Miracle Media occasionally publishes their advertisers and active Community member’s interviews in their editions. Today we have a chance to get information on the Insurance business (Auto, Home, Commercial, Group, and many types of Health insurance.
For this my visit to Syed Asif Iqbal’s (InsuranceAdvisor) office in Surrey.
The Miracle (TM): First, I want to congratulate you on your office, now let’s start with your profile, from where you qualified and where you went after you left Pakistan.
Syed Asif Iqbal (Syed): Welcome to Mr. Pirzada to visit my office, as per your first attack question regarding my profile, my first journey was to Dubai from Pakistan. I went there in 2006, I worked for the insurance company, and stayed in Dubai until 2015.
(TM): You directly came to Vancouver, BC, have you faced difficulty getting into your professional field?
(Syed): Yes, and you know that whenever you come to Canada you are highly qualified for any Engineer, Doctor, Professor, etc but when you landed here you feel yourself zero because in this country you must go through as per their requirements and upgrade your qualifications and qualified for certain field degrees and licenses. In the beginning, I did a security job for a few months after that, I started my work as an insurance advisor and till that time I worked in the insurance field.
(TM): Good, now let’s talk about Insurance, what is the difference between a title insurance broker, insurance agent, and you are an insurance advisor how are these titles related to each other?
(Syed): The Insurance Advisor is you can say a person is working individually as an insurance consultant with a license, and if you say the Insurance Broker, it means you establish your brokerage or your company, if you must get the permit in both scenario Broker and Agent.
(TM): What types of common Insurances?
(Syed): There are two types of insurance, General and Life insurance. The general
insurance covers auto, home, commercial, and travel insurance. Life insurance covers life, critical illness, and disability insurance.
(TM): To become an insurance agent, what to do, what is the time frame of these courses/licenses, and what are the attractions for the new immigrant in this Insurance business?
(Syed): For licensing, you must get level 1 license 2, and level 3, level 1 is considerably basic once you get in then you can get the license, but you can work under the supervision of level 2. You can work individually after getting level 2 qualification. You need to pass level 3 exam and complete 5 years of working experience to qualify for level 3 designation. For the period, it depends on person to person, if you do it in a normal routine, it will take 1 to 2 years to complete all exams. If you have a level 2 license and experience of at least a year with knowledge of personal lines and commercial
lines insurance, then you can find a good package in any insurance brokerage.
(TM): Would you like to tell us what type of Auto, Property, Commercial, Health, and Life insurance you are selling?
(Syed): Suppose for a new vehicle, if anyone buys a brand-new vehicle, then he needs a new vehicle replacement policy or gap insurance. I must sort out good options for my policyholder and regarding the General insurance, I have many options for the Home, Condo, Commercial, and Business liability insurance policies.
(TM): Okay, now we talked about life insurance and visitor Insurance why it is essential for the visitor if some families are coming as visitors or some parents are coming on a super visa, what is the importance of this insurance to them?
(Syed): For the visitors, you must buy health insurance for them, because they do not have any MSP coverage, the new immigrants cannot get any MSP benefits in the first 90 days after arriving in Canada. In this scenario, you must pay the bills of your hospital or your doctor, even the government also recommends if anyone comes here on a visit or new immigrant, they must buy travel/emergency medical insurance and the premium depends on the insured’s age, health conditions and duration of stay
(TM): What is your responsibility for selling any policy how do you take care of your client?
(Syed): It depends on the client, whether he/she wants to buy all the coverage or not, but as an advisor it is my responsibility to recommend and explain in detail all the coverages and to ensure that they have enough coverage to protect their risk in case of any unexpected events.
(TM): The common man does not know about the liability of what is covered and what is not, so what are the major things covered in this liability insurance?
(Syed): Liability insurance typically covers legal costs and payouts if the Insured is found legally liable for claims of harm or wrongdoing against a third party, including injuries or property damage. Unlike other types of insurance, liability insurance pays third parties, not the insured.
(TM): As we know, If somebody hits his vehicle or someone hits him, then first he will call ICBC to register his/her claim, in this case how you can help him/her as an insurance advisor?
(Syed): If someone calls me about the accident, then I guide them as per his/her purchased policy cover or not covered benefits.
(TM):If anyone has a condo, home, or any property and any miss happening by fire, short circuit or flood comes due to plumbing bursts or any theft, then what do you advise?
(Syed): So, I will recommend you buy a comprehensive policy that covers your fire and water damage also options to add earthquake damages. As a landlord, you must buy your rental property policy, but in case of any misshapen then the claim of your property is covered, but your tenant’s belongings and liability are not covered, in this scenario, you have to tell every tenant to get the Tenant insurance.
(TM): What do you do in commercial insurance for commercial property and what is the difference between commercial and home property insurance? What is the main thing to secure if you are opening any business and talking about a group benefits plan?
(Syed): I do commercial insurance for businesses, for instance, if anyone starts a Daycare business from their home or does any business activity from home, then they should buy additional commercial liability insurance to protect in case of any event of loss. Regarding business insurance, recommended to cover business property, equipment, and stock and extremely important to get enough commercial general liability to protect in case of third-party claim.
Regarding group benefits, it attracts to retains employees. Generally, the goal of the group benefits package is to help cover prescription drugs, dental expenses, paramedical expenses, and vision care that are not covered by MSP. It also a tax-deductible business expenses.
(TM): I know that you are very active in the Muslim Community and other communities too. Is it only due to your smiling face or you are a very good sponsor?
(Syed): I feel myself, so blessed and lucky that I got an exceptionally good Community here. You know when I started my business, everyone helped me a lot in my business and still supporting like Miracle. So, this is a time to pay back to the community and always support all the noble causes.
(TM): What did you feel in your past 8 to 9 years of experience over here, what is the setback in the kid’s education, community, and National politics level?
(Syed): Lack of bridges between each other and the community, we should connect our kids with the mosque. In politics, we should be united and helping hand for others, and should do volunteer work too.
(TM): In the end, have you any message for Miracle Media about its 23-year community-dedicated services through print media?
(Syed): I would like to congratulate you on reaching this impressive milestone. 23 years of dedicated journalism and community building is a remarkable achievement. May your next chapter be filled with even more existing stories. Insightful reporting and dedication to truth and integrity. Well, thank you for all you do.
(TM):Thanks for your time, Br, Syed Asif Iqbal
Saturday, April 25, 2026
