Hey there, welcome to this informative guide on how to obtain a New York Insurance license.
New York could be the state where you want to sell your insurance as a legalized Insurance agent.
We will guide you on the whole process along with some helpful tips to make it easier for you to obtain a New York Insurance license.
In this guide we will cover:
Obtaining that New York Insurance License is the first thing you should do in your journey of becoming a legalized insurance agent in New York.
The New York license will cover various types of insurance that you want to sell such as life insurance, property and casualty insurance, health insurance, and any other line of authority that you are interested in.
Here we go!
The 6-Step Process Of Getting Your New York Insurance License
The New York Department of Insurance has made it easy for all its insurance agents to obtain a license through a 6-step process.
Which is as follows:
Step 1: Determine The Insurance Licences You Want
You must choose the licenses that you need. It is the kind of insurance products you want to sell that will determine the licenses you need.
The most popular ones with new insurance agents are the property and casualty license and the life and health insurance license.
If you are selling Home Insurance, Auto Insurance, Business Insurance, and the like, you must have a Property and Casualty Insurance License.
If on the other hand, you are selling Life Insurance, Medicare, Annuities, and the like, you must have a Life and Health Insurance license.
If you are one of those insurance producers who would love to get both the L&H and P&C licenses, then it is very possible.
But if you intend on focusing on only one category of insurance then you can choose the license for that category.
Also, remember that you will need a special FINRA securities license if you want to be solely a life insurance agent.
Step 2: Take Your Insurance Pre-license Education Courses
Now that you have established the licenses that you want, the next step is taking your New York Insurance pre-license education courses.
You can take an online course or attend live classes. Remember these courses are meant to equip you with the knowledge to help you pass the test.
The lines of authority you select dictate the courses you take. Every line of authority has different pre-license education hours.
For example, a Property and Casualty license requires 90 hours of pre-licensing while the Life and Health License will need only 40 hours.
If you are taking an accident & health license, it will require only 20 hours.
Upon course completion, you will receive a certification which you will present before taking your licensing exam.
Step 3: Take The New York License Exam
After finishing your pre-license course, the next step is the exam.
One exam applies to each line of authority you choose.
To take this test, you will have to show up in person in a controlled environment with someone watching you.
It is important to be aware of this fact before taking this exam in case you are not used to such exam environments.
A $33 fee is charged for each exam attempt.
You must carry your photo ID and an original pre-license education certificate when you go to the test center.
Failure to provide those two IDs means you can’t sit for an exam and will have to reapply with another $33 fee.
You must score 70% or higher on each test you take for a pass.
Step 4: Your License Application
After completing your exams, applying for your New York license is the next step.
If you did an exam for two lines of authority, for example, apply the licenses for all those lines.
A 48-hour waiting period is required after passing your exam, for you to apply for your license.
A license application will cost you a license fee of $40 for each line of authority.
Remember that licensing requirements will vary depending on if you are a resident or a nonresident.
If you have listed New York as your Home state then you are a resident.
But if you have listed another state other than New York as the Home State then you are a nonresident.
Step 5: The Application Review Process
After submitting your application and filling in all the needed requirements, the department will review your application.
According to the New York state, every application is different which is why there is no precise indication of how long the review process will take.
Background checks are also done and if there are any parts of your background that need to be reviewed further, the process could take longer.
In this case, the state usually contacts the applicant to inform them of the issues they have encountered with the review process.
Step 6: A Name Search To Confirm License Application Approval
The department of insurance in New York does not send any notification concerning the acceptance or rejection of an application.
All you need to do is carry out a license search in the New York Insurance License Lookup Tool.
You can always contact the License Department if you haven’t received your agent license.
But if you have received the license, you will now become a New York Licensed Insurance Agent with a valid license number for identification
Conclusion
As we have seen, obtaining a New York Insurance License is quite a process, considering that it requires a lot of work but is worth it.
Now you know how insurance producer licenses are obtained and how to become a health insurance agent in New York and so on.
The process is the same, it is the requirements that vary with each line of authority.
The New York state insurance licensing department has all its license and education requirements outlined clearly and once you begin the process you will see that.
