In an effort to make it easier for you to track your continuing education (CE) hours, to renew your license and to be aware of other licensing requirements, the California Department of Insurance (CDI) is providing the CE: Find Out Where You Stand, New Continuing Education and Licensing Requirements, and a Review of the Producer Licensing Online Programs.
CE: Find Out Where You Stand – CDI Provides This Information On the Internet, By Telephone or Email
First, CDI encourages you to complete your CE hours at least 60 to 90 days before the expiration of your license. The early completion of CE hours assists in streamlining your license renewal.
1) On the Internet
CDI’s web site at www.insurance.ca.gov provides several methods for you to automatically check your license status and your CE status by visiting the “Check License Status” link (http://insurance.ca.gov/license-status/) which is available on its main page. On this page you may access your license record by inserting your name or your license number and press Submit Query. Review your licensee record as you scroll down the web page. At the bottom of the web page select “Continuing Education” to access your CE summary page to begin your CE review. Specifically, this first page provides you with the “Total Continuing Education for this renewal period” and it details your license type, your license status, the CE hours applied, hours required, and hours needed for this license renewal term.
The CE summary page also provides the “Additional Education and Training, if required to sell specific products or for license type” information which lists the completed ethics, annuity, long-term care, and homeowners’ insurance courses that you completed during the current license term. Each section listed under the Additional Education heading informs you if these requirements were met.
For more details on the CE you completed, select the View CE Details link that is located next to the “Total Continuing Education at title. The View CE Details breaks down the courses you completed by the specific course number, course type, course name, completed date, course hours, and credited hours. Most importantly, this web page provides the specific courses that were completed and the number of hours completed for each course for this renewal period.
For your convenience, CDI also has available on its web site the Education Provider and Course Search at http://interactive.web.insurance.ca.gov/providercourselookup/index.jsp or visit CDI’s web site at www.insurance.ca.gov, type Provider and Course Search in the search box on the Main Page. This service provides you with the list of CDI approved CE courses by course type to allow you to quickly and easily locate the CE course(s) you need to complete to comply with your CE requirements. Specifically, after opening Education Provider and Course Search web page, use the drop down menu to select your license type, your education type (continuing education, prelicensing), the instruction method (contact for classroom and non-contact for internet or self-study) and the course category type (listed below).
To ensure that you are completing the courses that are required, we encourage you to use the Education Provider and Course Search service.
Following is a list of the CE category types and the license types that may complete these courses for CE credit
AH – Accident and Health Agent courses
AJ – Independent Insurance Adjuster courses
ANU8 – Annuity eight-hour courses for Life-Only Agents, Life, Accident and Health Agents, and Life Limited to the Payment of Funeral and Burial Expense Agents that meet the specific eight-hour annuity training requirements stated in Section 1749.8 of the California Insurance Code (CIC).
ANU4 – Annuity four-hour courses for Life-Only Agents, Life, Accident and Health Agents, and Life Limited to the Payment of Funeral and Burial Expense Agents that meet the specific four-hour annuity training requirements stated in Section 1749.8 of the CIC.
AP – Independent and Public Insurance Adjuster courses.
AU – Limited Lines Automobile Insurance Agent, Personal Lines Broker-Agent, Property Broker-Agent and Casualty Broker-Agents courses.
BL – Bail courses.
BM – Business Management courses for Property Broker-Agents, Casualty Broker-Agents, Personal Lines Broker-Agents, Limited Lines Automobile Insurance Agents, Life-Only Agents, and Accident and Health Agents.
CA – Casualty Broker-Agents courses.
CO – Commercial Insurance prelicensing courses are completed by Personal Lines Broker-Agents that are upgrading their license to a Property Broker-Agent and Casualty Broker-Agent.
CP – California Partnership courses for Accident and Health Agents that meet specific the California Partnership for Long Term Care CE requirements.
ET – Ethics training (one to four hours) courses for Property Broker-Agents, Casualty Broker-Agents, Personal Lines Broker-Agents, Limited Lines Automobile Insurance Agent, Accident and Health Agents, and Life-Only Agents specific to ethics CE requirement of Section 1749.3(a) of the CIC.
FLD – Flood courses for Property Broker-Agents, Casualty Broker-Agents of section 1749.3(a) or Personal Lines Broker-Agents.
HO – Homeowners’ Insurance Valuation courses for Property Broker-Agents, Casualty Broker-Agents, and Personal Lines Broker-Agents.
LO – Life-Only Agent courses.
LX – Life courses for Life-Only Agents and Life, Accident and Health Agents.
