Hello, welcome to this educational article on how to obtain a life insurance license in New York state.
Here you will learn everything about how to acquire a life insurance license NY.
Acquiring a life insurance license is mandatory for any insurance professional interested in offering the services, especially in New York.
Therefore, the laws governing New York state require one to undergo the four processes to acquire your insurance broker license.
We will cover the following in this article:
It is also important to note that the licensing board in New York expects you to pay the stated fee to the relevant authority which is under the department of financial services.
By now, you know what a life insurance license is and understand its importance.
You can’t be a life insurance agent in New York without it and without meeting the education requirements.
You can’t sell life insurance policies, in short.
So, let’s learn more!
Requirements To Obtain Your New York Life Insurance License
The requirements to obtain a life insurance agent license are not so demanding as long as you are a resident of the state.
But, non-residents can also obtain the license.
The requirements for the state residents include:
- The resident must at least be 18years old according to the state rules and regulations.
- They must complete the necessary pre-licensing education set by the licensing board.
- Must apply for a licensing education program and pass the New York insurance license exams with the minimum percentage expected.
- The person must apply for an insurance license within 2 years of completion and passing the New York insurance exam.
- Finally, they must pay the appropriate licensing fee required to the department of financial services.
On the other hand, for the non-residents, the requirements are the following:
- They must produce the appropriate non-resident application and pay the required fees to the department.
- They must be licensed in their home states and produce documents to certify that they have been licensed by the necessary authority in their respective states.
How To Acquire Your New York Life Insurance Licensing
Should one follow the set rules and steps?
Acquiring a license will be easier than anticipated, and the licensing requirements can be met.
The following are the steps to be followed when acquiring the New York insurance license:
Identify The Type Of Insurance License Needed
At this point, you need to be very careful and knowledgeable of the types of life insurance offered in the state.
There is health insurance, life insurance, property, and casualty insurance.
A life insurance license is favorable and marketable in New York.
Life and health insurance are the best in the market of Newyork.
Most New York residents are interested in insurance for their lives, in case of death, and insurance of their health in case of a sudden illness.
Although property and casualty insurance is beneficial to the license holder, acquiring the health and life insurance license is advisable because selling life insurance is lucrative.
Property and casualty insurance licenses include licensing policies of homes and businesses.
Acquire The Pre-Licensing Education
Immediately after deciding the licensing type you need, the next big step is applying and acquiring a prelicensing education.
Choose the ideal pre-licensing training school and one that has been certified.
There are a good number of licensed insurance schools in NY that also offer life insurance licensing courses which are:
- POH institute of insurance
- Kaplan financial
- Prometric testing center
- Nilico
- Securities training corporation and a few more
In New York, there are two modes of education acceptable which are online and classroom learning.
The type of licensing you choose determines the education course you will pursue and the amount of time you will take to complete the course.
For example, the life and health insurance take 20 hours each to complete the course, and afterward, you are awarded a certificate of completion.
Take note that your certificate remains valid for only twelve months.
As mentioned earlier, the New York health insurance licenses classes can be attended either online or physically.
If one chooses online learning, then here are some of the requirements :
- There is a need to obtain the right life and health insurance license NY study guide.
- There are training programs where the individual is forced to complete a page of online learning before proceeding to the next page of the online course
- The student is expected to complete the end-of-course exam without failure even though the end-of-course exam monitor was eliminated by the board.
In the case of classroom attendance, an individual is expected to perform pre-class study and also to be available for the exams physically.
Apply For The Licensing Exam
After acquiring the Pre-licensing certificate, you will be required to apply for a licensing state exam according to the department of insurance.
You will automatically qualify to sit for it after completion and award of the insurance pre-licensing certificate.
Remember, you will be required to sit for a paper on each of the combined types of licensing you wish to acquire.
For example, you can sit for the property and casualty life insurance license.
The application fee, however, will cost you $40. Moreover, you will be required to produce a valid photo ID on top of the certificate offered in pre-licensing.
It is important to note that New York uses PSI as its official testing service.
You will also be charged a fee of $33 for the examination, which only takes 2 hours to complete the paper.
It is also a requirement that your score report reads 70% or more in order to have passed the examination.
Moreover, you must understand that it is a requirement for one to present the pre-licensing certificate offered before you sit for the exam.
In this category, you will find out that New York, offers specific independent exams in licensing.
The New York licensing board also offers a life training program at this stage to help the individual in coping with the responsibilities following after approval of the license.
One can also retake the exam, although at a cost for each retake.
The exams are not that hard if one has read keenly for them, but it’s also not that easy.
If at all the applicant was a holder of a license but has not renewed in the previous after two years, he or she must :
- First of all, pass the exam the first time you take it and submit an appropriate application or any other document asked or relevant to acquire a life insurance license.
Review Of The Application
After the completion of the life insurance license exam and applying for the license, the licensing board will review your application.
Which it does in a week (business hours and days), and you have to watch out for your New York life health insurance license, which might be approved if the board is satisfied by the information submitted.
You will receive an email in case more information is required.
After completing the licensing exams and passing, one ought to apply for the completion of the compulsory insurance continuing education credits, of which, after that, you’ll have been fully licensed.
After the acquisition of the license, you are now a fully licensed insurance agent or producer in New York.
You are ready to work in any insurance firm or be an independent agent.
You can also become an insurance producer, set up your firm with no restrictions, and venture into this prosperous insurance industry.
Also, keep in mind that the license is bound to expire, and you ought to renew it after two years.
Benefits Of Obtaining A Life Insurance License In New York
Obtaining a license in New York comes with many advantages, most of which we are going to list. Here are the benefits:
As we saw earlier, acquiring an insurance license is not as easy as it may seem, but it comes with huge benefits once you have acquired the right.
- Life insurance job sales are numerous around New York as many firms are always willing and ready to employ insurance agents; hence it’s a field assured of accessible employment
- Life insurance offers a good or rather the most significant amount of commissions to its agents in the insurance sector, and this provides an excellent chance to enhance one’s financial gain
- Acquiring the license is not as demanding as other job opportunities. You find that in New York, you are only required to put in a maximum of 40-80 hours to complete your license education, which is by far more accessible than the other sectors.
- Another benefit is that you become your own boss by acquiring a life insurance license and setting up an insurance company or firm where you can market yourself without restrictions.
Conclusion
Acquiring a life insurance license in New York is not hard and also obtaining a market or a job at any firm is possible with high-paying incomes.
With the right requirements, anyone can venture into this industry and be successful.
However, it is still important to note that the Industry is very demanding in terms of resources and commitment; hence its not suitable for individuals who are too busy.
