Over the nearly 40 years that Insurance Schools, Inc. has been providing insurance education for agent/producers, adjusters and public adjusters, many students have asked for clarification regarding the different types of courses offered to them. Below, we have attempted to simplify the answers to these questions to help our potential clients/students save time and money by avoiding the wrong course(s) for the type of credit these insurance professionals are pursuing.

QUESTION -- SHOULD I TAKE A "PRELICENSING" COURSE OR AN "EXAM PREP" COURSE TO PREPARE FOR MY STATE LICENSING EXAM?

That depends on the requirements of the state for which you are attempting to obtain a resident license. If that state has a “prelicensing requirement”, the student must take a state approved prelicensing course and pass the course final exam before they will be permitted to hold a license in that state.

For example, the state of Georgia has a prelicensing requirement for agents, producers, and adjusters. To be permitted to offer those prelicensing courses, Insurance Schools was required to submit information regarding our company to the Georgia Department of Insurance to receive a “course provider” approval number. Then, we were required to submit our actual courses to the Department to have the content, format and delivery method approved to receive a course approval number. The Georgia Department requires our courses to provide 20 hours of instruction for each line of insurance approved and to require students to pass a course final exam before we issue a course completion certificate. This certificate must be submitted along with the student’s license application.

To view Georgia Agent Producer Courses CLICK HERE!

To view the Georgia Adjuster & Public Adjuster course CLICK HERE!

Contrast Georgia with New York that does not have a prelicensing requirement for agents, producers, and independent adjusters. This means that license candidates must pass the state licensing exam in order to apply for a license but the state does not require them to take or pass a course to prepare for the exam. Of course, most license candidates understand that they have to study in order to pass the state exam so they would look for “exam prep” It is important when shopping for a course to understand the difference between a “prelicensing course” and an “exam prep” course. If you purchase an “exam prep” course to prepare for an exam in a state that has a prelicensing requirement, you may not be permitted to take the state exam and you will not be permitted to apply for your license unless you purchase a second course that is approved for prelicensing in that state and pass the second course.



QUESTION -- WILL AN EXAM PREP COURSE PROVIDE ME WITH ALL THE INFORMATION I NEED TO PASS THE STATE LICENSING EXAM?

Maybe. Many exam prep courses simply provide generic information that is asked on most insurance state licensing exams but they do not provide the state-specific information that you need to know if you hope to actually pass that exam.

For example, a very typical “generic” question you’ll see on most insurance exams and you can find in every exam prep course, on Quizlet, etc. is:

To obtain an insurance agent, producer, or adjuster license, an applicant must be:

a. At least 25 years of age.
b. At least 21 years of age.
c. At least 18 years of age. (Correct answer although some states are changing this to 21 for some license types.)
d. At least 16 years of age.

Other generic questions include topics such as perils, hazards, types of risk, the law of large numbers, the coverages of certain forms such as the HO-2, HO-3, etc. If a student learns only the “generic” information, they will not pass their state licensing exams. For example, more than 30% of the questions on the New York 17-70 Independent General Adjuster state exam are state-specific. If you must score a 70% to pass the 100-question exam, skipping 30% of the state-specific content would cause you to fail. This is assuming you could answer all 70% of the generic questions correctly.

The New York 17-70 exam may include a generic question or two on the HO-3 or HO-5. But they will also include a question or two on the New York Special Provisions endorsement that must be attached to all Homeowners policies issued in New York that amend the provisions of the generic HO-3 and HO-5 forms to conform to New York law. The same is true with the generic automobile policy questions, the generic workers’ compensation policy questions, and health insurance questions. Some insurance agent, producer and adjuster Exam Prep courses DO cover the state-specific information but you need to be sure before you buy. You will want to give yourself the best chance to pass the state exam by buying the most thorough course.

To view the New York Independent General 17-70 Adjuster Course CLICK HERE!



QUESTION -- CAN I USE MY PRELICENSING COURSE COMPLETION CERTIFICATE OR PROOF OF TAKING AN EXAM PREP COURSE TO SUBMIT FOR CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDIT?

Insurance prelicensing course hours cannot be used for continuing education credit. Prelicensing courses provide the basic information needed to begin a new career in insurance. Continuing education courses are meant to “continue” the licensee’s education from the point where the prelicensing course left.

Proof of taking an exam prep course such as a receipt or school certificate cannot be submitted for continuing education credit. All schools offering continuing education credit for insurance agents, producers, or adjusters must be an approved provider in the state for CE and the CE courses must be approved for continuing education credit.