PC – Property and Casualty courses for Property Broker-Agents, Casualty Broker-Agents andPersonal Lines Broker-Agents.
PL – Personal Lines Broker–Agent courses for Property Broker-Agents, Casualty Broker-Agents or Personal Lines Broker-Agents.
PJ – Public Insurance Adjuster courses.
PR Property Broker-Agents courses.
WC – 24-Hour Workers’ Compensation courses for Accident and Health Agents.
LTC8– Eight-Hour Mandatory Long-Term Care courses for Accident and Health Agents that meet the specific long-term care training requirements stated in Section 10234.93(a)(4)(A) of the CIC. In addition, Life-Only Agents that sell long term care as a rider to a life policy are to complete this requirement.
Essentially, CDI’s Check License Status web page CE link provides you with a summary of the CE courses and course hours you completed and the number of CE hours that are required to renew your license. In addition, the Education Provider and Course Search web page provides you with the CDI approved courses to take to meet your license renewal requirements.
2) Producer Licensing Bureau Call Center
You may call the toll free (800) 967-9331 and say or press “0” to speak with a Call Center Technician.
3) Email and Mail Inquiries
Your inquiries may be sent via email to the Producer Licensing Email service (https://interactive.web.insurance.ca.gov/pli/servlet/InformationRequest) which is available on CDI’s web site at www.insurance.ca.gov, select Agents and Brokers in the red tool bar, in the right hand column select How to Reach Us. The Email Inquiry link is the fourth bullet on that page. When submitting an inquiry, please provide as much detail as possible and include your telephone number to enable CDI to better serve you.
In addition you may submit inquiries to the following mailing address:
California Department of Insurance
Attention: Producer Licensing Bureau
P.O. Box 1139
Sacramento, CA 95812-1139
Other Information
Please note that Section 2188.6(g) of the California Code of Regulations (CCR) states, in part, that licensees cannot receive CE credit for the same course taken more than one time within a two-year license period. In addition, Section 2188.8 (a)(7) of the CCR states, in part, that licensees are required to retain their course certificates of completion for five (5) years. Therefore, you need to review your certificates of completion to avoid the completion of the same course during a two-year license term. If courses are taken again, during a two-year term, only the first course completed will be eligible for CE credit.
In addition, you may carry-forward CE hours. However, only the additional CE credit hours completed in the second year of a two-year license term may be carried forward and applied to the next license CE requirement.
For non-contact courses (including self-directed, web, correspondence, and computer), you need to fully understand the education provider’s method for calculating course completion dates. If you wait until the end of your license term to complete a non-contact course to meet your CE requirement, you may find that the education provider submitted the date that the examination was graded or the date stamped for the education provider’s time zone as the completion date. The date the education provider submits could result in your CE being out of compliance. At that time you would need to submit a 50 percent penalty fee to reactivate your license. As stated earlier, CDI strongly recommends that you complete your CE courses 60 to 90 days before your license expiration dates.
Producer Licensing Online Services
Section 1655 of the California Insurance Code (CIC) states, in part, that no application for a license shall be deemed filed unless that document was submitted and the proper filing fee were paid using electronic service. However, an applicant, for a good cause shown, may request an exemption to the electronic filing requirement. To assist you with the online filing requirements, listed below are some of CDI’s online services that are available on CDI’s web site at www.insurance.ca.gov for both resident and nonresident applicants and licensees.
Examination First Requirement
CDI requires California resident applicants to first pass the qualifying license examination prior to submitting their license application.
PSI Services, LLC, a California-based company providing state-based regulatory licensure services, handles the scheduling of examinations for individuals licensed by CDI’s Producer Licensing Bureau. Instructions for scheduling examinations are posted on PSI’s Examination Scheduling Service (https://candidate.psiexams.com/index.jsp). Individuals may schedule their examinations with PSI either online or by telephone.
Fast Licensing Application Service is Here (FLASH)
FLASH online application is available on CDI’s web site at www.insurance.ca.gov. FLASH allows both resident and nonresident license applicants to apply online for a license as a Property Broker-Agent, Casualty Broker-Agent, Life-Only Agent, Accident and Health Agent, Personal Lines Broker-Agent, Limited Lines Automobile Insurance Agent, Surplus Line Broker, Special Lines’ Surplus Line Broker, Motor Club Agent, Travel Agent, and a Title Marketing Representative Certificate. This service requires the applicant to pay their license fees with a credit card (American Express, VISA, or MasterCard) or a debit card (with the VISA or MasterCard logo) examination. On CDI’s main page, use the Quick Links for Agents and Brokers drop down menu to select “Apply for a License” to link to the FLASH online application.
