How To Earn An Insurance License And Become An Insurance Agent
How To Earn An Insurance License And Become An Insurance Agent
ABTrainingCenter can help you learn how to earn your insurance license and start your career as an Insurance Agent.
Be aware that doing so requires you to take an insurance pre-licensing course and pass your state's pre-licensing exam. Below are the steps to help learn your insurance licensing requirements and help you decide which insurance licensing classes are best for you.
Step 1: Decide What Kind Of Insurance You Want To SellThere are several types of insurance licenses. For instance, you can sell life, health, or property and casualty, so the first thing you want to do is decide what type or types of insurance you would like to specialize in. Here are the most common types of insurance licenses:
- Life Insurance License:
You sell policies and annuities related to providing for a beneficiary upon the death of the insured - Health Insurance:
You sell medical, disability, Medicare supplement, and long-term care policies - Property And Casualty Insurance:
Commonly referred to as P&C, you typically sell homeowner, commercial property, auto, workers compensation, and professional liability policies
FYI: Keep in mind that while you can sell more than one type of insurance, you must take an insurance pre-licensing course and pass the accompanying insurance licensing exam for each type.
Step 2: Understand The Requirements To Become An Insurance AgentAfter you've decided what type of insurance license you want to earn, the next question most people ask is "What are the requirements to become an insurance agent?" Below are the basic insurance licensing requirements for earning your insurance license. Generally speaking, you must:
- Be at least 18 years old to become an insurance agent
- Take an insurance pre-licensing course for each type of insurance you want to sell
- Pass your state's insurance licensing exam for each type of insurance you want to sell
Note: Most states also require you to pass a background check before being granted your insurance license. The process varies by states and, in some cases, includes fingerprinting, which can usually be done at your state's testing provider
Step 3: How To Meet You Insurance Pre-Licensing Requirements, Then Pass Your State ExamPre-licensure requirements vary from state to state, so ABTrainingCenter offers insurance pre-licensing courses in several formats to help meet your pre-licensing and exam prep needs.
Specifically, we offer pre-licensing insurance courses in live, online, virtual, and self-study formats in most states. Our programs typically contain not only training for the material on your insurance licensing exam, but numerous practice exams to help you pass your Life & Health or Property & Casualty insurance license exam on the first try!
Find Your Required Pre-Licensing Course
Listed below are the links for your state's pre-licensing courses for each license type. Simply click the applicable state to see info on that state's pre-licensing requirements, as well as the best-selling pre-licensing courses for that state.
Alternatively, you can search for courses using the search box below.
Good luck earning your insurance license!
Find Seminars, Webinars, And Online Training In Your Area
Tips For Earning Your Insurance License
Below are tips for taking your insurance pre-licensing course and passing your insurance licensing exam.
- Determine your desired license type. In other words, do I want to work with customers who want to protect their life, property, or both? Do I prefer to just handle claims?
- Select a pre-licensing course format – typically instructor-led or self-study - that best fits your needs. While a self-study course is cheaper and can be taken in your spare time from the comfort of your home or office, an instructor-led course gives you the ability to listen to - and ask questions of - an experienced instructor
- Study the materials prior to taking your pre-licensing course exam
- Since practice exams are included with our insurance pre-licensing courses, take as many practice tests as you can
- Study, then sit, for your exam
Pre-Licensing Course Format Comparison
Insurance pre-licensing exam courses are available in most states in instructor-led or online formats. The plusses and minuses of each are listed below.
- Online
The Online format generally means that you do your training at your computer and at your own pace, without the help of an instructor.
- Plusses:
- Very affordable training format
You can take the training anytime that's convenient for your schedule
- You have access for five months to complete your training
- Can be accessed from anywhere at any time
- Minuses:
- You lose the benefit of learning from an experience instructor
- Requires you to set and stick to your own study schedule
Instructor-Led
Instructor-Led courses have three components: the course materials, an instructor lecture which you can watch either live or recorded, and the ability to email the instructor. Note: The lecture portion typically contains about 15 hours or training where the Instructor covers key points and answers questions. You still have to read the same materials as provided with the online course.
- Plusses:
- No travel costs to attend class
- Classes are recorded so you can re-watch at your convenience
- You still get live interaction with your instructor
- You can log into your class from any computer
- Minuses:
- Requires use of webcam or speakers/microphone to participate in live interaction
- Costs about $100 more than the online course
Virtual Or In-Person Seminar
The instructor-led seminar format generally means that you attend a classroom training at a specific date, time, and location either in-person or virtually.
- Plusses:
- Provides a structured learning environment
- Requires attendance at a specific date and time
- An instructor led seminar gives you the ability to listen to - and ask questions of - an experienced instructor
- You get to hear - and learn from - the questions of other attendees
- Minuses:
- You move at the class's pace
- Less flexibility in schedule - you must attend at a specific date and time
- Costs slightly more than other training formats
- Unfortunately, due to COVID, in-person sessions where you go to a classroom are difficult to find. That said, for those who prefer personal attention, the Instructor-Led format is a great option
How To Study For, Take, And Pass The Licensing Exam
How Do I Study For My Exam?
Each of our pre-licensing course formats include well-designed course materials, study guides, exam prep materials, and numerous sample exams.
Our pre-licensing course materials are delivered in an easy-to-understand manner that provides important insights and valuable exam tips and strategies covering your state’s rules and regulations for insurance licensing. You receive:- Both print and online tools that include a comprehensive textbook utilizing short, focused paragraphs with numerous graphics and exercises to help students learn faster and retain critical information
- A searchable FAQs database
- Exam Tips, Study Calendar, and hundreds of practice exam questions
- State Law Supplement that provides the most current state laws and regulations
- Videos that can be viewed anytime, anywhere, and as frequently as you like
- With the Instructor-led course, email access for help with any tough areas
Start with a quick reading all materials to get a sense of what is being taught, then do a more-thorough reading of the course materials, taking notes as you go. Where necessary, ask an Instructor or industry professional for assistance with any "tough" sections. Last, take as many practice exams as possible!
How Do I Schedule My Exam?
You schedule your exam through your state’s hired testing center. As a courtesy, the name, phone, and URL for each state is provided at the bottom of your state’s pre-licensing page.
Be sure to schedule your exam session as far in advance as possible to secure your desired exam date and to ensure you have enough time to both re-study and review as many sample exam questions as possible.
Do I Need A Sponsor – Or Have To Have A Job Lined Up Prior To Testing?
No.
Any Last-Minute Tips?
The pre-licensing course doesn’t teach you how to sell or market your services. A lot of the required material is terms and definitions that help ensure that you understand – and can communicate to your clients – what benefits are provided with the purchased insurance. That said, make sure you understand the materials.
The best way to do this is by taking as many of the practice exams as possible. Scoring highly on several of these sample exams means you are ready to take your exam.
Good luck on earning your insurance license!
