The British Columbia Travel Insurance Exam
A Notice, issued by the Insurance Council of British Columbia on January 5, 2005, announced that "Travel Agents engaged in the sale of Travel Insurance receive a limited conditional exemption from the Licensing Requirements under the Financial Institutions Act". The full text of the notice and other information is available at www.insurancecouncilofbc.com or you may download the PDF of the Notice.
The Notice went on to say that as of January 1, 2005, only the travel agent or wholesaler that is registered under the Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act (BPCPA) is required to hold a restricted travel insurance license with the Insurance Council of British Columbia.
To qualify for the license exemption, the following conditions must be met:
- The individual must be an employee or commissioned salesperson of a licensed travel agency
- The individual must successfully complete the travel insurance course (i.e read and understand the Study Manual) and exam
- Individuals who have already passed the exam do not have to retake the exam
- Individuals who have not been actively involved in the travel insurance industry for two or more years must take the course (i.e. read and understand the Study Manual) and exam again before they are eligible for the exemption
- It is the responsibility of the travel agency to determine whether an individual meets the education requirement.
- The individual must complete a minimum of two hours of continuing education each calendar year. Continuing Education
The Insurance Council of British Columbia plans to conduct spot audits of travel agencies to ensure compliance with these requirements. It is the travel agency's responsibility to ensure all of its employees and commissioned salespersons comply with the exemption provisions. Please note that if travel agents have questions about how the new changes affect them should contact the Insurance Council of British Columbia directly at:
Phone: 604-688-0321 or 1-877-688-0321, www.insurancecouncilofbc.com
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- Candidate must look for a Proctor (i.e. someone to supervise his/her exam). Candidate may look for someone on his/her own or may choose to contact one of our listed Proctored Venues below.
- Candidate must set up an exam date, time and venue after consulting with Proctor. Because it’s an online exam, the candidate can write anywhere as long as he/she has a computer available. We suggest that candidates give themselves at least two weeks to study when scheduling an exam date.
- Candidate must register by clicking here.
- Once registration is submitted and payment is processed, ACTA will immediately send the candidate an official receipt along with a link to the study manual via email.
The BC Insurance Exam program consists of a Study Manual and an Exam. The exam is only available in an online version.
Please Note: An exam date must be scheduled at least 10 business days (excluding holidays) after your completed registration form has been received at the ACTA Office.
Candidates have the option to write the exam in either a Proctored Venue (where the computer and a Proctor are provided.)
OR
Candidates may choose their own Proctor and write the exam anytime, anyplace they choose.
The fee for the exam is as follows:
$65.00 + applicable taxes. This does not include any fees required by a Proctored Venue or a Proctor, as these arrangements are strictly between the candidate and the proctor.
Results:
The pass mark on the Exam is 72%.
For questions or concerns about the BC Insurance Exam, please email us at certification@acta.ca or by calling 1-888-257-2282 or 905-282-9294 extension 128.
Preparation
Please remember that the Insurance exam is designed to test your ability to properly service the needs of your customers. In order to do so, you must have an understanding of the details of travel insurance. This exam is not designed to trip you up with grammatical tricks or "sounds-like" responses. It is a straightforward review of the information covered in the Study Manual. There are numerous sites on the internet that give you ideas about studying and writing exams. For those who may be anxious about the Insurance exam, please take some time to look at some of these sites:
You will need a proctor to administer the BC Insurance Exam. Download the Proctor Guidelines:
There are 2 options open to candidates:
- You can write the exam at a proctored venue, where a computer and proctor is available, usually for a fee of $40.00 paid directly to that venue (ACTA is not involved in arrangements between the exam candidate and the proctor) Click here to view the current list of Proctored Venues
- You can choose your own proctor (which ACTA has to approve) and write the exam anyplace, anytime you choose. The Proctor must read the Proctor Guidelines and then fill out the online Proctor Application Form.
What is a Proctor?
