How to get your Level 1 Insurance License
I get this question a lot from students wondering about how to get their Level 1 license. They may have heard somewhere that they need to take the Fundamentals of Insurance exam or something like that – so I’m here to break down the different ways to get your Level 1 license and the steps you need to take.
To get your Level 1 Insurance License, you need to pass either the CAIB 1 exam or the Fundamentals of Insurance exam. To do that, the first step would be to pick up some study materials. You can get the textbook directly from your provincial brokers association or skip that and go with our online courses or in-person classes. When you’re ready, you can register for the exam on your provincial brokers association website (contact us for help with this if needed).
After you pass the exam, you would then need to apply to your provincial insurance regulator for your Level 1 General Insurance License (for example, here in BC, you would contact the Insurance Council of BC). It may take a few days to get the paperwork sorted out so in parallel with this, you can start looking for work.
Fundamentals of Insurance vs CAIB 1 exams
As I mentioned above, there are 2 exams you can take to get your Level 1 Insurance License. To be clear, they cover the same material so there is no difference in terms of knowledge going into the workplace. The major difference is in the format of the exams: the CAIB 1 exam has short answer questions whereas the Fundamentals of Insurance exam is only made up of 100 multiple-choice questions.
For first-timers looking to get into the industry, I recommend taking Fundamentals of Insurance. Multiple choice exams are much less in-depth and will be easier.
Call to Action
If you’ve been thinking about building a career in the insurance industry, and have taken the time to research and read this entire article, it is time to take action. You can check out our online provincial insurance licensing courses and get started today. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us.