Professional Titles

What is the difference between a professional title and a certificate?

The certificate is issued by the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) and authorizes an individual to practise as either a broker, an agent or a claims adjuster.
The professional title is proof that its holder has completed the training needed to acquire a specific set of competencies and qualifications.

Titles authorized by the ChAD

Different organizations in the damage insurance industry grant different professional titles (ancre vers encadré Other professional titles). The ChAD authorizes the following professional titles:

Chartered Insurance Broker (C.I.B.) : university-level courses
Associate Insurance Broker (A.I.B.) : CEGEP-level courses

Damage insurance brokers who wish to use these professional titles in Quebec must be authorized to do so by the ChAD, pursuant to section 318 of the Act respecting the distribution of financial products and services.

How to earn a title

To earn a ChAD-authorized title, you must first ensure that you meet the prerequisites listed above. Then, you need to submit an application for a professional title on the ChAD’s Portal. Among other things, you’ll need to provide the following documents:

Your official transcript
Curriculum vitae

Cost: $150 plus tax to review the file and issue the A.I.B. or C.I.B. diploma.

Click on the link of the title which concerns you to proceed to the application:

Description of titles

Title	Chartered Insurance Broker (C.I.B.)	Associate Insurance Broker (A.I.B.)
Expertise	The C.I.B. title certifies the professional’s expertise and allows him to, for example: develop his management skills, improve his expertise in risk management, further his career development, earn PDUs, if the courses are successfully completed during the current reference period.	In addition to confirming the professional’s knowledge of personal lines or commercial lines damage insurance, the title of A.I.B.: facilitates career development, increases employability, enables one to earn PDUs, in particular in the category of “insurance techniques,” if the courses are successfully completed within the current reference period.
Prerequisites	Hold a damage insurance broker certificate issued by the Autorité des marchés financiers. Have worked for at least twenty-four (24) consecutive months as a damage insurance broker. Have successfully completed the fifteen (15) university-level courses of the C.I.B. program	Hold a damage insurance broker certificate issued by the Autorité des marchés financiers. Have worked for at least twelve (12) consecutive months as a damage insurance broker. Have successfully completed the fourteen (13) CEGEP-level courses of the A.I.B. program.
Subjects taken in the professional title programme	Management Accounting Finance Economics Business law Entrepreneurship Leadership Marketing Human resources management Financial mathematics Structure of the risk management process Risk financing Risk control Operations management Training management Advertising Choose two of the three courses.	Laws and regulations respecting damage insurance Home insurance Building mechanics Automobile insurance Commercial lines insurance I (direct and indirect damages) Commercial lines insurance II (complementary direct damage insurance products) Commercial lines insurance III (liability and surety bonds) Communications and sales techniques Customer service Claims adjustment Introduction to risk management Financial accounting

Title

Chartered Insurance Broker (C.I.B.)

Associate Insurance Broker (A.I.B.)

Expertise

The C.I.B. title certifies the professional’s expertise and allows him to, for example:

develop his management skills,
improve his expertise in risk management,
further his career development,

earn PDUs, if the courses are successfully completed during the current reference period.

In addition to confirming the professional’s knowledge of personal lines or commercial lines damage insurance, the title of A.I.B.:

facilitates career development,
increases employability,
enables one to earn PDUs, in particular in the category of “insurance techniques,” if the courses are successfully completed within the current reference period.

Prerequisites

Hold a damage insurance broker certificate issued by the Autorité des marchés financiers.
Have worked for at least twenty-four (24) consecutive months as a damage insurance broker.
Have successfully completed the fifteen (15) university-level courses of the C.I.B. program

Hold a damage insurance broker certificate issued by the Autorité des marchés financiers.
Have worked for at least twelve (12) consecutive months as a damage insurance broker.
Have successfully completed the fourteen (13) CEGEP-level courses of the A.I.B. program.

Subjects taken in the professional title programme

Management
Accounting
Finance
Economics
Business law
Entrepreneurship
Leadership
Marketing
Human resources management
Financial mathematics
Structure of the risk management process
Risk financing
Risk control
Operations management **
Training management **
Advertising **

**Choose two of the three courses.

Laws and regulations respecting damage insurance
Home insurance
Building mechanics
Automobile insurance
Commercial lines insurance I (direct and indirect damages)
Commercial lines insurance II (complementary direct damage insurance products)
Commercial lines insurance III (liability and surety bonds)
Communications and sales techniques
Customer service
Claims adjustment
Introduction to risk management
Financial accounting

The rules pertaining to the use of a professional title

Brokers cannot use a title unless they have received authorization to do so from the ChAD and been authorized by the AMF to act as a damage insurance broker.
The professional title may not be used before earning the certificate, nor may it take the place of a certificate or grant the right to practise.
The title of associate or chartered insurance broker does not allow the individual to perform tasks in another sector. For example, an individual holding personal lines insurance certification cannot act in commercial lines insurance or vice versa.
Acts authorized by law are linked to the certificate’s sector, not to the professional title.
Brokers keep their professional title as long as their certificate remains in good standing. If a broker changes sectors and becomes an agent, or if he is no longer certified, he may no longer use his professional title.
The ChAD may undertake any action necessary to prevent the illegal use of a title.

How to display a professional title
The following information must appear on the representative’s personalized documents:

his or her name, as it appears in the Authority register;
the sector and class of sector for which the individual is authorized to pursue activities, pursuant to his or her certificate.

A representative who holds an Associate Insurance Broker or a Chartered Insurance Broker designation may place the abbreviation of his or her professional title immediately after his or her name.

Abbreviations are written as follows:

Associate Insurance Broker: A.I.B.
Chartered Insurance Broker: C.I.B.

Example

Louise Roberts, A.I.B.
Damage Insurance Broker
XYZ Insurance Inc.

Other professional titles (designations) used in the industry:

The Insurance Institute of Canada (IIC) grants the designations:

CIP (Chartered Insurance Professional)
FCIP (Fellow Chartered Insurance Professional)

The Global Risk Management Institute Inc. grants the designation:

Canadian Risk Management (CRM)

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