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So you want to know how to become a life insurance agent. A lot of people will tell you that all you have to do is apply for an exam, take a pre-licensing course, ( if your state requires it) pay some fees, and pass a state approved exam.

The problem is this couldn’t any further from the truth. As someone who has worked in the life insurance business I can tell you their is a lot more to becoming a life insurance agent than just passing an exam. Once you’ve passed the exam you need to find a company to represent or work for, learn how to properly asses peoples needs and sell them the correct product, and if all that isn’t enough you need to complete a continuing education course that allows you to keep your license.

So in this article I’m going to briefly cover each part to give you a sense of what’s involved in being a life insurance agent.

Pass The Exam

The first thing you obviously need to do is pass your states required life insurance exam. In order for you to get paid you will need to be licensed. The issue with this is that every state has different requirements to get your license.

Some states will require you to take a pre-licensing education course between 20 and 40 hours, on top of that you will varying exam fees, and even the test will vary. To figure out what your states requirements are start here and pick the state you reside in.

Landing The Job

Once you’ve passed the exam you need to find a job. This can usually lead to one of two ways. The first is to start your own agency and work for yourself and even hire other agents to work out of your agency.

The second option is to work for another agency, and sell products through them. The great part about this is that you don’t have all the overhead when it comes to running your own agency and gives you a chance to get up and on your feet.

In fact, some agencies will even allow you to work part time till you get up and running. Doing this will allow to transition into a position a lot more smoothly rather than all at once which could be tough when getting started.

Learn To Sell

Up until this point to become a life insurance agent all you had to do was get a license, and either find a job or start your own insurance agency. However one of the most overlooked points of becoming a life insurance agent is learning how to educate and sell the product.

When I first started in the business I thought all I had to was get a license and hang a sign on my front door and the clients would come running. This just isn’t so. In fact, my first few years in the business were brutal, only bringing in a handful of clients, but once you become established and you build trust with other you will continue to sell more and more.

When it comes selling to life insurance knowing little about personal finance, and having good communication skill will take you a long way in this business to making you a success.

Continuing Education

Finally, the last piece of the puzzle is continuing education, which is the constant education of the insurance laws and regulations in your state. Most states carry different requirements for this as well, for example in Ohio they require you to complete 20 hours of continuing education over a 2 year period and also take an exam.

The up side to all of this is that some companies will pay for a majority of your CE credits as long as you sit in on seminar about the various products they offer, which is a great way to not only get your CE in but also learn about the products that you can offer your clients and improve their lives as well.

How To Become A Life Insurance Agent

In the end if you want to be a successful insurance agent you need to make sure each of these 4 pillars are a strong point in your business. Without any one of them your business is at risk and could fail.

So take some time now and asses your business, whether you are just getting started or if you’ve been doing it for years, and determine where your weak points are and put a plan together to improve them today.

When it comes to getting your life insurance license their are several things you need to do in order to get it. For starters your state may have different requirements for you to complete before you can even take the exam.

Most typical states will require you to be 18 years of age, a resident in the state you are applying in, complete a pre-licensing education course, do a background check, send in fingerprints, pay the required fees, and pass an exam, all before you can have a license and be considered a life insurance agent.

So in this article I’m going to cover each of these areas in more detail on how to get a life insurance license.

Pre-Licensing Education Course

Almost all states require you to have some sort of pre-licensing education. A pre-licenseing education course is typically done in classroom, and held by a certified instructor. However some states are now allowing you to complete a portion of your the education course online.

Most states will require around 20 hours of pre-licensing education, such as Ohio, while other states like California will require 32 hours. On top of that some states will require you to take your life, an health licenses together.

Ohio use to require this which also meant you have to take 40 hours or pre-licensing education but have since separated them and now only require 20 hours per license.

Background Check & Fingerprints

Secondly, in order to get your life insurance license you will typically be required to have a background check done. A background check is used to see if you have committed any felonies, especially those that are considered a crime of dishonesty or a breach of trust.

However if you have committed a felony you may be able to have it waived. This would include filling out a waiver form and having it approved your states current insurance commissioner.

Along with the background check you also may be required to complete fingerprint impressions either with a fingerprint card or electronically. The reason fingerprints are collected is to prove you are the actual person applying for the license.

Fees & Expenses

Third you will have fees and expense in order to get your life insurance license. These fees can vary from state to state and some don’t have all the fees and expense mentioned here. Below is a list of typical fees you may encounter in your state.

License Fee. This is the fee you have to pay in order to obtain your license.

Background Check Fee. This fee is charged if you have to have a background check done.

Fingerprint Fee. If you have to have fingerprints done they charge a separate fee for this.

Exam Fee. This is a fee to take the life insurance exam. This fee is usually charged every time you take the exam, so if you fail the exam you will typically have to pay the fee again.

Renewal Fees. A renewal fee is charged every time you have to renew your license. In most cases you won’t have to renew your license until every two years.

Pre-License Course Fee. You will also have to pay a fee take the pre-license course. This fee depends on where you take the course at.

Licensing Materials. When taking the pre-licensing education course in your state you will also have to buy training materials. This will typically include a study guide and even some practice exams.

Life Insurance Exam

Finally, once you’ve passed your pre-licensing education course, done your background check and fingerprints, and paid your required fees, you will need to pass the required exam in order to apply for your license.

The typical exam will usually be around a 100 questions and in most cases they will give you 2 hours to complete this. On top of that you must get at least a 70% or better to pass the exam.

How To Get A Life Insurance License

Once you have passed your exam you can apply for your life insurance license. Again, this also varies from state to state as well. For example, in some states they will issue it immediately after you pass the exam while others my require a waiting period of three to five days for processing.

Again all of these requirements vary from state to state, so take your time to review your states requirements before you sign up. To get started you can check out your states requirements here.