurance agent must hold a valid certificate of authority. The Act also requires that a business that is issued a certificate of authority must appoint a Designated Individual (DI) who is responsible for receiving all notices and documents from the Alberta Insurance Council (AIC).

This requirement applies to mortgage brokerages as a sales finance company that sell credit-related insurance. If you require additional information on licensing, please contact the Alberta Insurance Council at licensing@abcouncil.ab.ca

If your mortgage brokerage currently holds a valid certificate(s) to sell credit-related insurance, your licence(s) will expire on June 30, 2023 and must be renewed prior to that date if you wish to continue doing business. The AIC emailed renewal notifications to all licence holders through their DI’s in early May.

If you are not the DI for the licence issued to your business, a new DI must be appointed. The new individual must register for their own CIPR number. CIPR numbers are not interchangeable. The new prospective DI can submit an online application by logging into the AIC portal. If the agency name under which you conduct insurance business or the sponsoring insurance company has also changed, the DI must update those changes through an online application. These updates cannot be made on renewal application(s). It is your responsibility to ensure that the agency and DI information provided to the AIC is current and accurate. 

Not sure if you currently hold an active insurance agent’s certificate of authority? Search for your business name from the link Other Resources-Popular Lookups-Agent and Agency Search at www.abcouncil.ab.ca.

If you have any other questions, please email licensing@abcouncil.ab.ca