Online Address Change Service
Sections 1658, 1728, and 1729 of the CIC to state, in part, that every licensee and every applicant for a licensee shall immediately notify the commissioner using an electronic service of any change in his or her email or mailing address. You are to change your new address information by using CDI’s online Free Address Change Service that is available on CDI’s main page, using the Quick Links for Agents and Brokers drop down menu and select Address Change Online (http://insurance.ca.gov/0200-industry/0080-make-changes/0100-change-address/index.cfm). CDI tracks the licensee’s mailing, residence, and business addresses. It is the licensee’s responsibility to keep a current mailing and email address on record with CDI.
Education Provider and Course Search Program
CDI offers an Education Provider and Course Search feature on the CDI web site. This feature allows licensees to easily and quickly locate CE courses needed for you to comply with CE requirements. As stated in the On the Internet section, you can use a selection of criteria to customize the search to locate a course to meet your needs. Please visit CDI website at www.insurance.ca.gov, type Provider and Course Search in the search box on the Main Page or use the following link: http://interactive.web.insurance.ca.gov/providercourselookup/index.jsp to select the criteria for your course search.
Prelicensing Education
A. All applicants for the Property Broker-Agent (PR) and Casualty Broker-Agent license (CA) – Previously known as a Fire and Casualty Broker-Agent (FX) license must:
1. Complete an approved 20-hour property broker-agent prelicensing course and a 20-hour casualty broker-agent prelicensing course or complete a combined 40 hours of property and casualty broker-agent prelicensing course for the property broker-agent and the casualty broker-agent examination.
2. Complete an approved 12-hour course on ethics and the California Insurance Code.
B. All applicants for a Life, Accident and Health Agent license (LO and AH) – Previously known as the Full Life Agent (LX) license applicants must:
1. Complete an approved 20-hour life-only agent prelicensing course and a 20-hour accident and health agent prelicensing course or a combined 40 hours of life-only and accident and health agent prelicensing course for the life, accident and health agent examination.
2. Complete an approved 12-hour course on ethics and the California Insurance Code.
C. All applicants for the Accident and Health Agent (AH) license must:
1. Complete an approved 20-hour accident and health agent prelicensing course for the accident and health agent examination.
2. Complete an approved 12-hour course on ethics and the California Insurance Code.
D. All applicants for the Life-Only Agent (LO) license must:
1. Complete an approved 20-hour life-only agent prelicensing course for the life-only agent examination.
2. Complete an approved 12-hour course on ethics and the California Insurance Code.
E. All applicants for the Limited Lines Automobile Insurance Agent (AU) license must:
1. Complete an approved 20-hour limited lines automobile insurance agent prelicensing course for the limited lines automobile insurance agent examination.
2. Complete an approved 12-hour course on ethics and the California Insurance Code.
F. All applicants for the Personal Lines Broker-Agent (PL) license must:
1. Complete an approved 20-hour personal line prelicensing course for the personal lines broker-agent examination.
2. Complete an approved 12-hour course on ethics and the California Insurance Code.
G. All applicants that would like to upgrade from a Personal Lines Broker-Agent (PL) license to a Property Broker-Agent and Casualty Broker-Agent license must:
1. Complete an approved 20-hour commercial insurance prelicensing course for the commercial insurance examination. After passing the commercial insurance examination, your personal lines broker-agent license will be upgraded to a property broker-agent and casualty broker-agent license.
H. Exemptions from the 20-Hour and 40-Hour General Insurance Courses
1. A new California resident applicant who holds a current California non-resident license and holds a license in another state is no longer required to complete the prelicensing education; or;
2. As stated in Section 1749.4 of the CIC, an applicant for a license holding one or more of the following designations:
AAI (Accredited Advisor in Insurance), (property broker-agent, casualty broker-agent, or personal lines broker-agent)
ARM (Associate in Risk Management), (property broker-agent or casualty broker-agent, or limited lines automobile insurance agent)
CEBS (Certified Employee Benefit Specialists), (life-only or accident and health agent)
ChFC (Chartered Financial Consultant), (life-only agent)
CIC (Certified Insurance Counselor), (property broker-agent or casualty broker-agent, and life-only, or accident and health agent)
CFP (Certified Financial Planner), (life only agent)
CPCU (Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter), (property broker-agent and casualty broker-agent, or personal lines broker-agent)
CLU (Chartered Life Underwriter), (life-only and accident and health agent)
FLMI (Fellow, Life Management Institute), (life-only agent and accident and health agent)
HIA (Health Insurance Associate), (accident and health agent)
LUTCF (Life Underwriter Training Council Fellow), (life-only agent and accident and health agent)
REBC (Registered Employee Benefits Consultant), (accident and health agent)
RHU (Registered Health Underwriter), (accident and health agent)
If seeking the same type of license, the applicant needs to complete an approved 12-hour course on ethics and the CIC before taking the examination.
