LLQP Licensing Explained – Courses, Steps, & Exams

Last Updated on November 8, 2025 by Jacques Wong, B.Sc.

In Canada, there are basically 2 types of insurance licenses you can get: a general insurance license and an LLQP license. The general insurance license is the one you need if you want to sell “general insurance,” meaning home, car, business, travel, etc.

If you want to learn about the general insurance licenses, here are some helpful resources:

• RIBO License Guide (Ontario)
• OTL License Guide (Ontario)
• Alberta Insurance License Guide (Alberta)
• BC General Insurance License (British Columbia)

The LLQP license is the one you need if you want to sell life insurance, health insurance, and certain financial products like segregated funds or annuities.

How To Use This Guide

This guide gives you a brief overview of the key things you need to know about the LLQP license. If you want additional details, we’ve included helpful links to other articles on our website that contain more in-depth information about a particular topic.

For example, we talk briefly here about the LLQP exams, but included a link to a more comprehensive guide on the specific details of the exam, including: weights of topics, number of questions, duration, and more specific exam procedures.

What is an LLQP License?

There are actually 2 types of LLQP license: a full LLQP life insurance license and the more limited A&S license. The full life insurance license lets you sell all available products. The A&S license limits you to just accident & sickness insurance products.

The Life License Qualification Program (LLQP) is made up of 4 modules to teach the various insurance products/services you will be providing to clients. For each module, you will learn to:

• Assess a client’s needs & situation
• Analyze product features/benefits to meet the client’s needs
• Implement a tailored insurance, investment, or income solution to meet your clients’ needs
• Provide top-notch customer service during the policy period
• Legal aspects of insurance and annuity contracts

There are 4 open-book LLQP exams in the curriculum called “modules”:

1. Life Insurance (50 MCQ)
2. Accident & Sickness Insurance (50 MCQ)
3. Segregated Funds & Annuities (50 MCQ)
4. Ethics and Professional Practice (30 MCQ)

You can write these exams at different times and in any order. To get your full life insurance license, you need to pass all 4 modules. If you only want the A&S license, you just need to pass the Accident & Sickness Insurance module and the Ethics module.

Life Insurance

This module provides the groundwork for understanding individual and group life insurance products and features and how to match them with a client’s needs. You will learn how to assess a client’s life insurance needs and recommend the right insurance product to address those needs. You will also learn different approaches to provide ongoing service and monitor changes to the life insurance contract.

Accident & Sickness Insurance

This module teaches you the fundamentals of individual and group accident and sickness (A&S) insurance products best suited to your clients’ needs. Again, you will learn how to analyze your client’s needs, the features/benefits of different A&S insurance products, and how to match your clients with specific products to address their needs.

Segregated Funds & Annuities

This section covers segregated funds, individual annuities and group pension plans most suited to your clients’ needs. You will learn how to assess the client’s investment and income needs and the features of various products. Once you know that, we will go over methods for analyzing those needs and matching it with the right investment or income product for them.

Ethics & Professional Practice

This module goes over the principles of ethical professional practice and the compliance/rules that govern life insurance. You will learn the legal aspects of insurance and annuity contracts including: rights and obligations of the parties, interpretation of rules/provisions, and the operation of individual or group insurance contracts among others.

Steps to Become a Life Insurance Agent in Canada

Step 1. Life Insurance Agent Course & Certification

First, you need to study for the exam and get a certificate from an approved provider after completing the course. 

To get a full life insurance license, you need to complete all 4 of these modules. Once you complete the modules, your approved LLQP education provider will certify you on the Canadian Insurance Participant Registry (CIPR), which allows you to sit the official provincial licensing exam.

Step 2. LLQP Exam

The exams are administered by your provincial regulator. Here’s a list for your convenience:

You take the exam one module at a time, but you need to pass all 4 within a 1 year time frame to earn your full life insurance license. Fewer courses are required for an Accident & Sickness (A&S) license.

Starting January 1st, 2016, the educational requirements across Canada were harmonized, which means if you want to move to another province, you do not need to take any additional exams.

