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ARTICLE · 28 JANUARY 2026

Regulatory Update: British Columbia's New Restricted Insurance Agency Regime

McCarthy Tétrault
McCarthy Tétrault
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On December 18, 2025, the Government of British Columbia announced a new restricted licencing framework for businesses that sell incidental or add-on insurance products, with the framework taking effect on January 1, 2027.

CanadaInsurance
Hartley Lefton
Hartley Lefton
Shaun Shepherd
Shaun Shepherd
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On December 18, 2025, the Government of British Columbia announced a new restricted licencing framework for businesses that sell incidental or add-on insurance products, with the framework taking effect on January 1, 2027. This framework builds on the existing framework that applies to travel agencies that sell travel insurance, and aligns British Columbia with similar regimes in the provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and New Brunswick.

Under this framework, The Insurance Council of British Columbia ("ICBC")has announced that the Restricted Insurance Agency ("RIA") licence will apply to the sale of insurance products that are offered by certain non‑insurance businesses, incidentally to the sale of the product or service that will be insured.

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