A proctor is an impartial supervisor for the writing of the exam. His or her responsibility is to:
- Ensure the integrity of the writing of the exam
- Make certain that there are no disruptions
- Check the candidate's photo identification to ensure that they are the actual candidate registered to write the exam
- Make sure the candidate completes their own exam
- Make sure the exam starts and ends (90 minutes) on time
- Ensure that candidates leave any excess study material outside the exam room
Who can Proctor?
The key to finding a Proctor is to ensure that there is not a conflict of interest. Conflict of interest in this context means that the proctor does not work for the same agency/organization as those who are writing the exam, and that there is no relationship between a Proctor and a candidate that could call into question the impartiality of the Proctor (eg. spouse, relative, business partner etc.) The Proctor must read the Proctor Guidelines and attest to the fact that they understand the guidelines. Examples of appropriate Proctors:
- Someone from outside the industry who fulfills the following criteria
- Maturity (i.e. the ability to oversee an exam)
- No interest in the subject matter (the person has no interest in studying or working in the travel industry)
- No conflict of interest (they have no relatives or friends in the exam sitting for which they are being asked to Proctor)
- A person who qualifies as a passport guarantor, as long as this does not pose a conflict of interest. Please note that the ACTA Exam Proctor qualifications differ from the information on the passport guarantor website in that, for the purpose of Proctoring, a relative or spouse is not acceptable. Passport guarantor guidelines may be found here.
- A Travel & Tourism Educator, or another academic, whether active or retired, whether associated with the travel industry or not, provided there is no conflict of interest. However, if the Travel & Tourism Educator is required to write the BC Insurance Exam, or chooses to write the exam, then they must pass the exam first.
- A Certified Travel Counsellor or Certified Travel Manager who does not work for the same agency or agency chain and has already passed the BC Insurance Exam, provided there is no conflict of interest.
- An agency manager who does not work for the same agency or agency chain, and who has already passed the BC Insurance exam, provided there is no conflict of interest
- A Travel & Tourism trainer, who has no conflict of interest
- A candidate may suggest a Proctor and ACTA will determine if this person is acceptable.
- When a proctor and time for the exam have been arranged, registrants should register with ACTA at least 10 business days prior to the exam sitting.
- The BC Proctor Application form can be downloaded here.
Exam candidates may write the BC Insurance exam anytime you please and anywhere you please, as long as you have the proper equipment and an approved proctor to supervise the process.
If you choose to write in an agency or office, you must ensure that the proctor can clearly see all the exam candidates at the same time. Venues where people are tucked away in cubicles or offices may need to have 2-3 proctors to supervise the exam. Also, if writing in an office/agency/home, the desks used to write the exam must be clear of all papers, files and books.
ACTA has put together a list of Proctored Venues that some candidates may find convenient. Each venue lists specific dates on which they can accommodate candidates to write the exam in their facility, using the facility's computers and using an approved proctor.
Please note that candidates who wish to write in a Proctored Venue must still register with ACTA to write the exam. Registration must take place a minimum of 10 business days before the actual writing date of the exam. Please call the Proctored Venue before you register to ensure that there is room on the date and time you wish to write before you register with ACTA.
The following schools are offering proctored venues for the writing of the BC Insurance Exam. Each School has its own procedures and fee in place. Any applicable proctor fees are paid directly to the Venue and are separate from the exam registration fee that is paid to ACTA.
If you are managing a Proctored venue or are interested in offering a venue for writing the BC Insurance Exam and would like to know more about the procedures to follow, please contact us at certification@acta.ca.
Exam candidates interested in using a proctored venue, rather than making their own individual or group arrangements, should review the information provided by the venue and then contact the venue directly to make arrangement.
Again, please note that candidates who wish to write in a Proctored Venue must still register with ACTA to write the exam. Registration must take place a minimum of 10 business days before the actual writing date of the exam. And again, please check the link next to the Proctored Venue before you register with ACTA to ensure that there is room on the date and time you wish to write the exam.