I. Examinations
To obtain a license, you must meet the prelicensing education requirements outlined above, and pass the license type examination, which are based on the educational objectives and the ethics and California Insurance Code established by the Curriculum Board.
Before scheduling your license examination, CDI encourages you to review CDI’s Candidate Information Bulletin (CIB) (http://www.insurance.ca.gov/0200-industry/0020-apply-license/0100-indiv-resident/CandidateInformation.cfm) that is located on CDI’s web site at www.insurance.ca.gov. To locate the CIB, on CDI’s main page in the Search box type Candidate Information Bulletin (CIB) and press “Enter” to retrieve the CIB link to review the material. The CIB provides detailed information on how to prepare for your license examination, prelicensing education requirements, examination site procedures, sample examination questions, test taking strategies, and driving directions to CDI’s examination sites and to 19 of CDI’s new examination vendor’s, PSI, test centers that are located throughout California. Please note that page 8 of the CIB provides a link to the license examination’s educational objectives. Review the educational objectives for the license type you are seeking. The examination you are taking is based on the educational objectives or the study material that is provided on the link.
The following chart lists the number of hours allotted for each examination and the number of questions on each examination.
Examination Type Time Allotted Number of Questions
Accident and Health Agent 1.5 hours 75
Bail Agent, 2 hours 75
Casualty Broker-Agent 1.5 hours 75
Commercial Insurance 1.5 hours 60
Life, Accident and Health Agent 3 hours 150
Life and Disability Insurance Analyst 3.5 hours 125
Life-Limited to the Payment of Funeral
and Burial Expenses Agent 2 hours 90
Life-Only Agent 1.5 hours 75
Property Broker-Agent and Casualty Broker-Agent 3 hours 150
Independent Insurance Adjuster 2.5 hours 100
Limited Lines Automobile Insurance Agent 1.5 hours 60
Personal Lines Broker-Agent 2 hours 90
Property Broker-Agent 1.5 hours 75
Public Insurance Adjuster 2.5 hours 100
After passing the license examination the applicant is seeking, the applicant must submit a license application using CDI’s FLASH online application that is referenced in the Producer Online Services of this article.
There are two methods to schedule your license examination date. The first method is to schedule your license examination using CDI’s examination vendor, PSIs at www.psiexams.com.
The second method is to call PSI at (877) 392-6422 to speak with a Consumer Service Representative Monday through Friday between 4:30 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. and Saturday between 8:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. Using either of these two methods will allow you to schedule an examination at a date, time and location that is convenient for you.
Continuing Education Program Requirements
A. For Property Broker-Agent and/or Casualty Broker-Agents (PR and CA)
1. Hours required.
a. Complete 24 approved credit hours for the license type during each two-year license term.
b. Complete a minimum of four hours of ethics CE that is a part of and not in addition to the 24 hours of CE that must be completed in the license term.
D. For Life, Accident and Health Agents (LO and AH) – Previously known as a Full Life Agent (LX)
1. Hours required.
a. Complete a minimum of 24 approved credit hours for these combined license types during each two-year license term.
b. Complete a minimum of three hours of ethics CE that is a part of and not in addition to the 24 hours of CE that must be completed in the license term.
2. Life-Only agents. Prior to soliciting annuity products, the licensee must complete an initial eight hours of CDI approved annuity training (Annuity Eight-Hour Training, ANU8) prior to soliciting individual consumers. Thereafter, the licensee shall complete at least four hours of a CDI approved annuity training course (Annuity Four-Hour Training, ANU4) every two years prior to license renewal (Section 1749.8 of the CIC).
3. Prior to soliciting individuals for the sale of LTC insurance, then the licensee must complete a CDI approved eight hours of long-term care training (Long-Term Care Training LTC 8) in each of the first four 12-month periods beginning from the date the license was issued and, thereafter, complete eight hours of CDI approved long-term care training each two-year license renewal. (section 10234.93(a)(4) of the CIC.
C. For Property Broker-Agent, Casualty Broker-Agents, Life-Only Agent, Accident and Health Agents, and personal lines broker-agent (PR, CA, LO, AH and PL)
1. If the licensee has an active PR, CA, LO, and AH license they must complete a minimum of 24 approved credit hours for these combined license types during each two-year license term. Please note that the CE requirement is credited to the individual and not to each license type held.
