Use this syllabus as your checklist for the LLQP Life Insurance module. The competency weightings below are published by CSI for its course assessments and reflect the standard LLQP competency structure; your provincial exam provider may present the blueprint in a different way.
Official sources:
Official competency weightings (Life Insurance end-of-module test)
| Competency | Weight |
|---|
| Assess the client’s needs and situation | 35% |
| Analyze the available products that meet the client’s needs | 30% |
| Implement a recommendation adapted to the client’s needs and situation | 25% |
| Provide customer service during the validity period of the coverage | 10% |
What’s covered
Assess the client’s needs and situation (35%)
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Introduction to Life Insurance Module
- Define life insurance and explain how risk pooling transfers the financial risk of premature death from an individual/family to an insurer.
- Distinguish, at a high level, between term insurance and permanent insurance (duration of coverage, premium pattern, and presence/absence of cash values).
- Identify and describe the roles of the key parties to a life insurance contract: insurer, policyowner, life insured, beneficiary, and (where applicable) payor.
- Explain how life insurance can be used to address common personal planning needs such as income replacement, debt repayment, and final expenses.
- Explain the concept of insurable interest at time of application/issue and why it matters for the validity of a life policy.
- Describe how underwriting supports risk classification and pricing (why insurers collect medical, lifestyle, and financial information).
- Explain premium payment modes (annual, semi-annual, quarterly, monthly) and how modal factors can affect total annual cost.
- Describe common policy values and transactions at an overview level (cash surrender value, policy loans, withdrawals/surrenders, reinstatement).
- Identify typical documents and forms used in the life insurance sales and servicing process (application, illustration, policy contract, beneficiary and ownership forms).
- Describe the scope of the LLQP Life Insurance module: recommending and servicing individual and group life insurance solutions within a regulated environment.
Assessing the Client’s Situation
- Gather and interpret client personal and family information to identify dependents and on-going dependency relationships (spouse/common-law partner, minor children, adult dependents, caregivers).
- Identify planning considerations in blended families (multiple spouses/partners, stepchildren) that can affect beneficiary designations and coverage needs.
- Assess lifestyle and avocation risks (e.g., hazardous hobbies) and explain how they can affect underwriting outcomes and product selection.
- Assess occupational factors (job duties, self-employed vs employed, job stability, travel) and explain how they can affect underwriting and insurance needs.
- Determine the client’s current income and future income potential and explain how income changes influence needs analysis assumptions.
- Assess time horizon to retirement and explain how it affects temporary vs permanent insurance needs.
- Identify potential tax exposure at death for the client, spouse, and other beneficiaries and explain why liquidity may be required.
- Collect and summarize the client’s current and future expenses (household, debt servicing, education, business) to support an evidence-based needs analysis.
- Identify and categorize the client’s assets (liquid vs illiquid) and liabilities (including payment terms) and explain how they affect capital needs at death.
- Estimate capital expenses arising upon death (funeral expenses, income taxes, debt repayment, education/legacy funding, charitable donations).
- Identify additional resources available upon death (savings/investments, existing insurance, employer lump sums, pension/guaranteed annuity benefits) and incorporate them into the analysis.
- Determine the client’s group insurance context (employer vs association plan), eligibility conditions, and vulnerability to termination or plan changes.
- Collect detailed information about existing individual life policies (type, owner, insured, beneficiary, face amount, riders, renewability/convertibility, premiums, exclusions).
- Collect detailed information about existing group life coverage (start/end dates, face amount, beneficiary, additional benefits) and recognize common coverage limitations.
- Assess limitations of group life insurance (coverage expiry, convertibility upon termination, employer control, face amount limits) and explain the risk of relying solely on group coverage.
- Explain how cash values and adjusted cost basis (ACB) can affect decisions to keep, surrender, or replace an existing permanent policy (high-level).
- Compare, at a high level, the tax implications of partial/full policy surrender versus policy loans versus collateral loans when evaluating existing permanent coverage.
