Getting a Florida Insurance License

The basic steps for getting any insurance license in Florida are more or less the same.

1. Pre-licensing education

First, if your license has an education requirement, you attend an insurance school such as ours. The General Lines Agent license, which allows you to sell all types of Property and Casualty insurance in Florida, has a 200 hour education requirement. The requirement can be done online. When you pass our course, we notify the State right away. The Department of Financial Services (DFS) lists the requirements for each license at http://www.myfloridacfo.com/Division/Agents/ . If you have insurance experience or an insurance designation, you may qualify for the license without taking a course (see “experience qualification form” below).

2. Pass the state exam

After you pass a course, you need to pass the state exam. A good prelicensing course should leave you in good shape to pass the state exam. You may need to do some studying if you want to be sure you pass on your first try. To help with that, we have a 3-day license exam prep “cram course (2-20 or 20-44)". You can attend even if you did not attend our school for your licensing requirement – many people do just that. The exam prep cuts down study time and makes sure all the concepts you learned in your course are clear and easy to remember. To sign up for the state exam, you can register at http://www.pearsonvue.com/fl/insurance/ . This step does not apply to our RCSR designation course (4-40 CSR license), which has no state exam.

3. Fingerprinting

As an insurance professional, various parties trust you with their money. As a result, the law requires people applying for licenses to be fingerprinted. The fingerprints are used for a criminal background check, which can take up to 10 days (barring complications, it is usually faster). DFS may change their fingerprinting vendor from time to time. If you have been fingerprinted for DFS within 12 months (48 months if you are adding an additional license), you will not have to do it again. To schedule fingerprinting see: DFS fingerprinting page .

4. Complete your application with the Department of Financial Services (DFS)

By this time, the DFS has your course certificate, your exam score, and the background check from your fingerprinting. All that’s left is to complete your license application and pay the fee for your license. To complete the application and pay the fee visit http://www.myfloridacfo.com/Division/Agents/ .

5. Any time you need help, ever

If you’re looking for more information about which license to get and what the requirements are, call our Tampa office at 813-962-4297 or send an email to info@andybeverly.com .

Later if you need help with what to do next, or you’ve run into a difficult situation in your career, give us a call. We help our students after they graduate, and we don’t charge for answering their questions.

For additional resources for agents, please see our “links” page.

Information on Common Insurance Licenses

General Lines Agent (2-20)

This is the most comprehensive license for Property and Casualty insurance. It allows you to sell insurance on homes, autos, all types of personal and business property, commercial buildings, businesses, liability, workers' compensation, and more. A 2-20 agent can be the agent in charge of an agency and supervise other agents. The education requirement is 200 hours. We offer the course online.

If you have 1 year of licensed experience in all lines of insurance and can complete an experience qualification form , you can take our 3 day exam prep to prepare for the state exam. The experience qualification form will exempt you from any education requirement if approved.

You can also use the experience qualification form for the 2-20 license if you are a licensed 4-40 CSR or 20-44 Agent with 1 year experience in some lines of insurance. Converting to the 2-20 license this way requires a 40 hour course. We offer the 40 hour conversion course as an online self paced course .

Life, Health and Variable Annuities (2-15)

This is the license for people who wish to write Life, Health and Disability insurance and Annuities. It allows you to sell insurance on people’s health and livelihoods, and the well-being of their family in times of disability or death. Many products available to 2-15 agents work synergistically with retirement planning, retirement and investment products, and the various products and services offered by professionals with the FINRA Series 6, 63, and 7 licenses. A 2-15 agent is appointed directly by Life and Health insurers, and may be the agent in charge of a Life and Health insurance agency. The education requirement is 60 hours. Extra study beyond that 60 hours will certainly be required, as the state manual for the 2-15 license is over 600 pages long. We offer the course in a self-paced online format.

On request we may schedule a one day or half day exam prep for groups of 10 or more who need this license, and who have completed or are taking our 60 hour course. If you have a classroom of people who need a class that is not shown in our schedule, you can contact us ahead of time for custom classes.

Personal Lines Agent (20-44)

A 20-44 can sell all types of personal insurance, but not business insurance. Homes, autos, jewelry, and personal umbrella policies are some examples. The 20-44 can sell insurance outside the office, without direct supervision by a 2-20 agent. A 20-44 agent may be the “agent in charge” of an office if they are appointed in at least 2 lines of business sold in that office. The education requirement is 60 hours. We offer the course online. Some people may qualify by experience using the experience qualification form .

Customer Service Rep (4-40)

The 4-40 license allows you to work directly with customers, but only inside the office and under the supervision of a 2-20 agent. A 4-40 CSR is appointed by the supervising 2-20 agent, instead of being appointed directly by an insurer. The 4-40 is intended to be a license for service and inside-sales personnel who need to be able to talk to customers about insurance. Florida statutes specify that a 4-40’s compensation must be “primarily salary based.” They may be paid commission, but only in addition to a salary that is their primary compensation. The 4-40 license is an excellent choice for getting started quickly, as the state exam requirement is waived, and the license may later be converted to a 2-20 or 20-44 if needed. The 4-40 license is not a good choice if you need to sell insurance outside the agency location, or work outside the supervision of a 2-20 agent (for example, working from home or at a branch that does not have a 2-20 agent). Both the agent in charge and the 4-40 should be aware of the limitations of this license.

When you are ready to convert from the 4-40 to a 2-20, we have a 4-40 to 2-20 license conversion course online.

All Lines (Independent or Company) Adjuster (6-20)

Adjusters are professionals who estimate the value of an insured loss. A company adjuster works for an insurance company adjusting claims. You may visit damaged homes or inspect damaged autos, or you might work in an office approving claims or talking on the phone with policyholders.

An independent adjuster works independently for one or more insurance companies. There are firms that employ a number of adjusters, and there are people who only adjust claims in the aftermath of a hurricane. Independent adjusters are needed by the industry because insurance companies only have enough adjusters in-house to work on routine claims. If a flood, windstorm, or wildfire causes many claims at once, they rely on independent adjusters for support.

There is no education requirement for the 6-20 Adjuster’s license if you take the state exam.

Any 2-20 agent can apply for an adjuster’s license without taking another state exam. In other words, by getting a 2-20 license, you can also get the 6-20.