General Insurance and Industry Knowledge
25%of exam
Personal Lines Habitational
25%of exam
Travel Health
5%of exam
EligibilityPre-existing ConditionsEmergency CareExclusions
Personal Lines Automobile
25%of exam
Commercial Lines
20%of exam
Quick Facts
- Exam
- RIBO Level 1 Entry-Level Broker
- Jurisdiction
- Ontario general insurance
- Scored
- 100 questions; 75 correct pass
- Pilot
- 15 unscored questions
- Time
- 3 hours
- Blueprint
- January 2025 profile remains current
- Auto reform
- July 1, 2026 effective
- Available resource
- OAP 1 in exam resource
- Habitational booklet
- Not provided in exam
Read the Policy
Declarations, promise, exclusions, conditions, endorsements
WhoWhatWhat notDutiesChanges
Peril vs Hazard
Peril
- Loss-causing event
- Example: fire
Hazard
- Increases chance or severity
- Example: faulty wiring
Cause is different from condition
Insurance Principles
- Pure risk
- Loss or no loss
- Peril
- Cause of insured loss
- Hazard
- Condition increasing risk
- Indemnity
- Restore pre-loss financial position
- Insurable interest
- Stake in subject preservation
- Proximate cause
- Dominant effective cause
- Subrogation
- Insurer recovers after indemnifying insured
- Contribution
- Same-interest insurers share covered loss
- Deductible
- Insured bears stated amount
- Limit
- Maximum payable under wording
Broker Transaction
Need, disclose, quote, bind, document, service
RiskFactsOptionsAuthorityRecordRenew
Broker Duties
- RIBO
- Regulates Ontario general-insurance brokers
- FSRA
- Regulates Ontario insurance market
- Needs analysis
- Match exposure and client priorities
- Material fact
- Could affect insurer underwriting
- Binding authority
- Only within insurer authorization
- Commission disclosure
- Explain compensation and market conflicts
- Client funds
- Handle under trust requirements
- Documentation
- Record advice and declined options
- Confidentiality
- Protect client information
- Claim notice
- Report promptly; assist insured
- CE first term
- Starts first October after registration
- CE annual
- 8h per licence term
- CE category minimum
- 3h technical; 1h ethics
- CE professional development
- Maximum 2h counted
Policy Language
- Declaration
- Named insured, limits, period
- Insuring agreement
- Defines covered promise
- Exclusion
- Removes specified exposure
- Condition
- Obligation affecting coverage
- Endorsement
- Changes policy terms
- Binder
- Temporary evidence when authorized
- Actual cash value
- Replacement cost less depreciation
- Replacement cost
- Equivalent new property; conditions apply
- Coinsurance
- Insufficient insurance can reduce recovery
Home Protection Layers
Structure, contents, displacement, liability
DwellingPropertyLiving expenseLegal liability
Homeowner vs Tenant
Homeowner
- Owns dwelling
- Insure structure and contents
Tenant
- Rents dwelling
- Insure contents and liability
Tenant usually does not insure building
Habitational Policy Picker
- Client owns and occupies house→Assess homeowners package(Dwelling, contents, liability)
- Client rents dwelling→Assess tenant package(Contents and personal liability)
- Client owns condominium unit→Assess condo package(Corporation coverage leaves gaps)
- Unit has upgraded finishes→Check improvement coverage(Compare standard-unit definition)
- Corporation imposes deductible→Check assessment protection(Limit and cause matter)
- Client faces water exposure→Review water endorsements(Sewer versus overland water)
- Structure is underinsured→Test coinsurance(Carried ÷ required limit)
- Loss displaces household→Check living expense(Requires covered loss trigger)
- Client owns high-value item→Check special limits(Consider scheduling)
Homeowners
- Dwelling
- Insured residence structure
- Other structures
- Separate insured premises structures
- Contents
- Personal property subject to limits
- Additional living expense
- Extra costs after insured displacement
- Personal liability
- Covered third-party legal liability
- Named peril
- Only listed causes insured
- All-risk wording
- Broad cover subject to exclusions
- Sewer backup
- Usually requires specific coverage
- Overland water
- Check policy and endorsement
ACV vs Replacement Cost
