Navigating Florida Insurance Continuing Education Requirements

Maintaining an active insurance license in Florida requires ongoing professional development. This article provides a comprehensive guide to understanding and meeting Florida's continuing education (CE) requirements for insurance agents and adjusters. The purpose of these requirements is to establish standards for continuing education courses for individuals licensed to solicit, sell, or adjust insurance in the state.

Who Needs Continuing Education?

Florida Statute F.S. 626.281 outlines the CE requirements. Unless otherwise specified, these requirements apply to individuals licensed to engage in the sale of insurance or adjustment of insurance claims in Florida for all lines of insurance for which an examination is required for licensing and to each insurer, employer, or appointing entity, including, but not limited to, those created or existing pursuant to s. 627.351.

Exemptions exist for:

Individuals holding a license for the sale of any line of insurance for which an examination is not required by Florida law.
Individuals holding a limited license as a crop or hail and multiple-peril crop insurance agent.
Licensees unable to comply with CE requirements due to active duty in the military (with a written waiver request to the department).
Nonresident producers and adjusters in good standing with their home states.
Producers licensed only for lines of insurance for which an examination is not required.

Core Continuing Education Requirements

Resident insurance agents in Florida must complete continuing education every two years by the last day of their birth months to renew their licenses. The first reporting will not be due until after the licensee has been licensed for at least 2 years. Florida insurance licenses are perpetual, meaning that as long as the continuing education requirements are completed on time, the licenses automatically renew.

The specific number of CE hours required depends on the license type and years of licensure.

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4-Hour Update Course: Each licensee (except title insurance agents) must complete a 4-hour update course every two years that is specific to the license held. The Florida Department of Insurance requires you to complete your hours by the last day of your birth month every 2 years. The course must be developed and offered by providers and approved by the department. The content of the course must address all lines of insurance for which examination and licensure are required and include the following subject areas: insurance law updates, ethics for insurance professionals, disciplinary trends and case studies, industry trends, premium discounts, determining suitability of products and services, and other similar insurance-related topics the department determines are relevant to legally and ethically carrying out the responsibilities of the license granted. A licensee who holds multiple insurance licenses must complete an update course that is specific to at least one of the licenses held.
Elective Continuing Education: Any remaining required hours of continuing education are elective and may consist of any continuing education course approved by the department under this section.
- General Requirement: Each licensee must also complete 20 hours of elective continuing education courses every 2 years.
- Experienced Licensees: A licensee who has been licensed for 6 or more years must also complete a minimum of 16 hours of elective continuing education every 2 years.
- Long-Tenured & Educated Licensees: A licensee who has been licensed for 25 years or more and is a CLU or a CPCU or has a Bachelor of Science degree or higher in risk management or insurance with evidence of 18 or more semester hours in insurance-related courses must also complete a minimum of 6 hours of elective continuing education courses every 2 years.
- Customer Representatives: An individual who holds a license as a customer representative and who is not a licensed life or health agent must also complete a minimum of 6 hours of continuing education courses every 2 years.
- Chapter 648 Subjects: An individual subject to chapter 648 must complete the 4-hour update course and a minimum of 10 hours of elective continuing education courses every 2 years.
- Public Adjusters: Elective continuing education courses for public adjusters may be any course related to commercial and residential property coverages, claim adjusting practices, and any other adjuster elective courses approved by the department. Notwithstanding this subsection, public adjusters for workers’ compensation insurance or health insurance are not required to take continuing education courses pursuant to this section.
- Title Insurance Agents: Any person who holds a license as a title insurance agent must complete a minimum of 10 hours of continuing education credit every 2 years in title insurance and escrow management specific to this state and approved by the department, which must include at least 3 hours of continuing education on the subject matter of ethics, rules, or compliance with state and federal regulations relating specifically to title insurance and closing services.
- Association Participants: For a licensee who is an active participant in an association, 2 hours of elective continuing education credit per calendar year may be approved by the department, if properly reported by the association.

Ethics Requirements

Nearly all license types are required to include a 4-hour law and ethics update course with the number of hours required. Title agents must complete 7 hours of standard continuing education and 3 hours of ethics (not Law & Ethics). (A.D. Banker's Ethics (not Law & Ethics) courses are valid for Title agents, but we do not offer title CE courses for the remaining 7 hours.)

Specialized Training

Certain insurance products require specific training before an agent can sell them.