- Identify government death and survivor benefits (CPP/QPP death benefit and survivor/children’s benefits) and explain how they may reduce—but rarely eliminate—insurance needs.
- Recognize the relevance of Old Age Security (OAS) and Allowance for the Survivor in survivor-income planning (high-level).
- Identify provincial workers’ compensation survivor benefits that may apply and explain integration with private coverage (high-level).
- Identify other coverages and benefits that might be lost or reduced upon death (health, disability, employer benefits) and explain resulting planning gaps.
- Apply core needs-analysis techniques: fact-finding, identifying objectives, quantifying risks, and documenting assumptions.
- Perform a basic capital-needs (DIME-style) calculation to estimate life insurance needed: debts + income needs + mortgage/major goals + final expenses, minus assets and existing coverage.
- Perform a basic income-replacement calculation and explain how duration, discount rate, inflation, and taxes affect the amount required.
- Incorporate inflation and expected investment returns conceptually when projecting future expenses and survivor income needs.
- Explain how life insurance proceeds can help fund taxes triggered at death (e.g., deemed disposition capital gains) and why this creates an estate-liquidity need.
- Identify whether the client’s needs are primarily short-term/temporary, long-term/permanent, or layered, and connect the need-type to product categories.
- Determine an appropriate term length by aligning coverage duration to specific liabilities or obligations (mortgage amortization, child-support duration, business loans).
- Assess business-owner risks (shareholder/partner death, key person loss, business debt) and identify life-insurance needs arising from business continuation planning.
- Evaluate affordability using cash-flow analysis and explain the trade-offs between coverage amount, duration, and premium.
- Identify appropriate primary and contingent beneficiaries based on goals and family dynamics and flag situations that require additional planning (e.g., minors, special needs).
- Document the client’s situation, data sources, assumptions, and rationale to support suitability and later reviews.
Analyze the available products that meet the client’s needs (30%)
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Term Life Insurance
- Explain how term life insurance works, including the relationship between the term period, premiums, and the death benefit.
- Compare level term and annually renewable term (ART/YRT) in terms of premium patterns and typical use cases.
- Explain renewability and non-renewability provisions and how renewal affects premium cost and coverage continuation.
- Explain convertibility provisions, common conversion deadlines, and why conversion options can add value in long-term planning.
- Differentiate level term, increasing term, and decreasing term insurance and identify typical scenarios for each.
- Identify common situations where term insurance is appropriate (temporary risks, limited funds for premiums, debt and income replacement needs).
- Identify common limitations of term insurance (future premium increases, potential lapse at renewal, limited/non-existent cash values).
- Interpret key contract features in a term illustration or summary (renewal age, conversion options, premium guarantees, exclusions).
- Explain how premium mode (monthly vs annual) and modal factors can affect total annual cost on term policies.
- Describe term riders and how adding term coverage to a base permanent policy can address layered needs.
- Describe joint term insurance at a high level (first-to-die vs last-to-die) and identify planning uses (e.g., mortgage, estate planning).
- Analyze a client scenario to recommend an appropriate term length and face amount based on quantified obligations.
- Explain how renewability and convertibility affect replacement decisions and the risks of losing valuable features.
- Identify key risks of replacing existing term coverage (new contestability period, potential underwriting changes) and how to mitigate them.
Whole Life and Term-100 Insurance
- Differentiate whole life and term-to-100 (T100) as forms of permanent insurance and compare them to term insurance.
- Explain how participating (par) whole life works and distinguish participating from non-participating whole life policies.
- Describe premium structures used in whole life (guaranteed vs adjustable) and common limited-payment options (e.g., 10-pay, 20-pay, paid-up at 65).
- Explain cash value accumulation and the concept of policy reserve in permanent insurance.
- Explain dividend concepts in participating policies and why dividend scales are not guaranteed.
- Describe common dividend options (cash, premium reduction/offset, accumulation, paid-up additions, term insurance) and how each affects policy values and death benefit.
