What Should I Do After Passing My Insurance Agent Exam?
Congratulations! You’ve passed your insurance agent exam, and are ready to get your new career as an insurance agent started. Just because you’ve passed your exam, however, doesn’t mean that you’re a licensed insurance agent yet. There are several steps that need to be taken before you can legally sell insurance in your state. In this article we’ll go over a brief outline of the steps that come next.
Minimum Requirements
When attempting to become an insurance agent, it’s important to consult the guidelines provided by your state’s Department of Insurance. Each state’s exact licensing requirements are different, but any prospective insurance agent can expect there to be minimum requirements that need to be met. These requirements can include the minimum number of hours of class time that need to be taken before applying to take the insurance agent exam and the steps that need to be taken for a license to be issued by the state Insurance Commissioner’s office.
After the Exam
Once a person has passed their state’s insurance license exam, they are free to apply for an insurance license. Generally the exam’s pass results page, handed to successful test takers when leaving the test center, will have the exact steps to take to apply for a license. Most test providers (e.g., Pearson VUE, PSI Exams, Prometric, etc) will also have a Candidate Handbook or License Information Bulletin that highlights the steps and required forms to be submitted. In order to start selling insurance as quickly is possible, newly approved insurance agents should apply for their license as soon as they can. In order to do so, they’ll need to follow the steps below.
Obtaining a Bond
Some states require new insurance agents (especially independent agents who are not employed by an agency) to take out a bond in favor of the people of the state in which they sell insurance. By requiring independent agents to become bonded by a financial institution, the state is ensuring that it will be able to recoup money in case of fraudulent practices or other damages caused by the insurance agent. If your state requires you to take out a bond, you will need to provide the state insurance office with proof that the bond has been obtained.
Registering with the State
As is customary with state licenses, insurance license applicants should expect to provide the state insurance office with identifying information, such as their social security number, photo identification, and fingerprints. The exact requirements for providing personal information vary by state, but it is common practice for states to collect this information from licensed professionals so that they can verify their identity, check their criminal records, and keep pertinent information on the licensed individual available for future reference.
To make sure that you are following the correct insurance agent licensing procedure, be sure to consult your state’s official guidelines. Following these guidelines as closely as possible will help make sure your application is processed as quickly as possible.
Before you can apply for a license, you need to study for your insurance agent exam! Contact America’s Professor today to learn more about our online insurance training program, taught by industry veterans with decades of experience. We can be reached at 800-870-3130.
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I am in Arizona. Licensed now in Life, Accident and Health, YOU need to get further training for most of your insurance policies you may be wanting to sell. AHIP https://www.ahipmedicaretraining.com/ext/ahip/login.php . if you want to sell Medicare. if you want to sell LTC https://insurance.az.gov/producers/producer-agentbroker/long-term-care-training LIfe Insurance Annuity Training https://insurance.az.gov/annuity-training-requirement etc..and then you have to get certified by each carrier before they take you on to represent them can take up to 30 days to get approved once your application has been sent and you are not certififed beforehand. If you try to push an application online through it will… Read more »
Hi, I am in need of advice. I have already passed the exam and I just recently submitted my finger prints and other documents requested to PCI. I need to know what the next steps for me if I want to sell insurance. I already have a few tax offices and I do see where alot of companies are doing both out of their office spaces and I would like to do the same. I guess I would like to do it independently but sell for other major companies. I hope this all makes sense. Thank you in advance for… Read more »
Thank you for your fast response and for your help. Im In California and Im in the process of getting my license, my goal is to open my own office and sell policies from different companies, Ive gotten different answers from different people regarding my questions so basically Im confused and don’t know exactly how to start. I think the correct name is Insurance Producer.
Hi Jose, not sure if you already found your way to your insurance broker plans at this time. My name is Dean and I am also new in the insurance business. Finally got my license, also getting non resident licenses in other states, while learning the policies of the different companies that I am now appointed with. It has been a challenge but fun! Please do not hesitate to reach out to me if you still needs help ok? We can actually operate to all the 52 states as we obtain the licenses per state. Dean Luzader #7037129479
I too have obtained my license and now I’m wanting to understand next steps. I sold PEOs at ADP along with HRB software with carrier connections. I now want to start selling life and health insurance but obtaining a license doesn’t teach you how to actually get plans from providers to present to individuals or companies.
Hello! I recently left a B/D and received notice that I have to contact every single state to surrender my licensing. I’m not sure yet whether I want to return to the industry. How long do licenses last before they lapse? If they lapse, what fee is charged? It seems somewhat ridiculous that 50 separate forms or notices would need to be given when one leaves the industry. Could you please advise?
I took my P&C test and passed it in January of this year, but due to a conflicting schedule I didn’t continue with the process to obtain my license. I would like to get licensed now but my concern is that I will have to start over again or can I just continue with the finger prints and background check process?
Ive been insurance for over 20 years and was thinking of changing from where I have been in an independent agency to a company called Shelter.They are saying its not that easy that I am an appointed agent and I am not. I have changed twice in my career and never have signed a contract nor have I been ask to sign one when I go. This is a good job and id like to go but this is becoming an issue and its just not so. I work CSR but I am fully licensed. I will be writing policies… Read more »
I was fired from my job and now am running around making sure my licensing info is up to date in each state. I am worried about being stuck with non-compliance fees and having to worry about that while unemployed. I have checked each state’s websites and called voicemail boxes pr state but cannot get this answer, if I want to keep my license until they expire do I have to file anything with each state I am licensed as a non-resident or will my license auto-expire once the company I worked for contact the state’s insurance office that I… Read more »
Hi, I passed the NY state exam (P&C) and filed for an agent license but on Department of Financial services of NY website my license seems to be “inactive”. I will start a new job next week with a Carrier’s agency (State Farm), should I request a letter from them for activating my agent license?
Hi,I responded to an employment AD to sell insurance. I took the pre-licensing courses under that IMO company from the Ad. I went on to pass my health and Life exams and got my licenses. I started working for the IMO company and wrote a couple of application for policies. Now, I’m not sure if I want to continue working with this company. If I wanted to leave and go to work for another IMO or Independent insurance company how would it effect my ability to do so? Is there some kind of rule that forbid me from changing organizations?… Read more »
I have been licensed for 4.5 years. Got stuck in recruiting companies and sold very little. I’ve been bouncing back and forth, just can’t get any traction…. I’ve bought leads but they are all junk unless I pay the company $3K/month and are captive to them completely. What do I do?!! I’ve been looking for a straight up basic insurance job but still no real hand holding (since i come from a fireman/paramedic background) which is what i need. I’m in california. Thanks for any slap or advice you can give!
I’m glad you pointed out that all states will require you to provide some personal identification, but the actual requirement vary by state so it’s a good idea to check your state’s requirements. My brother wants to start a casualty insurance agency, so I’ve been helping him do some research about different aspects of the business. I’ll definitely take your advice and check our state’s specific requirements for identification!
Hello…I have recently(2 days ago) passed the property and casualty exam for the state of Nevada. I’m also done with the fingerprint process. The question that I have is: is it suggested that someone in my case applies for a license before getting the fingerprints results and avoid to paying the license application fees in case something goes wrong in it?
Hello . – I’m newly licensed 220 in the state of florida. I also sell real estate. I’m unsure how to proceed or even what questions to ask at this point on getting started. Based on what i’ve read, it seems to make sense to work for a company for a few years to get some experience in the field. I just want to make the right decision. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks