This National Insurance Awareness Day, meet the professional behind your policy
June 28 is National Insurance Awareness Day (#NIAD26). It is a moment set aside to encourage Canadians to take stock of their coverage and think about whether it still fits their life. This year, the focus is the licensed insurance professional sitting across from you, and what they’re there to do.
What Is National Insurance Awareness Day?
NIAD is a national initiative led by the Canadian Insurance Services Regulatory Organizations (CISRO) and its member organizations, including the Alberta Insurance Council. Each year, CISRO’s Consumer Awareness Working Group coordinates a shared theme designed to help Canadians engage more meaningfully with their insurance and become better informed about the products they’re purchasing and who they’re purchasing them from.
The professional behind the policy
Shopping for insurance can feel overwhelming. The language is technical, there are multiple options, and the stakes — your home, your vehicle, your family’s financial security — are high. It’s easy to focus entirely on the price and move on.
But the person helping you navigate that process carries more responsibility than most consumers realize. This year, #NIAD26 shines a light on exactly what a licensed insurance professional is obligated to do for you.
A licensed insurance professional in Alberta must meet ongoing education requirements, pass qualification exams, carry Errors & Omissions insurance to protect their clients, and abide by a formal code of ethics. They are accountable through a regulated complaint and disciplinary process. If something goes wrong, there is a clear, formal path to address it.
That accountability is the result of a licensing system designed to protect you — and it’s what separates a licensed professional from someone who simply claims to be one.
What a licensed professional actually does for you
Beyond the credentials, a licensed insurance professional brings something harder to quantify: genuine, ongoing expertise applied to your specific situation. They’re analyzing your risks, reviewing your policy details, and checking in as your life changes. Working with a licensed professional means:
- Coverage that fits your actual circumstances, reviewed as your life changes
- Someone who can help you file a claim properly and advocate for you through the process
- A long-term relationship built on the obligation to act in your interest
Insurance is one of those things most people only think about when something goes wrong. A licensed professional is thinking about it year-round, on your behalf.
Before you sign anything
Working with a licensed professional matters, but only if the person you’re working with is actually licensed. Verifying your agent or broker’s license takes about 30 seconds. AIC’s Agent Lookup tool lets any Albertan search by name or agency to confirm that an individual is currently licensed and authorized to provide insurance services in Alberta.
It’s one of the simplest things you can do to protect yourself, and NIAD is as good a time as any to make it a habit.
Explore more resources from CISRO
AIC encourages all Albertans to visit the CISRO Consumer Awareness page for additional tools and resources developed for this year’s NIAD — including the full infographic on working with licensed professionals, shareable social media visuals, and conversation guides you can bring to your next policy review.
CISRO's Consumer Awareness Working Group resources
And if you haven’t reviewed your coverage lately, June 28 is a good reminder that insurance isn’t a set-it-and-forget-it decision. A conversation with your licensed insurance professional could make a significant difference when it matters most.
A note for insurance professionals
#NIAD26 is also your moment.
The work you do — reviewing policies, explaining coverage, supporting clients through claims — often happens quietly and without much public recognition. This year’s national campaign puts that work front and center. CISRO has developed a professional toolkit with shareable graphics, messaging templates, and conversation resources you can use with clients and across your own channels.
We encourage you to participate. Share the infographic. Use the hashtag #NIAD26. Start a conversation with a client who hasn’t heard from you in a while. The more Albertans understand what a licensed professional provides, the stronger the case becomes for working with one, and for the standards that make that work meaningful.
Do you have a complaint?
As part of its work to protect the public, AIC investigates complaints against insurance agents, brokers & independent adjusters
Make a complaint