- Explain the premium offset concept and identify the risk that changing dividend performance can affect the ability to stop premiums as illustrated.
- Describe non-forfeiture benefits/options (cash surrender value, reduced paid-up insurance, extended term insurance, automatic premium loans) and when they apply.
- Explain policy loans (how they work, interest, repayment expectations) and their effect on cash values and death benefit.
- Compare policy loans, partial withdrawals/surrenders, and collateral loans conceptually in terms of access to cash and potential consequences.
- Explain paid-up additions (PUAs) and how they can increase both death benefit and cash values in participating policies.
- Describe typical characteristics of term-to-100 (T100) products (level cost of insurance to age 100; often minimal/non-forfeiture values) and identify appropriate use cases.
- Compare guaranteed vs adjustable whole life and explain suitability implications for clients prioritizing guarantees versus flexibility.
- Analyze common situations where permanent insurance is appropriate (estate liquidity, lifelong dependents, charitable or legacy goals).
- Interpret a whole life illustration by distinguishing guaranteed and non-guaranteed values and identifying key assumptions and disclosures.
- Evaluate client scenarios to select among whole life, T100, term, and universal life based on need duration, affordability, and risk tolerance.
Universal Life Insurance
- Explain the basic structure of universal life (UL) insurance as an unbundled product (cost of insurance, investment account, expenses/fees).
- Describe UL premium flexibility, including how and when premium deposits are credited and used to pay policy charges.
- Differentiate level cost of insurance (LCOI/level COI) and yearly renewable term (YRT) cost structures within UL and explain long-term implications.
- Explain how changes to face amount, lives insured, and premium timing can affect UL policy sustainability.
- Describe common investment options within UL (interest accounts and market-linked options) and how investment performance affects account value.
- Identify common UL charges (administrative fees, mortality charges, premium taxes where applicable) and explain how they reduce account value.
- Explain death benefit options (level vs increasing) and how the chosen option can affect cost of insurance and policy values.
- Explain how withdrawals, partial surrenders, and policy loans can affect UL policy values, death benefit, and lapse risk.
- Explain the concept of using UL as collateral for borrowing (collateral assignment/leverage) and identify why this introduces additional risk.
- Explain the “exempt test” concept at a high level and why limits exist on premiums to maintain tax-exempt status.
- Describe, at a high level, what can happen if a policy fails exempt status (policy becomes taxable) and why funding discipline matters.
- Compare UL to whole life in terms of guarantees, transparency, flexibility, and investment risk borne by the policyowner.
- Identify common situations where UL may be suitable (variable income, high face amount needs, investment-experienced clients) and where it may be unsuitable.
- Analyze how underfunding, poor investment performance, or rising COI can cause UL lapse and identify mitigation strategies (funding, monitoring, adjusting).
- Interpret a UL illustration by identifying assumed rates of return, charges, and sensitivity to changes in assumptions.
- Identify key differences between UL and whole life that should be explained during recommendation and ongoing service.
Riders and Supplementary Benefits
- Differentiate a base policy benefit from a rider/supplementary benefit and explain why riders exist.
- Explain accidental death (AD) and accidental death & dismemberment (AD&D) riders, including common limitations and exclusions.
- Explain waiver of premium riders, including typical eligibility and waiting period concepts.
- Explain accelerated death benefit-style riders (e.g., terminal illness and dread disease benefits) at a high level and identify common triggers.
- Explain term insurance riders on term or permanent policies, including how they can provide additional temporary coverage for the primary insured.
- Explain family coverage riders (spouse and child term riders) and identify when they can be efficient compared with separate policies.
- Explain guaranteed insurability benefit (GIB) riders and identify why option dates/events can be valuable.
- Explain paid-up additions riders (where offered) and how they support cash value/death benefit growth in participating policies.
- Explain critical illness riders at a high level and identify how they differ from life insurance benefits.
- Explain parent/payor waiver riders and identify common use cases in family planning.
- Describe how adding riders can affect underwriting requirements, premium cost, and suitability.