2. Complete a minimum of three hours of ethics CE that is a part of and not in addition to the 24- hour CE requirement that must be completed in the license term.
3. Life-only agents – Prior to selling annuity products, the licensee must complete an initial eight hours of CDI approved annuity training (Annuity Eight-Hour Training, ANU8) prior to soliciting individual consumers. Thereafter, the licensee shall complete at least four hours of a CDI approved annuity training course (Annuity Four-Hour Training, ANU4) every two years prior to license renewal (Section 1749.8 of the CIC).
4. If the licensee solicits individuals for the sale of LTC insurance, then the licensee must complete a LDI approved eight hours of CDI approved long-term care training (Long Term Care Training LTC8) in each of the first four 12-month periods beginning from the date the license was issued and, thereafter, complete eight hours of CDI approved long-term care training each two-year license renewal.
D. Limited Lines Automobile Insurance Agent
1. Hours required.
a. Complete a minimum of 20 approved credit hours for that license type during each two-year license term.
b. Complete a minimum of three hours of ethics CE that is a part of and not in addition to the 20 hours of CE that must be complete in the license term.
E. Section 2188.65 of the CCR requires property broker-agents, casualty broker-agents, and personal lines broker agents, who have not previously completed the CDI approved homeowners insurance valuation training, to do so. This is a one-time three-hour homeowners’ Insurance valuation course requirement that must be complete prior to the agent-broker estimating the replacement value of structures or explaining the various levels of coverage under a homeowners’ insurance policy. The training requirement is part of, and not in addition to, the agent’s 24 hours of CE that must be completed each licensed term.
Similarly, Section 1749.8 of the CIC states, in part, that prior to selling annuity products, the California resident life-only agent or life, accident and health agent must complete an initial eight-hour annuity CDI approved training course (Annuity Eight-Hour Training, ANU 8). Thereafter, the agent must complete a four-hour annuity training course (Annuity Four Hour Training, ANU4) each license renewal.
Furthermore, Section 10234.93(a)(A)(4) of the CIC states, in part, that California resident Accident and health Agents or Life, Accident and Health Agents must complete eight hours of CDI approved long term care training (Long Term Care Training, LTC8) in each of the first four 12-month periods beginning from the date the license was issued. Thereafter the agent must compete eight hours of care CDI approved long-term care training each two-year license. In addition, Life-Only Agents that sell long term care as a rider to a life policy are to complete this requirement.
Please note Section 1749.6 of the CIC states that any person failing to meet the CE requirement on or before their license renewal date shall have his or her license inactivated. The process to reactivate an inactive license is costly and time-consuming. In order to reactivate a terminated license, the licensee must pay a 50 percent penalty fee, complete the required CE, and satisfy any other outstanding requirements (i.e., ethics CE) within one year of the expiration of the license. Additionally, the appointments and endorsements affiliated with license are terminated. The licensee must have their company and/or organizational endorsements using these online services that are available on CDI’s website for each company that the licensee intends to transact.
F. California Nonresident License Holders
A California nonresident license can be issued and existing licenses will be renewed if the nonresident applicant holds a current license for the same license type in good standing in their home state.
In addition, Section 1749.2 of the CIC states, in part, that California nonresidents are exempt form having to compete the California resident licensee’s ethics CE requirement. However, although California nonresident licensees are exempt from the ethics CE requirement, nonresident licensees must complete the required annuity and long-term care training if they are authorized to sell these products. Specifically, if a California nonresident Accident and Health Agent or the Life, and Accident and Health Agents solicit individuals for the sale of LTC insurance in California, the California specific long-term care (Long-Term Care Training, LTC8) requirement that is stated above in the California resident section must also be completed. Similarly, the annuity training (Annuity Eight-Hour Training, ANU 8 and the Annuity Four-Hour Training, ANU 4) requirements that are stated above in the California resident section must also be completed if the California nonresident Life-Only Agents or the Life, Accident and Health Agents sell annuity products.
Continuing Education Exemptions
Section 1749.3 (c) of the CIC states, in part, that any person meeting the following requirements will be exempt from completing CE to renew his or her license:
1. 70 years of age or older; and
2. 30 continuous years as a licensee in good standing in California
Any licensee who maintains 30 continuous years without any disciplinary action is considered to be in good standing. The licensee must submit a written request for the CDI to review the licensee’s record to approve the request. CDI will respond to this request in writing. If the request is not approved, the licensee may contact the Producer Licensing Bureau to request another review of the license record.
However, please note that this exemption shall not apply to those individuals licensed for the first time on or after January 1, 2010.