12 life-insurance agents from same B.C. agency lose licences for cheating on qualification test: council

A dozen life insurance agents who worked together at the same brokerage inB.C. have lost their licencesbecause they all conspired to cheaton their qualification tests, according to the provincial regulator.

The Insurance Council of B.C. said it'sa "very unusual ... level of cheating" that was unseen anywhere else in the country after a national audit one that left the boardwith no choice but to cancel the agents' licences.

'Odd' test pattern

The 12 agents wrotetheirLLQPtests to earn their licences between October 2016 and June 2017. All of them workedat a World Financial Group (WFG) branch in Surrey.

Anyone who wants to become a life insurance agent in Canada needs to pass theLLQP Life License Qualification Program exam toprove they havebasic knowledge to sell life insurance.

Last fall, a third party ran a national audit to check for fishypatterns on tests results from across the country that could point to cheating.

Nearly two dozen red flags popped up in B.C. there was an"odd" groupof multiple-choice exams with answers,both right and wrong,that were nearly identical to one another.

The provincial boardimmediately suspended 21 brokerslicencesafter their exams were flagged. The council found they all camefrom the same brokerage and appeared to have used the same answer keys.

After the investigations, the councilmoved to cancel 19 of those certificates. Twelve have accepted that ruling and seven have filed appeals. Two are still pending.

"Our concern was that anyone who had cheated on this exam, we didn't consider to be qualified," said Janet Sinclair, executive director of the insurance council.

"You want to make sure people who are practicing are competent and that's why we acted as we did ... You expect [agents]to conduct themselves with the utmost of integrity and cheating on an exam does not meet that characteristic."

She continued: "Anyone who wants to practice in this area should be able to pass it without needing to cheat."

The executive director said the cheating is "frustrating" for regulators and fellow agents, and has prompted the board to bolsterexam security: phones will be placed at the front of the exam room, security cameras will be running, and extra supervisors will be on hand in the future.

President says agency 'does not tolerate cheating'

Sinclair said the council can't comment onexactly how the cheating was done, as the investigations are still active. She also wouldn't say which branch the brokers worked at.

As for life insurance policies sold by theagents, Sinclair said they're still valid. Liability would fallto the World Financial Group as it would've approved the packages when they were sold.

The twelve brokers "provided no explanation" for the collusion and cheating when contacted forthe investigation, according to theircancellationnotices.

Theyaccept the council's move to cancel their licences by default byfailing to appeal for a hearing within two weeks of the ruling.

The World Financial Group did not respond toCBC'srequest for comment on Monday, although the company's president said,after the initial suspensions, it "does not tolerate cheating."

In October, Rick Williams said the agency would be "taking all necessary stepsregarding the matter."