410 – 1190 Melville Street Vancouver BC V6E 3W1, Canada
T: (778) 372-8457
Toll Free: 1-844-329-9778
E: testcentre@ashtontesting.ca
British Columbia Institute of Technology
Building NE1, room 292: 3700 Willingdon Avenue, Burnaby, BC V5G 3H2
T: (604) 456-1036
E: bbytestctr@bcit.ca
North Island College
1685 South Dogwood Street, Campbell River, BC V9W 8C1
Student Services and Registration
T: (250) 923-9700
F: (250) 923-9703
North Island College
2300 Ryan Road
Courtenay BC V9N 8N6
Student Services and Registration
T: (250) 334-5000
F: (250) 334-5018
College of the Rockies
2700 College Way, Box 8500, Cranbrook B.C., V1C 5L7
T: (250) 489-2751
F: (250) 489-1790
Toll Free: 1-877-489-2687
College of the Rockies
: RR #4, #2 - 1535 - 14th Street Invermere, BC, V0A 1K4
T: (250) 342-3210
Thompson Rivers University
Old Main building, Room 1487, 805 TRU Way, Kamloops, BC V2C 0C8
T: (250) 828-5470
F: (250) 371-5690
Testing Services
3000 College Drive South
Lethbridge, AB T1K 1L6
T: (403) 320-3368
E: Testing.services@lethbridgecollege.ca
North Island College
3699 Roger Street Port Alberni, BC V9Y 8E3
Student Services and Registration
T 250-724-8711
F 250-724-8700
North Island College
8950 Granville St #140, Port Hardy, BC V0N 2P0
Student Services and Registration
T: (250) 949-7912
F: (250) 949-2617
Should you be unsuccessful in writing the exam, you may rewrite the exam by registering with a minimum of 10 business days prior to the proposed date of the rewrite. Candidates who fail the exam two times are urged to contact ACTA before their third attempt, so we may be able to assist in preparing the candidate.
Rewrite fees
Online: $45.00 + applicable taxes
Any applicable Proctor fees are the responsibility of the candidate. If you are writing in a Proctored Venue, please contact venue first to ensure there is room for you on your chosen date before you register for your rewrite.
Rescheduling & Cancellations
If you are unable to write the exam on the originally scheduled day, ACTA must be notified in writing a minimum of 7 business days prior to your scheduled exam sitting. Exam candidates are allowed one free exam date change if the request is received in writing at least 7 business days prior to the originally scheduled exam date. For all subsequent exam date changes that are requested in writing at least 7 business days prior to the scheduled exam date, there is a $25.00 + applicable tax change fee per event. If you have a change of plans within 7 business days of the scheduled exam date, there is an automatic fee of $35.00 (plus applicable tax).
Change Fee per Event
If your plans change on the day of the exam, there is no refund of the exam fee and the candidate must re-register at the full fee. Please note that there are no refunds for cancellations. However, if a request is received at least 7 business days in advance of the originally scheduled exam date, the agency may replace the cancelled exam candidate with another candidate at the same time (or within 24 hours) as the cancellation notice is provided.
If a medical condition is involved, a Medical Note must be submitted to ACTA within two business days of the original assigned exam date to allow for consideration of waving the Change Fee. Medical cancellations will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
- Exam Registration:$65.00 + applicable taxes for exams booked more than 6 business days in advance. For exams that are booked within 5 business days of the exam date there is a $25.00 late booking fee. Any applicable proctor fee is a matter between the candidate and the proctor and does not involve ACTA.
- Study Manual:
- PDF Format: Included with Exam Registration
- Hard Copy Canada Post Regular Mail: $55.00 + applicable taxes plus the Exam writing fee
- Rescheduling or Cancellations 6 or more business days in advance of Exam Date: $25.00 + applicable taxes
- Rescheduling within 5 business days of the scheduled Exam Date: $35.00 + applicable taxes
- Cancellations within 5 business days of the scheduled Exam Date: No Refund
- Cancellations or 'no-shows' on the day of scheduled exam: No refund. Candidate must re-register at full fee.
- Re-writes: $45.00 + applicable taxes
- Re-order Pass or Fail Letters (PDF Format): $25.00 + applicable taxes