- Evaluate when riders can address specific client needs more efficiently than purchasing standalone coverages.
- Identify that riders with similar names can vary by insurer and explain why advisors must read policy wording and compare key provisions.
- Construct and justify a rider package aligned to client goals, budget, and risk profile, including explaining trade-offs and exclusions.
Group Life Insurance
- Describe the structure of group life insurance (plan sponsor/policyholder, master contract, member certificates) and how coverage is established.
- Explain how a group is defined, eligibility rules, and membership classes and why these matter for coverage access.
- Explain typical premium funding arrangements (employer-paid, employee-paid, shared) and how they influence plan design and taxation.
- Describe common group life coverages (basic group term, optional life, dependent life) and how benefits are determined (e.g., flat amount or salary multiple).
- Explain survivor income benefits and how they differ from lump-sum death benefits.
- Explain group accidental death & dismemberment (AD&D) options (basic vs voluntary) including typical qualification requirements and exclusions.
- Explain group underwriting concepts such as non-evidence maximum (NEM) and evidence of insurability (EOI) requirements for higher amounts.
- Explain conversion privileges on termination, including typical deadlines, amount limits, and why conversion can protect insurability.
- Differentiate conversion and portability (where applicable) and identify common restrictions and costs.
- Identify limitations of group coverage (coverage ends on termination/retirement, employer can amend/cancel plan, limits on face amount) and assess the risk of dependency.
- Compare group vs individual life insurance advantages and disadvantages and identify complementary strategies (supplemental individual coverage).
- Describe, at a high level, the tax treatment of group life insurance for employer and employee, including when coverage may create a taxable benefit.
- Explain how government benefits and group benefits can be integrated into a needs analysis without assuming they replace private coverage.
- Evaluate a scenario to recommend whether to rely on group coverage, supplement with individual coverage, or convert coverage on termination.
Taxation of Life Insurance and Tax Strategies
- Explain, at a high level, the tax treatment of life insurance death benefits paid to a named beneficiary versus to the estate.
- Explain why life insurance can create tax-efficient liquidity at death (e.g., funding taxes triggered by deemed disposition or other estate liabilities).
- Define adjusted cost basis (ACB) and explain its role in determining taxable policy gains on a disposition.
- Identify common events that can trigger a disposition and a taxable policy gain (full surrender, partial surrender/withdrawal, certain policy loans, assignment for consideration).
- Compare the tax implications of a full surrender, partial surrender, policy loan, and collateral loan at a conceptual level.
- Explain the relationship among cash surrender value (CSV), ACB, and taxable policy gain when a policy is surrendered or partially withdrawn.
- Explain, at a high level, the concept of policy gain calculations and accrual concepts used in evaluating tax consequences (without requiring detailed calculations).
- Explain the concept of “grandfathering” and recognize that issue date can affect tax treatment of certain policies (high-level).
- Explain the “exempt test” concept and why premium funding limits exist to maintain tax-exempt status.
- Describe, at a high level, corrective actions and implications if a policy fails to remain tax-exempt (policy becomes taxable).
- Explain how dividends and dividend-purchased benefits (e.g., paid-up additions) can affect policy values and tax outcomes over time (high-level).
- Explain how corporate-owned life insurance can create a credit to the Capital Dividend Account (CDA) on death (high-level).
- Explain the concept of “mortality gain” and why it is relevant to CDA crediting (high-level).
- Describe co-owned/shared ownership arrangements and identify common tax and structuring considerations (premium payer vs beneficiary, shared ownership outcomes) at a high level.
- Describe split-dollar arrangements conceptually and identify why specialized tax/legal advice is typically required.
- Explain charitable giving strategies using life insurance (charity as beneficiary vs owner) and identify potential tax credit implications (high-level).
- Explain key tax considerations when replacing a life policy (disposition/policy gain, new ACB, loss of grandfathering) and why comparisons must be documented.
