What is the LLQP?
The Life Licence Qualification Program (LLQP) is the entry-level qualification for anyone who wants to sell life insurance and accident and sickness (A&S) insurance in Canada outside Quebec. It is designed by the Canadian Insurance Services Regulatory Organizations (CISRO) and administered province by province. Its French name is the Programme de qualification en assurance de personnes (PQAP).
Since the harmonized program was introduced in 2016, the LLQP has four modules, each with its own exam: Life Insurance, Accident and Sickness Insurance, Segregated Funds and Annuities, and Ethics and Professional Practice. The curriculum is competency-based: you are tested on what an agent must do for a client, not only on definitions.
Quebec is different. In Quebec, the certification of representatives in insurance of persons is handled by the AMF under its own exams. The LLQP described here applies in the other provinces and territories.
Who needs it
You need the LLQP to be licensed as a life and accident and sickness insurance agent. Two paths exist:
- Life and A&S licence: all four modules — Ethics, Life Insurance, Segregated Funds and Annuities, and Accident and Sickness.
- A&S-only licence: two modules — Accident and Sickness, and Ethics.
Career changers, bank and credit union staff, financial planners adding insurance, and new agents sponsored by an insurer or an MGA are the typical candidates.
From course to licence
Complete the LLQP course
With an approved course provider (about 100 hours). You receive a certificate of completion, valid for one year.
Register for the provincial exam
With your province's exam administrator — for example Durham College in Ontario and New Brunswick, or the Insurance Council in British Columbia — using your CIPR number.
Pass the required modules
60% on each module. You can write them separately, in the order you choose.
Apply for your licence
Within the deadline set by your regulator (one year from your first pass in Ontario and BC). Depending on the province, you may also need insurer sponsorship, errors and omissions insurance and a background check.
The four modules
Each module is a separate 75-minute exam with four-option multiple-choice questions. Only one answer is correct, and there is no penalty for a wrong answer.
| Module | Questions | Scored | Time | Pass |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ethics and Professional Practice (Common Law) | 25 | 20 | 75 min | 60% |
| Life Insurance | 35 | 30 | 75 min | 60% |
| Accident and Sickness Insurance | 35 | 30 | 75 min | 60% |
| Segregated Funds and Annuities | 35 | 30 | 75 min | 60% |
The 5 extra questions in each module are pilot questions: they are being tested for future exams and do not count, but you cannot tell which ones they are. Answer every question as if it counted.
Licence path simulator
Choose your licence: the simulator lists the modules to pass and the total exam time.
My LLQP path
The official blueprint
The CISRO curriculum defines one competency per module, broken into components with an official weight. This is the most useful document for your preparation: it tells you where the points are.
Life Insurance · Accident and Sickness · Segregated Funds and Annuities
| Component | Weight | What it means at the exam |
|---|---|---|
| Assess the client's needs and situation | 35% | Read a client file: family, income, debts, existing coverage, risks. About 10–11 scored questions. |
| Analyze the available products | 30% | Compare contracts, riders, guarantees and their taxation. About 9 questions. |
| Implement a recommendation | 25% | Underwriting, the right product and amount, application and delivery requirements. About 7–8 questions. |
| Provide customer service | 10% | Changes, renewals, terminations and claims. About 3 questions. |
Ethics and Professional Practice (Common Law)
| Component | Weight | What it means at the exam |
|---|---|---|
| Integrate the legal aspects of insurance and annuity contracts | 60% | Legal framework, parties, formation and termination, policy clauses, beneficiaries, claims. About 12 questions. |
| Integrate the rules governing agents' activities | 40% | Client-protection organizations, obligations and responsibilities of the agent. About 8 questions. |
What this means for your study: 60% of the Life, A&S and Seg Funds exams is about the client (assessing and recommending), not about the product alone. Train on case questions, not on definitions.
Exam day
- Where: in person, at a centre set by your province's administrator. In Ontario, the exam is administered by Durham College and is offered in person only. In British Columbia, results of online exams written after June 30, 2023 are not accepted.
- What to bring: government-issued photo ID; the name must match your registration and your CIPR profile.
- Reference material: the approved CISRO reference material is provided at the exam (on a tablet or computer in BC, for example). Your own notes, books and internet access are not allowed.
- Results: released by the administrator, usually within a few business days.
The reference material is not a safety net. With 75 minutes for 35 questions, you have about two minutes per question. Searching the material for more than a few questions costs you the end of the exam.
