Life and Health Insurance License Exam
By Victoria Trix
In order to become a life or health insurance agent, that is, to be employed by a health and life insurance company to sell health or life insurance policies to consumers, a person must be licensed as an agent in the state in which they practice. The requirements of each state vary, but all require some level of training course completion and the passing of several exams specific to the type of insurance the agent wants to sell. There is one license for health insurance, and another for life insurance.
While college education, especially in the fields of business and economics, is beneficial for the person desiring to work for an insurance company as an agent, in some cases an insurance company will hire individuals as customer service reps and then later promote them to sales agent after they have completed the required coursework and passed the exams for that state’s licensing procedure.
The insurance companies find that the advantage of hiring unlicensed agents in lower positions while they complete coursework, allows the company to train the agent in the specific business practices and policies of their company before they are actually legally able to sell policies. Most potential agents will find the required coursework for licensing to be easier to understand if they have background or college education in insurance or a related field.
In addition to state licensing requirements, many insurance company employers are encouraging their agents to continue in their economic education beyond their licensing, as most companies are becoming more and more involved in providing financial planning services to their policyholders as an extension of their company benefits. While the practical coursework topics of insurance and economics have obvious advantages to the insurance agent’s career, other coursework that will benefit the agent include subjects in public speaking, sociology, sales and computer training.
Specific state licensing for insurance agents will cover selling of life insurance, selling of health insurance, and additional testing required for licensing will incorporate applicable state insurance laws. The insurance industry licensing practices are steadily moving toward having one set of standard tests for licensing that will allow the agent to practice in any state. In addition, many states have requirements for annual continuing education for their licensed health and life insurance agents which must be satisfied before annual license renewal. The specific requirements of continuing education focus on insurance law, consumer protection, and ethics.
In the event that you fail your insurance licensing exam on the first attempt, specific allowances for retaking of exams vary from state to state, so be sure to check with your state administrator for information that pertains to you. Many states do not require candidates to wait a specific amount of time before retaking the exams. Some will require a waiting period, some will only allow you to retake the exam within a specific time period. Some states will also allow you to only retake the portions of the test that you have failed. In any case, there will be additional registration fees for retaking the exam.
Articles in the Life and Health Insurance License Exam series
- Life and Health Insurance License Exam
- Preparing for the Life and Health Insurance Agents Exam
- Life Insurance Practice Exam
- Life and Health Insurance Licensing Exam Questions
- Life and Health Insurance Exam Study Guide
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