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Continuing Education Requirements

This information is intended to provide answers to commonly asked questions by insurance agents. It is not intended to replace detailed information found in your state’s statutes and regulations. Though we have made reasonable efforts to ensure that the information given is reliable and current, we cannot guarantee that it is. For more information please contact your state insurance department. See contact information below.

Hours Required

• Life ONLY Agents and/or Accident & Health Agents - 24 CE credits, of which 3 must be in Ethics. Agents may also need LTC or Annuities CE requirements as part of the 24 CE hours if the agent sells those products.
• Property and Casualty Agents - 24 CE credits, of which 3 must be in Ethics. A one time 3 hour flood insurance course is required.
• Life, Health and Property Casualty Agent Combined Licensees - 24 CE credits, of which 3 must be in Ethics.  Agents may also need LTC or Annuities CE requirements if the agent sells those products.  A one time 3 hour flood insurance course is required.
• Personal Lines Broker-Agent - 24 hours including 3 hours of ethics, biennially. A one time 3 hour flood insurance course is required.
• Limited Lines Automobile Agent - 20 hours including 3 hours of ethics, biennially .

Compliance Date

• Last day of the license issuance month, biennially.

Approved Course Delivery Methods

• Independent self-study online or written courses - Courses for Partnership LTC credit may not be taken through independent self-study.
• Classroom
• Interactive Online - Courses for Partnership LTC credit may not be taken through the interactive online method.
• Seminar
• Teleconference

Exam Requirements

Self-study final exams do not require a monitor, except for courses approved specifically to meet the "24 hour Coverage" requirement, which must be monitored by a disinterested third party (i.e., someone with no business or family relationship to the student). A passing grade of 70% is required on all final examinations.  If a passing grade is not achieved, you may retake the exam for no additional charge.  Course completion date is determined by the actual completion of the final exam.  Once a course is purchased, you have two years to complete.

Course Subject Requirements

Licensee's renewing on or after 3/1/2023 will be required to complete 1 CE hour worth of anti-fraud training as part of their ethics study.
The California Department of Insurance is offering the training on it's own for those individuals that have already completed their CE requirement and only need the new training to renew.

• Courses must be approved for the line of insurance for which the agent's license is held.
• Ethics Requirement: Life, Property and Casualty are required to complete 3 hours of approved Ethics, biennially.  Agents and brokers not completing the Ethics CE prior to their expiration date of their license will NOT be allowed to renew their license until this requirement has been met.
• Annuity 8 Hour Requirement: All California agents who sell annuities must complete an 8 hours state-approved Annuity Training course prior to selling annuities.
• Annuity 4 Hour Requirement: In addition to the one time 8 hour Annuity Training course, agents continuing to sell annuities must complete a 4 hour state-approved Annuity CE course each subsequent compliance period. May not take an 8 hour Annuity course to satisfy the four hour requirement. 

"ARTICLE 13.5. Prelicensing and Continuing Education [1749 - 1749.9]

1749.8.  

(a) Every life agent who sells annuities shall satisfactorily complete eight hours of training prior to soliciting individual consumers in order to sell annuities.

(b) Every life agent who sells annuities shall satisfactorily complete four hours of training prior to each license renewal. Completion of the eight-hour annuity training required by subdivision (a) does not satisfy the four-hour annuity training required by this subdivision. For resident licensees, this requirement shall count toward the licensee’s continuing education requirement, but may still result in completing more than the minimum number of continuing education hours set forth in this section.

(c) The training required by this section shall be approved by the commissioner and shall consist of topics related to annuities, and California law, regulations, and requirements related to annuities, prohibited sales practices, the recognition of indicators that a prospective insured may lack the short-term memory or judgment to knowingly purchase an insurance product, and fraudulent and unfair trade practices. Subject matter determined by the commissioner to be primarily intended to promote the sale or marketing of annuities shall not qualify for credit toward the training requirement. Any course or seminar that is disapproved under the provisions of this section shall be presumed invalid for credit toward the training requirement of this section unless it is approved in writing by the commissioner.

(d) The training requirements set forth in this section shall not apply to nonresident agents representing an insurer that is a direct response provider.

For the purposes of this section, “direct response provider” means an insurer that meets each of the following criteria:

(1) The insurer does not initiate telephone contact with insureds or prospective insureds.

(2) Agents of the insurer speak with insureds and prospective insureds only by telephone, and at the request of the insureds or prospective insureds.

(3) Agents of the insurer are assigned to speak with insureds or prospective insureds on a random basis, when contacted.

(4) Agents of the insurer are salaried and do not receive commissions for sales or referrals.

(Amended by Stats. 2013, Ch. 321, Sec. 19. (AB 1391) Effective January 1, 2014.)"

• Long Term Care: Individuals who sell long term care products in California must complete 8-hours of California LTC annually for the first four years, then eight hours biennially thereafter.  The initial LTC must be completed before you may sell LTC.
• California Partnership Long Term Care: Individuals who sell California Partnership for Long-Term Care products must obtain eight hours of specific partnership LTC and eight hours of California-approved LTC credits before soliciting. Thereafter, eight hours in each type of LTC CE courses must be completed biennially. However, a new licensee must complete eight hours of California-approved LTC annually for the first four years of licensure, and eight hours in partnership LTC biennially. These courses apply toward the completion of the basic CE requirement.
• Flood Requirement: All California licensed Fire/Casualty Broker-Agents and Personal Lines Broker-Agents who sell federal flood insurance policies shall be required to complete a one-time 3-hour requirement on flood insurance.
• Life agents who wish to sell the combined Group Health and Workers Compensation plan known as "24 Hour Coverage" must complete a specific, California-approved, four-hour course before solicitation. This course will only need to be taken once, and the credits can be used to meet the basic CE requirement .

Carryover Credits

Life agents and Fire and Casualty broker-agents who have been licensed for at least four years may carry over a maximum of 30 hours, however these must have been earned in the second half of the reporting period.

Course Repetition

Courses (including California-specific LTC courses) may not be taken for credit more than once in a reporting period.

Exemptions

Licensees are exempt from continuing education if one of the following is true:

• Individuals who have held a life agent license for at least one year or who obtained a life settlement broker license prior to July 2, 2010 are exempt from the 15 hour life settlement broker training course requirement.  This does not include an exemption from the life agent CE requirement of 24 CE hours, including 4 hours of ethics.

• The producer holds a nonresident license and does NOT sell annuities, LTC, LTC partnership, or flood products.

• Nonresident adjusters

• The producer holds only a cargo shippers license.

• The producer is 70 years or older and has held a California insurance license in good standing for 30 years or more. This does not include an exemption from product specific training for LTC and Annuities.

• The producer holds a life license and claims a funeral exemption (sells less than $15,000 of insurance).

Credit Reporting

CAPE will report credits to the California Department of Insurance.  A course completion certificate will be issued for each course successfully finished for the agent's records.

Contact Information:

If you have any questions regarding renewal or credits, please contact:

California Insurance Department
License Bureau
320 Capitol Mall
Sacramento, CA 95814-4309
(800) 927-4397
http://www.insurance.ca.gov/0200-industry/ 

Contact CAPE:

CAPE Education
PO Box 377
Newtown Square, PA 19073

Phone: 888-227-3331
Fax: 610-353-9471
Or email us below

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