Required Training Before Your Health Insurance License Exam

 

If you want to pursue a career as a health insurance broker, you’re required to first get a health insurance license in the state where you’ll be working. Both California and Nevada require a minimum number of hours of approved pre-licensing study. The number of hours varies based on your selected insurance license type.

You can choose from a variety of licenses. California offers 30+ license types; Nevada offers more than 25 license classifications. Word & Brown recommends new California brokers get a Life, Accident, and Health license, which gives you the ability to sell a broader range of products. The “Producer” license in Nevada offers similar capabilities.

 

CALIFORNIA BROKER PRE-LICENSE TRAINING

In California, the Life, Health, and Ethics pre-licensing training requirement is a total of 52 hours. That includes 20 hours for Life, 20 hours for the Accident and Health, and 12 hours of Ethics and Code training. The coursework includes:

  • General Insurance Principles and Concepts
  • Principles of Life Insurance and Annuities (for Life and combo licenses)
  • Principles of Health Insurance (for Health and combo licenses)
  • California Agent Licensing and Regulation
  • California Life Insurance Statutes and Rules (for Life and combo licenses)
  • California Health Insurance Statutes and Rules (for Health and combo licenses)

After you get your California license, every two years you’re required to complete 24 hours of Continuing Education (CE) for each license term, including at least three hours of ethics training. The Department of Insurance (DOI) recommends completing your CE hours at least 60 days prior to your license expiration to allow time for your training to be recorded and credited to you by the DOI.

 

NEVADA BROKER PRE-LICENSE TRAINING

Nevada’s required training is similar. New license candidates must satisfactorily complete 20 hours of education for each insurance line. For a Life and Health license, you need a total of 40 pre-license training hours. To maintain a license in Nevada, producers must complete 30 hours of Continuing Education within a three-year licensing period, including three hours of ethics training.

 

ETHICS TRAINING

The insurance business is complex, and you could face ethical dilemmas during your career as a broker. That’s why part of the required pre-license training – and your ongoing CE requirements – includes ethics and code.

This training includes information on:

  • Consumer protections
  • Credit scoring
  • Federal and state laws on ethics and fraud
  • Fair sales, claims, and underwriting practices
  • Market conduct
  • Fiduciary duties
  • Consumer privacy
  • Product suitability

 

TRAINING RESOURCES

When you’re ready to start your pre-license training, you can choose from in-person and online resources.

 

California: Brokers in California have a variety of insurance license exam preparation vendors from which to choose. Organizations qualified for provider certification in California include:

Some of the qualified organizations offering online training for California brokers include:

 

In addition to those listed above, you can look up other training and license preparation providers on the California Department of Insurance website.

Costs vary, based on the range of services provided (such as whether you choose a self-study program, a video study program, or a live online study package, and whether practice exams are included).  

Don’t forget, we believe so much in our future partnership that we’ll reimburse you, up to $500, after you pass your licensing exam and sell your first small business Major Medical policy with us.

 

Nevada: In Nevada, you can look up pre-licensing education training providers using Sircon, by following these steps:

  • Select “Lookup Education Courses/Credits”
  • Select “Approved Courses Inquiry”
  • Select Nevada from the state menu
  • Select “Pre-Licensing Education” from the dropdown menu

 

After you complete your online studies, you’ll receive a certificate of course completion, which is also reported to Sircon, (thus making you eligible for a Nevada insurance producer’s license exam.) A certificate of completion is valid for two years.

 

Only one Testing Vendor is authorized for the insurance license exam. Subject to availability, testing appointments can be made up to one calendar day prior to the day you wish to test. Click below to visit the vendor’s website.

        Pearson VUE

 

For additional tips on preparing for your license exam, refer to our post, Health Insurance Broker License and Exam Tips. Good luck with your studies – and your test.

 

How Much Can You Earn as an Insurance Broker?

Find out what you can be earning as an insurance agent in our handy, up-to-date salary guide. Produced by our in-house experts, this resource is bound to help you in advancing your career.

Word & Brown Salary Guide
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