Pass mark and rewrites
You must score at least 60% on each module: 18 out of 30 scored questions, or 12 out of 20 for Ethics. Modules are independent: failing one does not cancel the others.
Since July 1, 2024, a national LLQP examination administration policy applies across the regulators:
- up to four attempts per module (the first attempt plus three rewrites), with a 24-hour wait between attempts in Ontario and BC, for example;
- after a fourth failure, a one-year wait from that attempt, and the prerequisite course must be taken again;
- each rewrite uses a different exam form.
Pass mark calculator
Deadlines
Two clocks run at the same time. Miss one, and you start again:
- Course certificate: valid for one year. You need a valid certificate to register and to rewrite.
- Licensing window: in Ontario and BC, you must pass all required modules and apply for your licence within 12 months of passing your first module.
My LLQP deadlines
Estimate based on the rules in Ontario and BC. Check the exact dates with your regulator.
The type of questions
Expect three levels: knowledge (a rule or a definition), comprehension (why a rule applies) and application (a client case or a calculation). Application questions dominate, because 60% of the blueprint is about assessing and recommending.
A contract guarantees 100% of $150,000 of deposits. When the market value is $120,000, the client withdraws $30,000. At maturity, the market value is $70,000. What top-up does the insurer pay?
Study method
- Start with Ethics. Contract law, beneficiaries and agents' duties come back in every other module.
- One lesson, one quiz. Read the explanation even when you are right.
- Close each module with a timed check and aim for 80%.
- Train the calculations until they are automatic: needs analysis, ACB and policy gain, offsets, proportional reduction.
- Book only after two practice exams at 70% or more, on different days, with no competency below 60%.
Common traps
- Confusing the 2-year contestability period (only fraud after 2 years) with the misstatement of age (adjusted at any time).
- Forgetting that a policy loan is a taxable disposition when it exceeds the ACB.
- Applying a dollar-for-dollar reduction instead of the proportional reduction on a segregated fund withdrawal.
- Thinking that naming the estate keeps the creditor protection of a segregated fund.
- Treating disability benefits as tax-free when the employer pays part of the premium.
- Mixing up non-cancellable and guaranteed renewable.
- Believing a divorce cancels an irrevocable beneficiary designation.
- Choosing the "most complete" product instead of the one that fits the client's need, horizon and budget.
Glossary
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ACB | Adjusted cost base: the policy's tax cost, used to calculate a policy gain. |
| APL | Automatic premium loan: unpaid premiums are advanced as a loan against the cash value. |
| CDA | Capital dividend account: lets a private corporation pay tax-free dividends, credited with death benefits minus the ACB. |
| CIPR | Canadian Insurance Participant Registry: the national registry used for LLQP registration. |
| CISRO | Canadian Insurance Services Regulatory Organizations: the regulators who design the LLQP. |
| COB | Coordination of benefits: rules that decide which group plan pays first. |
| DSC | Deferred sales charge: a back-end fee; no longer sold on segregated funds since June 2023. |
| Elimination period | The period of disability before benefits start to accrue. |
| Fund Facts | Short standardized summary of a segregated fund, delivered at or before the application. |
| MIB | Coded information from previous applications, used to detect omissions. |
| OLHI | OmbudService for Life and Health Insurance: independent review of consumer complaints. |
| Pilot question | An unscored question tested for future exams: 5 per module. |
Frequently asked questions
How long is each LLQP exam?
75 minutes per module, for 35 questions (25 for Ethics), including 5 unscored pilot questions.
How many times can I rewrite an LLQP module?
Under the national policy in force since July 1, 2024: up to four attempts per module. After a fourth failure, you must wait one year and retake the prerequisite course.
Can I write the LLQP exam online?
It depends on the province, but in Ontario the exam is offered in person only, and BC no longer accepts online results written after June 30, 2023. Check with your exam administrator.
Do I have to write the modules in a specific order?
No. Each module is a separate exam. Many candidates start with Ethics, because its rules apply in every other module.
Is the reference material enough to pass?
No. It is provided at the exam, but with about two minutes per question you can only check a few points. You need to know the rules and be fast with the calculations.
How long is the LLQP course certificate valid?
One year. You need a valid course certificate to register for the exam and for each rewrite.
Independent guide. Rules can change and vary by province. Always check with your regulator and your exam administrator before you book.