Frequently Asked Questions
You are eligible to apply for an insurance license within the state of New York if you are 18 years or older. Any person wishing to obtain an insurance license can do so by registering and scheduling an exam date with the New York State Department of Financial Services. Examination services are available at various testing centers located across the New York State. You can find more information about the status of your license application on the New York State Department of Financial Services website: http://www.dfs.ny.gov/insurance/agbrok/ab_exam_vendor.htm
You must have an insurance license if you wish to conduct any form of business involving the trade of insurance in which you accept commission. However, you can only consult, sell, negotiate, or solicit business in the name in which you are licensed.
Insurance agents are insurance professionals that serve as an intermediary between the insurance company and the insured. They are responsible for all the busy paperwork. Insurance brokers, on the other hand, play the role of a kind of super-independent agent. Brokers are required to have a broker’s license issued by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority, which means that they will have the technical and professional expertise that an insurance agent lacks.
As of now, the state of New York gives permission for any person that is licensed to sell to have both an agent and a broker license at the same time.
Continuing education programs are educational opportunities, made up of short courses, that are offered to individuals who have left the formal education system.
Continuing Education (CE) must be finished before the relicensing or renewal application is processed. The completion of CE is mandated by the State of New York for anyone wishing to submit a relicensing or renewal form. A licensee is required to complete 15 credits of CE during each two year licensing period.
Effective and expiration dates can be found on all licenses. For further licensing information, please visit: https://myportal.dfs.ny.gov/nylinxext/elsearch.alice. You can renew your license within 180 days of the expiration date on the license.
Yes. All the required CE credits must be completed in order to renew or reinstate the license. It is your responsibility to maintain the course completion documents that were given to you at the time and place of where you took your CE course.
In the case that your license expired more than two years ago, you need to retake the exam and submit the same application and fee. In the case that your license expired within the last two years, then you can relicense it at: http://www.dfs.ny.gov/insurance/relic.htm. This applies to all New York State residents.