- Identify when the complexity of tax strategy requires referral to tax/legal professionals and document limitations and assumptions.
Business Life Insurance
- Identify key business needs that life insurance can address (business continuation, funding buy-sell agreements, key person protection, collateral requirements).
- Explain business continuation insurance and how it supports continuity after the death of a shareholder, partner, or key employee.
- Explain buy-sell agreements and why life insurance is commonly used as a funding vehicle.
- Differentiate cross-purchase agreements and share/unit redemption plans and explain how the structure affects policy ownership and beneficiaries.
- Explain key person insurance (purpose, who owns the policy, typical uses of proceeds) and identify how it supports business stability.
- Describe creditor/collateral life insurance uses in business lending contexts and how collateral assignment can be used.
- Explain, at a high level, the role of the Capital Dividend Account (CDA) in distributing corporate-owned death benefit proceeds tax-efficiently.
- Explain how to analyze a shareholder/partnership agreement to determine insurance amount, ownership structure, and funding mechanics.
- Explain insurable interest in business relationships and why it must exist at the time the policy is issued.
- Identify business valuation and funding factors (debt, goodwill, succession plan) that influence coverage amount needs (conceptual).
- Explain split-dollar/shared ownership employer-employee arrangements conceptually and identify typical objectives and risks.
- Compare personally-owned and corporately-owned insurance for business needs at a high level (control, taxation, beneficiary outcomes).
- Evaluate a business scenario to recommend an appropriate product category (term vs permanent) and justify based on time horizon and affordability.
- Identify documentation and disclosure requirements when recommending business life insurance (fact-finding, rationale, illustrations, referral where needed).
Implement a recommendation adapted to the client’s needs and situation (25%)
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Application and Underwriting
- Explain the purpose of underwriting and how risk classification affects premium rates and coverage terms.
- Identify major underwriting factors at the client level (age, health, gender, occupation, hobbies, lifestyle, family history) and how they affect risk assessment.
- Differentiate standard, preferred, and substandard risks and explain how ratings and exclusions can be used to manage higher risk.
- Describe eligibility considerations for special cases (e.g., newly landed immigrants, international students, frequent travelers) at a conceptual level.
- Identify key components of the life insurance application (personal info, coverage selection, medical questions, financial information, agent comments).
- Explain why accurate and complete disclosure matters and distinguish mistake, material misrepresentation, and fraud.
- Explain the concept of insurable interest and identify who must have it and when (at issue).
- Describe temporary insurance agreements/conditional receipts and explain when coverage may begin and key limitations.
- Identify common evidence of insurability used by insurers (medical exam, APS, MIB report, motor vehicle report, inspection reports).
- Explain why insurers may require financial underwriting and how it relates to face amount and insurable interest.
- Explain how multiple applications and replacement situations can influence underwriting requirements and decisions.
- Describe the underwriting process from submission to decision (field submission, head office review, evidence requests, decision, issue).
- Identify company-level pricing factors (mortality costs, administration expenses, investment returns) and how they influence product pricing.
- Explain that underwriting guidelines vary by insurer and product and why advisors must not promise outcomes.
- Explain reinsurance at a high level (treaty vs facultative) and why insurers use it (capacity, risk management, stabilization).
- Interpret underwriting outcomes (approved as applied, modified, rated, declined, postponed) and identify next steps for the client and advisor.
- Explain best practices for communicating underwriting decisions, delivery requirements, and any policy modifications to the client.
- Describe underwriting differences in group life insurance (little/no underwriting for basic coverage; EOI for additional/optional coverage).
Recommending an Insurance Policy
- Present needs-analysis findings to the client clearly, including the quantified coverage shortfall and the assumptions used.
- Match client needs to an appropriate life insurance category (term vs permanent; individual vs group; single-life vs joint-life) and justify the choice.
- Select a specific contract type (term length and features; whole life type; UL structure) consistent with the client’s needs, preferences, and budget.
- Determine an appropriate amount of coverage, including explaining the rationale for rounding or layering coverage to match multiple needs (conceptual).
