Date of First Appointment Enquiry

I have been working in an insurance department in August 2010 until November 2011 then worked in a non-insurance department from December 2011 until June 2012. In July 2012 I have been working in an insurance department and I am currently employed in the same department. We have been preparing for the RE exams from last year around November, I have attempted the examination twice now, unsuccessfully. By when do I have to complete and pass my exams? Do I take my DOFA from July 2012?

It is impossible to determine the reader’s DOFA without knowing the nature of the work done while employed in the “insurance department”. One rule of thumb suggested by our Compliance Division is to use the date from when a person appeared on the employer’s rep register. If you are not linked to an FSP number, you should not have to write the REs. If, however, your work is of such a nature that it falls under the definition of advice OR intermediary services, you are obliged to appear on the rep register, AND have to write the RE 5.

The FSB website contains a document providing clarity on this issue. Please click on this link to access it.

Your date of FIRST appointment is the crucial guideline in this instance. A gap of six or seven months, as indicated above, does not move your DOFA forward. It seems that the current approach to absence from the industry is five years. In such instances, one is regarded as a new entrant, and all the current requirements apply.