Education
Continuing Education Requirements
Continuing education (CE) rules apply to persons holding the following types of licenses
- General Property & Casualty (formerly Local Recording Agent and Solicitor)
- Insurance Service Representative
- General Life, Accident, Health & HMO
- Adjuster
- Managing General Agent
When proof is required
Acknowledgment of compliance with CE requirements, or proof of exemption from the requirements, is required each time
one of these licenses is renewed. All of the licenses listed above are renewed every two years.
Penalty for non-compliance
Failure to comply may subject the licensee to a fine, or suspension, revocation or cancellation of license.
Exemptions
An agent who has been licensed for 20 consecutive years is exempt from the continuing education requirement upon request.
A request for exemption
form is available from TDI. The request should include a history of licensure with dates, license types (life, LRA, solicitor)
and TDI file numbers. Appointment cards or other information from insurance companies may suffice if the dates and numbers
are incomplete. An agent that reaches the 20-year threshold within the first year of the two-year renewal period will receive
notification of exemption for the entire period. An agent that reaches the 20-year threshold during the second year of the
two-year renewal period should take at least 15 hours of continuing education during the first year and submit the exemption
request at the beginning of the second year. In this case, the agent will receive notification of exemption effective for
the second year only.
CE credit hour requirements
All licensees are required to obtain at least 30 hours of continuing education credit in each two-year period between
renewals. All Texas license holders subject to continuing education requirements must complete two hours of approved ethics
courses. The two-hour ethics course is part of, and not in addition to, the 30-hour CE requirement. Also, a minimum of 15
hours of the required 30 must be obtained through classroom or classroom equivalent courses.
Certificate of completion
Record keeping is the responsibility of the agent. The course provider sends nothing to the TDI license division. The
provider monitors the agent's attendance, records the agent's name and mailing address, and furnishes certification directly
to the agent after the course has been completed. The certificates received from each course should be kept in a safe place
for four years as TDI may audit these records at any time.
State or national association CE credit
Effective in 2006, the Texas Insurance Code provides for agents to earn up to four hours of self-study continuing education
credit by: reviewing (reading) educational materials provided by a national professional designation sponsor or state or
national insurance association (up to two hours); and/or attending “live” educational presentations sponsored by the national
designation sponsor or state or national association (up to four hours).
Qualifying associations would include IIAT, the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (IIABA), the Federation
of Insurance Women of Texas (FIWT), or others. Qualifying national designation sponsors, of which the licensee would need
to hold a designation, would include organizations such as the Institutes for IIA/CPCU, the National Alliance for Insurance
Education, the IIABA (ACSR designation) and The American College.
Examples of what could qualify as educational materials include: newsletters, magazines or reports. Examples of what
might qualify as an educational presentation include: presentations at IIAT’s Joe Vincent Management Seminar, annual conference,
committee meetings, or board meetings.
To claim credit under this rule, the agent must send to TDI upon its request an affirmation containing the information
regarding the licensee, the organization(s) (association or designation sponsor), hours of credit claimed, and a statement
affirming current membership or current status of the designation. TDI may request that the information be submitted in
the form of a sworn affidavit.
To assist agents in keeping records on their activities and maintaining the required affirmation in case TDI requests
it, IIAT has prepared the State and National Insurance Association Continuing
Education Credit Record (pdf).
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