Now it’s easier for out-of-province adjusters to work in Ontario

A simpler and faster licensing process will allow property and casualty (P&C) insurance adjusters from outside of Ontario to work in the province.

The Protect Ontario Through Free Trade Within Canada Act 2025 took effect Jan. 1 after receiving Royal Assent last June, says the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) in a recent press release. The legislation, which reduces barriers to investment between Ontario and other Canadian jurisdictions, also improves labour mobility for insurance adjusters and several other classes of financial services professionals.

“The fast-track option is available for all insurance adjusters that meet all eligibility criteria, including property adjusting,” notes a FSRA spokesperson in response to a CU query.

While Ontario’s new rules aren’t a panacea for P&C professionals who’ve voiced concerns about labour mobility amid rising frequency and severity of natural catastrophes (NatCats), they’re a step in the right direction, says Tim Pavlov, a senior associate in Stikeman Elliott’s Financial Products and Services Group.

“Now we can have an adjuster from Saskatchewan come here to Ontario and, provided the adjuster is in good standing, [they] can start adjusting claims after FSRA grants an Ontario licence,” he told CU in an interview late last year. “It doesn’t happen instantaneously. There is still some process to go through. But before that [law], it would have taken months for that person to get a local license in Ontario.”

Related: Can adjuster labour mobility find a way forward?

Under the new rules, financial services professionals holding an equivalent licence in another jurisdiction would be permitted to do business in Ontario almost immediately, “even while they’re waiting for their Ontario licence to be approved,” FSRA says.

Under the province’s new ‘as of right’ labour mobility rules, “eligible out-of-province professionals can start working in Ontario as soon as FSRA confirms receipt of a complete ‘as of right’ labour mobility application, including all required documents,” the regulator says.

Once confirmation is received, an applicant is deemed certified. That certification allows an applicant to work in Ontario for six months, “pending the receipt of a full licence application.”

An applicant can only use the ‘as of right’ process once and the certification expires after six months. To avoid a gap in their ability to conduct business, those wishing to keep working in Ontario after six months must submit a standard out-of-province licensing application once they meet the application requirements.

Related: Can ‘principles’ ensure adjuster mobility?

FSRA provided a checklist for adjusters to review before starting a fast-track ‘as of right’ application:

• Complete the Insurance Institute of Ontario’s Ontario Auto Equivalency exam if the applicant wants to adjust auto claims in Ontario. Those not completing the equivalency exam will be restricted from handling auto claims in Ontario.
• provide a letter from their regulator to verify they have an equivalent licence in another province or territory.
• be sponsored by a licensed adjusting firm in Ontario
• provide an email address
• and attest that:
  • the licence issued by another province or territory for the regulated occupation is currently in good standing
  • no out-of-province regulatory authority has refused the applicant certification in the regulated occupation within the past two years
  • the applicant is not currently subject to any professional misconduct, incompetence or incapacity proceeding, or any similar proceeding, in respect of the regulated occupation
  • the applicant has not had a finding of professional misconduct, incompetence or incapacity made against them in relation to the regulated occupation
  • The applicant has not been found guilty of an offence.