- Select premium payment mode and structure (monthly vs annual; limited pay where applicable) and explain cost and cash-flow implications.
- Recommend riders and supplementary benefits (waiver, GIB, term riders, family coverage, AD/AD&D) aligned to client risks and budget.
- Recommend an ownership structure that matches objectives and insurable interest (personal ownership, joint ownership, corporate ownership) at a high level.
- Recommend primary and contingent beneficiaries aligned to objectives and family dynamics and identify situations requiring extra planning (e.g., minors) at a high level.
- Explain key contract clauses that affect suitability and client expectations (renewability, convertibility, exclusions, contestability/suicide provisions) at a high level.
- Use product illustrations or scenarios appropriately to compare options, explaining assumptions, limitations, and the difference between guaranteed and projected values.
- Explain trade-offs among guarantees, flexibility, cash values, and investment risk when comparing term, whole life, T100, and UL.
- Integrate taxation considerations into the recommendation at a high level (death benefit treatment, potential taxable gains on surrender/loan, corporate CDA concepts).
- Propose strategies to improve affordability without compromising suitability (adjust amount/term, restructure coverage, revisit needs) and explain implications.
- Document the recommendation, disclosures, and client decisions (including declined coverage or riders) to support suitability and compliance.
- Identify when referral to a tax, legal, or accounting professional is appropriate and explain how to coordinate within scope of license.
- Confirm client understanding of the recommended coverage, premium obligations, review expectations, and next steps in the implementation process.
Provide customer service during the validity period of the coverage (10%)
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Ongoing Service
- Explain the purpose of ongoing service in life insurance (maintaining suitability, preventing lapse, updating coverage as needs evolve).
- Identify life events that commonly trigger a coverage review (marriage/divorce, births, employment/income changes, new debts, business changes, leaving Canada).
- Conduct periodic reviews by confirming coverage amounts, beneficiaries, ownership, riders, premiums, and key policy values against updated needs.
- Explain the documentation and process for common policy amendments (beneficiary changes, ownership changes, coverage changes, adding/removing riders).
- Explain renewal options for term policies (renew, convert, replace) and identify suitability considerations for each option.
- Explain reinstatement concepts at a high level (time limits, evidence requirements, premium repayment) and why reinstatement is not guaranteed.
- Explain termination/cancellation and surrender processes and identify potential consequences (loss of coverage, taxable policy gains, surrender charges).
- Explain replacement considerations at a high level (need for documented comparisons, disclosure, and avoiding unnecessary replacements).
- Differentiate absolute and collateral assignments, identify who holds rights, and explain common use cases (loans, business agreements, family law settlements) at a high level.
- Explain the death-claim process and required documentation (claim form, proof of death, proof of age, medical evidence where required, confirmation of beneficiaries).
- Explain the role of the executor (or liquidator in Québec) and how an advisor can assist the executor/beneficiary with claim submission while staying within scope.
- Identify factors that may delay, reduce, or deny a claim (missing documentation, contestability investigation, exclusions, suicide clause) at a high level.
- Explain tax treatment of death benefits and common settlement options at a high level (e.g., lump sum vs interest options where offered).
- Explain best practices for managing premium payments and preventing lapses (grace periods, notices, automatic payment arrangements) at a high level.
- Explain how changes in dividend scales or investment performance can affect policies over time (premium offset risk, UL underfunding) and why reviews are needed.
- Maintain compliant client records for ongoing service (meeting notes, needs analysis updates, disclosures, change requests, beneficiary/ownership documentation).
- Identify when an updated needs analysis supports recommending a policy adjustment (increase/decrease coverage, convert term, add riders) and how to document rationale.
- Demonstrate client service professionalism in life insurance servicing: timely follow-up, clear communication, and appropriate privacy/consent management.
Tip: Treat each learning objective as a “can I answer a scenario question about this in 60–90 seconds?” test. If not, add it to your miss log and drill it again in 48–72 hours.