People, History and Industry Involvement


Since 1899, the Insurance Institute has been the premier provider and authority on professional development within Canada's property and casualty insurance industry.
Our internationally recognized insurance education programs and services represent the highest professional standards for the insurance industry. 

Our Designations & Programs

The Institute offers two designation programs, the Chartered Insurance Professional (CIP) and Fellow Chartered Insurance Professional (FCIP). As well, members can further hone their skills and abilities through a wide range of certificate and professional development programs. To ensure ongoing personal and career development, we hold numerous networking opportunities and a variety of events and seminars. See all of our education programs and services.

Highest professional standards

Recognized and endorsed by employers, our designations represent the national standard for education in the property & casualty (p&c) insurance sector. From time-to-time, we also undertake a review of our examinations by an independent educational consultant, to ensure their ongoing quality and validity. The most recent reviews were done in 1999, 2002 and 2009, with applicable recommendations incorporated into our exams...

Our People

Our best-in-class programs and services would not be possible without the insurance industry subject-matter experts (SME), instructional design and learning specialists, writer/editors, project managers and volunteer coordinators who comprise our Academic area. The team works closely with industry task forces on course updates and revisions as well as exploring opportunities to develop new products to serve the needs of our p&c industry employers, students and regulators. 

Thought Leadership

As a leader in research initiatives, we conduct and deliver reports on industry concerns about human capital issues such as recruitment, retention, succession planning, and education and training. To learn more visit Insights and Research.

Involvement in the Insurance Community

The Insurance Institute and our members are actively involved in our industry and in our communities. We are a platinum sponsor of the National Insurance Conference of Canada, to help keep our members current on the issues and challenges facing the p&c industry. We also sponsor the Insurance Brokers Association of British Columbia Annual Conference and Trade Show. You’ll find us at Women in Insurance Cancer Crusade events where we support their fundraising efforts by participating in events, donating prizes and doing our best to raise awareness and help find a cure. We are also actively involved in the Toronto Insurance Women’s Association, the Canadian Association of Insurance Women and many, many more.

Each year, we gather the industry together to celebrate National Education Week. We founded the week in 2009 as a national celebration of education in insurance, with events scheduled during the week to encourage continuing education and professional development in the ever-changing p&c insurance industry. Learn more about our celebration of education in the insurance industry. 

Our Milestones

1899  –  John B. Laidlaw, Manager for Canada for the Norwich Union, made the call to fellow Canadian insurance managers to create an insurance institute in Canada after experiencing the U.K. model in action. Two hundred and thirty industry representatives responded, giving birth to the Insurance Institute of Toronto, the forerunner to the Insurance Institute of Ontario.

1900 – The Insurance Institute of Montreal was formed.

1920’s – The Insurance Institute of British Columbia and the Insurance Institute of Winnipeg were established.

1952 – All Institutes joined in association with The Insurance Institute of Canada to establish a uniform standard of insurance education and examinations.

Today – We help our members thrive professionally by creating a rich learning environment with multiple study options. Additionally, the Institute sets the syllabus of p&c insurance studies, produces the appropriate Canadian texts, holds national examinations, and elects graduates. Together, with our members, we are constantly growing, learning and evolving with our industry.