What Test Do You Have to Take to Sell Insurance?
If you are considering a career in the insurance industry, you will have to obtain a license for each state in which you want to sell insurance products. It is up to the state insurance commissioner to regulate both agents and the insurance products that are sold in a given state. As a result, the requirements for becoming an insurance agent are unique in each state.
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Pre-Licensing
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Some states mandate people wanting to obtain an insurance license to complete classes before they are eligible to take the state licensing exam. Contact your state insurance department to see if it is a requirement in your state. Even if coursework is not required to take the licensing exam, you might consider enrolling in a class that will help you prepare to take the exam. Some states like Florida and Louisiana will also require fingerprints to perform a background check.
Licensing for Specific Product Lines
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Insurance sales can be broken down into several categories. It is possible to obtain a license to sell life, health, property, casualty, or crop insurance in most states. Life and health lines, as well as property and casualty lines, are frequently bundled into one exam for people desiring to sell products in those lines. There may be other lines of insurance that are licensed in states. A person with a license for life and health insurance is not eligible to offer property and casualty insurance products.
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Licensing for Variable Products
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If you want to sell variable annuities, stocks, bonds, mutual funds or other products that can lose value, you will need to become licensed to sell variable contracts. Unlike insurance products, these licenses are regulated at the national level by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). FINRA offers dozens of different licenses; the most common initial licenses for variable products are the Series 6 and 63, Series 7 or Series 65. You will need to find a broker-dealer to open a test window for you to sit for these exams.
Reciprocal Licenses and Continuing Education
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Once you are licensed in your residential state, you can apply for reciprocal licenses in the other states where you want to sell insurance products. For most states, you will just need to have a copy of your current insurance license and to pay the state's licensing fee. Continuing education is also required to maintain an active insurance license. Every state except for Florida and Massachusetts has a reciprocity agreement, meaning that they will accept the continuing education in your home state to satisfy their continuing education requirements. If you are licensed in Massachusetts or Florida, you may have to complete separate continuing education work to satisfy their requirements.
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References
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