ACV
- Depreciation considered
- Lower settlement possible
Replacement
- Equivalent new item
- Subject to policy conditions
Neither equals market value automatically
Tenants
- Tenant contents
- Insures renter personal property
- Tenant liability
- Covers eligible legal liability
- Tenant improvements
- Check policy and ownership
- Landlord building
- Usually landlord’s property policy
- Temporary accommodation
- Check covered displacement terms
- Roommate property
- Check named-insured definition
- Valuable item
- Check special limit or schedule
Condominium
- Corporation policy
- Insures common elements and standard unit
- Unit-owner contents
- Insures personal belongings
- Unit improvements
- Cover above standard unit
- Loss assessment
- Check eligible assessed loss
- Deductible assessment
- Check endorsement and limits
- Unit liability
- Personal legal liability
- Standard unit definition
- Varies by condominium documents
- Water loss
- Review cause and exclusion
Property Valuation
- ACV
- Depreciated replacement measure
- Replacement cost
- New equivalent subject to conditions
- Market value
- Sale price; not rebuilding cost
- Rebuild cost
- Materials, labour, code costs
- Required insurance
- Property value × coinsurance percentage
- Coinsurance factor
- Carried ÷ required; maximum 1
- Partial recovery
- Loss × coinsurance factor
- Loss settlement
- Apply deductible, limit, wording
Travel Health
- Travel medical
- Emergency care subject to policy
- Eligibility
- Check age and health criteria
- Pre-existing condition
- Check stability period and wording
- Trip length
- Check coverage maximum days
- Exclusion
- May bar specified condition
- Medical questionnaire
- Answer accurately and completely
- Provincial health
- May leave out-of-country gaps
- Assistance line
- Contact as policy directs
Ontario Auto Parts
Liability, benefits, uninsured, DCPD, damage
Third partyInjuryUninsuredOwn damageOptional physical
DCPD vs Collision
DCPD
- Qualifying not-at-fault Ontario loss
- Own insurer handles claim
Collision
- Optional impact or upset cover
- Can address at-fault damage
Check DCPD opt-out and eligibility
Ontario Auto Coverage Picker
- Client injures third party→Third-party liability(Minimum $200,000; consider higher)
- Occupant seeks injury benefits→Review SABS eligibility(Fault does not decide)
- Benefit is medical or attendant→Mandatory SABS component(Check limit and impairment class)
- Benefit is income or caregiver→Verify optional election(July 2026 rules)
- Claimant seeks optional benefit→Check eligible insured-person class(Named, spouse, dependant, listed driver)
- Not-at-fault Ontario collision qualifies→Check DCPD(Unless valid opt-out election)
- Client collides or overturns→Check collision coverage(Physical damage is optional)
- Vehicle stolen or vandalized→Check comprehensive or all perils(Read theft scope)
- Other motorist uninsured→Check uninsured automobile coverage(Property conditions differ)
Mandatory Auto
- Third-party liability
- Minimum $200,000 in Ontario
- Uninsured automobile
- Injury; identified uninsured damage
- Statutory accident benefits
- No-fault injury benefits; terms apply
- DCPD
- Own insurer; qualifying not-at-fault loss
- DCPD conditions
- Ontario accident; qualifying insured vehicle
- DCPD election
- Insured may opt out
- OAP 1
- Ontario standard owner policy
- OPCF
- Ontario policy-change endorsement
Mandatory vs Optional SABS
Mandatory
- Medical and rehabilitation
- Attendant care
Optional
- Income, non-earner, caregiver
- Election and person class matter
July 2026 reforms change default coverage
2026 Accident Benefits
- Mandatory benefit
- Medical, rehab, attendant care
- Other benefits
- Optional from July 1, 2026
- Income replacement
- Optional; replaces eligible lost income
- Non-earner
- Optional; eligible lost life function
- Caregiver
- Optional; coverage terms vary
- Optional persons: family
- Named insured, spouse, their dependants
- Optional persons: drivers
- Drivers listed on insured automobile
- Existing policies
- Prior coverage persists until written change
- Benefit increase
- Check chosen limits and premium
- Standard non-catastrophic limit