Step 3. Employment/Sponsorship

After you’ve passed, you need to find an insurance provider to work with. You contract with them to act as an insurance agent selling for them, and they become your license sponsor. They will help you complete your licensing paperwork and oversee your work in this industry.

Step 4. Errors & Omissions (E&O) Insurance

Having insurance is a requirement of your licensing and will most likely come from your employer. This type of insurance protects you when clients claim that you have made a mistake.

Step 5. Life Insurance Agent Application

After you have all these pieces in place, you can complete your licensing application which includes submitting an application, paying a licensing fee, and passing background checks (criminal & financial).

Different provinces may have additional rules and requirements beyond the basic steps outlined here. For example, the Insurance Council of British Columbia requires all new licensees to complete a Council Rules Course within 1 year of licensing.

Writing the LLQP Exam

LLQP Exam Duration

A common question we get is: “How long are the LLQP exams?” Well, it depends:

How Many Questions Are On the LLQP Exams?

The pilot questions are designed to be indistinguishable from the real exam questions but they won’t count for marks. You won’t know which is which so you will need to answer each question seriously.

Question Format

The exam is all multiple choice.

LLQP Exam Passing Grade

60% on each module. If you fail a module, you can simply retake that one. You have a maximum of 3 LLQP exam attempts.

Is The LLQP Exam Open Book?

Yes, the LLQP exam is open book, so you don’t need to memorize everything. You will be able to refer to the course material during your exam.

Exam Tip: Make sure you have studied the book well enough to know where everything can be found. This makes it fast and easy for you to locate the correct information.

LLQP Exam Schedule & Location

You write the LLQP exam modules online, so you can write them anywhere you want – in the comfort of your own home or in the office.

LLQP Exam Weightings & Structure

LLQP Exam Prerequisites

Before you can write the LLQP exam, you need 3 things:

1. Complete an LLQP course with an approved LLQP course provider.
2. Register for a CIPR (Canadian Insurance Participant Registry) number
3. Have valid confirmation of successfully completing the above-mentioned course within the last 12 months.

Benefits of Taking The LLQP Course Online vs. In Person

While there are many advantages to in-class training, anything can be taught online just as effectively with the right curriculum design.

Online training has several advantages:

1. Cost – online training is usually cheaper because it’s more scalable
2. Convenience – you can study any time, anywhere, and on any device
3. Speed – because you can go at your own pace, you can go as quickly or as slowly as you want
4. Review – because the lectures are not live, you can pause to think about things, rewind, or do whatever you need to do without disturbing the flow of the class
5. Data – through data-driven course design, we use basic data collected about completion rates, exam grades, and track the questions asked by students to improve the course

In-class training has several advantages, too:

1. Interaction – you can ask questions and get answers right away
2. Relationship – you can build a relationship with your instructor and other students in the class with you

What we try to do with our online courses is provide the best of both worlds. We offer all the convenience of online training: cost, convenience, speed, and easy review, with the benefits of in-class training. We do that by assigning every student a course tutor who is there to answer your questions 7 days a week. You can contact your tutor at any time using:

1. Phone
2. Email
3. Live Chat

When we are not online to help you, we also created a helpful AI chatbot that can answer some questions about key concepts or provide 24/7 technical support.

Conclusion

Getting your LLQP license in Canada is the essential first step to becoming a licensed life insurance agent and opening the door to a rewarding career in insurance and financial services. This guide walked you through what the LLQP license is, the modules and exams you need to complete, and the steps required to officially earn your license—from completing an approved course and passing the exams, to securing sponsorship, E&O insurance, and final approval from your provincial regulator.

With the 2016 harmonization of educational requirements across Canada, your LLQP license provides exceptional mobility, allowing you to practice anywhere in the country without additional testing. Whether you pursue the full life insurance license to sell the complete range of products or opt for the more focused A&S license, this qualification opens doors to a flexible career helping Canadians protect their families’ financial futures while building your own successful insurance practice.