How to Become an Insurance Producer in Tennessee
Tennessee is home to nearly 140,000 insurance producers, according to Tennessee's insurance division. Insurance producers, also known as insurance agents, can obtain licenses to sell life insurance, health insurance, property insurance, casualty insurance, personal lines and titles. Insurance producers must take pre-licensing classes, study and pass a licensing exam to become an insurance producer. You also have to be able to explain any criminal history. The state of Tennessee makes the final decision as to whether you will be licensed.
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Things You'll Need
- Money for pre-licensing education
- Money for licensing exam(s)
- Money for insurance license
- Money for fingerprint background check
Instructions
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Choose a pre-licensing class provider. Go to Pearsonvue.com/tn/insurance/ and click on "Provider and Course Listings." Follow the instructions to bring up a list of approved providers. Visit a few provider websites in your area, noting the cost of the pre-licensing class for the line of insurance for which you plan to be licensed.
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Enroll in a pre-licensing course. You will pay a fee for the course. Attend the class, take notes and ask questions.
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Schedule your licensing exam by calling 800-274-4957 or online at Pearsonvue.com/vtclocator/. Schedule your test date well in advance, as you'll need time to study. You can test for a life license, an accident and health license, a property license, a casualty license, a title license, a personal lines license or a public adjuster license. You can also test for life and accident and health in one combination exam, and property and casualty insurance in one combination exam. You will need your education provider's name and provider number and your course's provider number to schedule your exam.
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Study for your exam. Tennessee requires a minimum amount of self-study. Life, accident and health, property, casualty and personal lines all require 20 hours of self-study each. A title license requires five.
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Take your licensing exam. Arrive at the testing site early and bring your pre-licensing course certificate and two forms of identification with signatures. You will find out whether you passed or failed as soon as the exam is completed. If you failed, schedule another exam date and re-test.
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Complete your fingerprint-based background check. Go to L1enrollment.com and click on the state of Tennessee. The Tennessee insurance producer number is TN920680Z and the transaction type is IP.
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Apply for your insurance license at NIPR.com at least 48 hours after you've completed your exam. Click on "Resident Producer Initial License" and follow the instructions. Your license will be mailed to you.
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Tips & Warnings
If you fail the exam the first time you take it, don't panic. Review your score sheet from the exam and study the sections you failed, then reschedule and test again. Some licensing schools provide ongoing support after you take your pre-licensing class; contact them for additional help if needed.
Don't underestimate the amount of study time required or wait until the last minute to study. It's a lot of information to digest, especially if you don't have a business or financial services background.
