Restricted Business licenses
What requires a Restricted Business license?
Businesses intending to sell restricted insurance “types”—such as equipment warranty, GAP insurance, travel insurance, group travel insurance, personal accident, and more—must hold a restricted license authorizing the business to transact that type of insurance only. View the list of credit-related insurance definitions, including approved insurance classes/types that these restricted certificate holders may sell.
Each business that intends to market each of these types of insurance must hold a restricted license authorizing the business, through its employees, to transact that type of insurance. Separate applications are required for each type of insurance that the business will provide.
Businesses that may apply for restricted certificates
Businesses that may apply for a restricted certificate to engage in the sale of these types of insurance include:
- Deposit-taking institutions
- Transportation companies
- Travel agencies
- Automobile dealerships
- Other prescribed enterprises including:
- Sales finance companies
- Customs brokers licensed under the Customs Act (Canada)
- Freight-forwarding companies
- Equipment dealers
- Funeral services businesses
- Vehicle rental agencies
The business must name one individual (the “Designated Individual”) to be responsible for receiving notices and other documents, as per the Insurance Act. Note: The business holds the license, not the Designated Individual (DI).
Application requirements
All businesses applying for a restricted license must meet these application requirements.
The DI is responsible for receiving all AIC licensing correspondence and annually renewing the license. The DI can be anyone the business selects to be in that role.
Applications must be initiated by the DI on behalf of the business. DIs must have their own CIPR number.
If the business is a corporation or partnership (i.e. the business name ends in “Ltd.,”“Inc.,” or “Corp”), the corporation or partnership must be registered with Alberta Corporate Registries in accordance with the Alberta Business Corporations Act or under the Partnership Act, if applicable.
You will be required to provide the Alberta Corporate Access Number before you can complete and submit your application.
If the business only has a trade name, registration with Alberta Corporate Registries is not required.
Every business must satisfy the errors & omissions requirements that have been issued by a licensed insurer in Alberta and that meets the terms and conditions approved by the Alberta Insurance Council. Required E&O policy information in the application:
- Name of your E&O carrier (insurance company covering the policy, not the brokerage who may have sold you the policy)
- E&O policy number
- Effective and expiry dates of your policy (your policy must be active at the time of application, it cannot be expired or effective in the future)
The E&O policy must be issued in the name of the business. E&O coverage for that business must also cover all employees and/or independent contractors.
All restricted business licenses must be sponsored by an insurance company. When the application is completed and submitted by the Designated Individual, it is automatically submitted to the sponsor for review and approval. Once approved by the sponsor and the fees have been paid, the application will be sent to AIC for final review.
The license fee is determined by the number of employees selling that specific insurance product for that business name.
Auto dealership businesses must be also registered with the Alberta Motor Vehicle Industry Council.
Replacing the Designated Individual or changing the sponsor
If the Designated Individual has left, your business must immediately replace that individual by completing the required application.
If the sponsor has changed but the DI remains the same, the DI must complete new applications under the new sponsor.
- Individuals replacing DIs of restricted licensed businesses must register for their own CIPR number. They cannot use the CIPR number of the previous DI.
- The new DI must complete and submit a new application for each insurance class.
FAQs
To apply for a restricted business license in Alberta, the person that is the Designated Individual will need to complete the following:
- Log into the AIC Portal with their CIPR# and password
- Select “Licenses”
- Click the “Apply for a License” button in the top right
- Select “I am applying ‘for restricted business'”
- Select the license class from the drop-down menu
- Enter the business name (select “yes” to create new business name if it does not exist in our system)*
- Enter sponsor by typing the first word and selecting from drop-down list
- Click “Yes, create application”
- Select the license fee from the drop-down list; fees are based on the number of employees selling the insurance
- Fully complete application/answer questions
- Click the “Submit” button to submit the application for approval to the sponsoring company
- Once approved and the fees are paid, it will be submitted to the Alberta Insurance Council for final review.
* The business name will reflect “pending” until the application is reviewed by AIC.
Process to replace the DI (outside renewal period):
- Log into the AIC Portal with CIPR# and password
- Select “Licenses”
- Click the “Apply for a License” button in the top right
- Select “I am applying ‘for restricted business'”
- Select the license class from the drop-down menu
- Enter the business name
- Enter sponsor by typing the first word and selecting from drop-down list
-
- You will notice a message indicating I am replacing [license #] of [current DI’s name] for agency [licensed business name]
- Click “Yes, create application”
- Select the license fee from the drop-down list; fees are based on the number of employees selling the insurance
- Fully complete application/answer questions
- Click the “Submit” button to submit the application for approval to the sponsoring company
- Once approved and the fees are paid, it will be submitted to the Alberta Insurance Council for final review.