Long-Term Care (LTC) Insurance: Insurance agents licensed in Accident & Health or Sickness must complete 8 hours of initial Long-Term Care (LTC) Certification Training before selling, soliciting, or negotiating Long-Term Care (LTC) products. After completing the initial requirement, agents must complete 4-hours of ongoing LTC training within 24 months of the last LTC course. We have all the LTC training you need to stay compliant. Initial 8-hour training requirement: before selling LTC policies in Florida, producers must complete an 8-hour state approved Long-Term Care Partnership training. Non-resident producers planning to sell Long-Term Care (LTC) have special training or education requirements as described below: Initial 8-hour LTC training requirement: before selling, soliciting, or negotiating LTC insurance products in Alabama, nonresident producers must complete an initial 8-hour, NAIC LTC training course approved in any licensed state. Ongoing 4-hour LTC training requirement: after completing the 8-hour initial training requirement, nonresident producers must complete 4 hours of state-approved LTC training every 24-month period following the initial training and every 24 months thereafter.
Annuity Products: Effective January 1, 2024, agents holding a life insurance line of authority may not sell any annuities until first completing a one-time 4-hour Annuity Best Interest course. Complete a one-hour annuity best interest course OR complete the four-hour annuity best interest course.
Flood Insurance: Producers who write flood insurance must complete a one-time 3-hour training class on flood insurance and the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

Course Options and Completion

Licensees may complete their CE hours through various methods:

Webinars: Completion is based on attendance and participation. You must be present for the full duration of the course, and you must be active throughout to receive credit. There is no certification exam required.
Online courses: Completion is self-paced. You must review the course material and pass the Certification Exam at the end to receive credit. Certification exams do not require a monitor.
Self-study courses
Classroom instruction
Independent study programs

Each course is listed with an associated credit type. You must select courses that have the appropriate credit types for fulfilling the requirements to maintain your license.

To complete a CE course, you must pass a closed-book final exam with a score of at least 70%. You cannot repeat the same course within two years from the original completion date. To avoid this overlap, we provide multiple courses approved for various license types in Florida.

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Approved Course Providers

The Florida Department of Financial Services (DFS) approves CE course providers. A.D. Banker & Company is one such provider, offering courses online, and through live webinars.

Reporting Course Completion

Each person or entity sponsoring a course for continuing education credit must furnish, within 21 days after completion of the course, in a form satisfactory to the department or its designee, a roster showing the name and license number of all persons successfully completing such course and requesting credit.

A.D. Banker will report your completed hours to the Florida Department of Insurance within 1 business day.

You can check your current number of completed course hours through the MyProfile feature at myfloridacfo.com. If you do not see a course that you completed on your transcript, contact us.

Consequences of Non-Compliance

Compliance with continuing education requirements is a condition precedent to the issuance, continuation, reinstatement, or renewal of any appointment subject to this section. If you fail to complete CE by the deadline, existing appointments will not be automatically renewed.

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The department may immediately terminate or refuse to renew the appointment of an agent or adjuster who has been notified by the department that his or her continuing education requirements have not been certified, unless the agent or adjuster has been granted an extension or waiver by the department. The department may not issue a new appointment of the same or similar type to a licensee who was denied a renewal appointment for failing to complete continuing education as required until the licensee completes his or her continuing education requirement.

You will receive a preliminary notice of noncompliance approximately 45 days from the end of your compliance period. This notice will list several options to become compliant.

If you do not complete your CE requirements within 45 days of your license expiration, you will receive a Preliminary Notice of Noncompliance and a Settlement Stipulation.

Extensions

For good cause shown, the department may grant an extension of time during which the requirements of this section may be completed, but such extension may not exceed 1 year. If you have not completed your continuing education requirement due to extenuating circumstances, you may qualify for an extension.

Additional Considerations

Excess Hours: The state of Florida allows a maximum of 24 excess continuing education hours to be carried over into the next reporting period. Excess hours accumulated during any 2-year compliance period may be carried forward to the next compliance period.
Course Repetition: Courses may not be taken more than once in a two-year period. Completion dates must be at least 24 months apart.
Non-residents: A nonresident licensee who must complete continuing education requirements in his or her home state may use the home state requirements to also meet this state’s continuing education requirements if the licensee’s home state recognizes reciprocity with this state’s continuing education requirements. A nonresident licensee whose home state does not have a continuing education requirement but is licensed for the same class of business in another state that has a continuing education requirement may comply with this section by furnishing proof of compliance with the other state’s requirement if that state has a reciprocal agreement with this state relative to continuing education. A nonresident licensee whose home state does not have such continuing education requirements, and who is not licensed as a nonresident licensee in a state that has continuing education requirements and reciprocates with this state, must meet the continuing education requirements of this state. Title agents may not substitute another state's CE requirements and must take Florida-approved courses. If your home state recognizes reciprocity with Florida, its CE requirements may be used to meet Florida insurance requirements.

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