- $65,000 medical/rehab/attendant care
- Minor injury
- Separate policy guideline may limit
- Standard catastrophic limit
- $1m medical/rehab/attendant care
Physical Damage
- Specified perils
- Listed causes only
- Comprehensive
- Non-collision damage; exclusions apply
- Collision or upset
- Vehicle collision or overturning
- All perils
- Collision plus comprehensive; broader theft
- OPCF 20
- Loss-of-use rental coverage
- OPCF 27
- Liability for non-owned vehicle damage
- OPCF 44R
- Family protection endorsement
- Deductible
- Insured share of physical-damage claim
Business Risk Layers
Assets, interruption, liability, crime, vehicles
PropertyIncomeCGLCrimeAuto
Occurrence vs Claims-Made
Occurrence
- Injury/damage during policy period
- Claim may follow later
Claims-made
- Claim timing governs
- Retroactive date may matter
Read reporting and policy dates
Commercial Coverage Picker
- Building or inventory can burn→Commercial property(Value building, equipment, stock)
- Shutdown follows insured damage→Business interruption(Check indemnity period)
- Continuation incurs special costs→Extra expense(Confirm insured trigger)
- Customer alleges bodily injury→CGL(Check occurrence and exclusions)
- Advice error causes loss→Professional liability(Check claims-made timing)
- Employee steals company property→Crime coverage(Check dishonesty extension)
- Business vehicle causes crash→Commercial auto(Determine owned versus non-owned)
- Data breach causes costs→Cyber coverage(Check incident definition)
- Client requests insurance certificate→Issue factual evidence(Certificate does not amend policy)
Commercial Property
- Building
- Business premises structure
- Equipment
- Movable operating property
- Stock
- Inventory and materials
- Property limit
- Match rebuilding and replacement
- Business interruption
- Income loss after insured damage
- Extra expense
- Costs to keep operating
- Equipment breakdown
- Covered machinery failure
- Crime coverage
- Specified theft and dishonesty
- Builders risk
- Construction-period physical damage
Commercial Liability
- CGL
- Covered third-party injury/property claims
- Occurrence form
- Covered injury/damage occurs during period
- Claims-made form
- Claim made under timing terms
- Professional liability
- Errors in professional service
- Cyber coverage
- Defined network/data incidents
- D&O
- Management liability exposure
- Commercial auto
- Business vehicle liability and damage
- Non-owned auto
- Business use of others’ vehicles
- Certificate
- Evidence only; not policy amendment
Common Traps
Pilot question count
100 scored questions ≠ 15 additional unscored pilot questions
Broker licence
Exam is first step ≠ Registration still required
Binding promise
Quote alone is not coverage ≠ Bind only within granted authority
Tenant misconception
Landlord insures building ≠ Tenant still needs contents/liability
Condo misconception
Corporation covers standard unit ≠ Owner may need improvements/assessment
Auto reform
Only medical/rehab/attendant mandatory ≠ Other benefits require election
Optional SABS persons
Listed protected classes qualify ≠ Every occupant does not automatically qualify
DCPD trigger
Qualifying Ontario not-at-fault loss ≠ Not generic collision coverage
All-risk label
Broad coverage subject to exclusions ≠ Every possible loss insured
Business interruption
Insured damage usually triggers ≠ Revenue drop alone may not
Travel health
Check condition stability wording ≠ Provincial plan may leave gaps
Last Minute
- 1.Remember 100 scored plus 15 pilot
- 2.General, home, auto: 25% each
- 3.Commercial 20%; travel health 5%
- 4.Separate peril, hazard, indemnity, subrogation
- 5.Document client needs and declined options
- 6.Bind only with insurer authority
- 7.Choose homeowner, tenant or condo correctly
- 8.Compare ACV, replacement, coinsurance, deductible
- 9.Check travel eligibility and condition stability
- 10.Separate Ontario liability, SABS, DCPD, damage
- 11.Check July 2026 optional SABS election
- 12.Check eligible person for optional benefit
- 13.Apply DCPD only when conditions fit
- 14.Tie business interruption to insured damage
- 15.Distinguish occurrence from claims-made trigger
Buy on Amazon