Requirements for a Florida Insurance License

Florida has specific requirements for becoming an insurance agent.florida secret image by feisty from Fotolia.com

To become an insurance agent (often referred to as a Life Including Variable Annuity and Health Insurance Agent) in the state of Florida, there are a series of steps and requirements that you must complete. After you have received your licenses, the state of Florida will allow you to sell life insurance (term and whole life), annuities (part of the life insurance policy) and health insurance. You can choose to sell all or only some of these products.

General Requirements

To become a licensed agent in the state of Florida, you must be at least 18 years of age. You must be a resident of the state of Florida and not currently employed by the United States Department of Veteran Affairs. If you are a funeral director, an employee of a funeral home or have any business affiliated with a funeral home, your application will be denied. Before you can sit for the licensing exam, you must submit to fingerprinting which will be used for a criminal background check. If you have worked in Canada in the insurance field within three years of applying for a Florida insurance license, you must obtain a letter of clearance from your licensing authority in Canada.

Before taking the licensing exam, prospective agents must sign up for a pre-licensing course. In the pre-licensing course, you will learn about federal and state regulations, legal contracts and types of insurances. The course is 40 hours long and is administered online by the Florida Insurance Licensing Agency. If you are a licensed insurance agent from another state, you may not be required to take any pre-licensing coursework determined on a case by case basis.

Log onto Florida's Department of Financial Services' website to create a profile and fill out your application form. The application is not complete until you pay the application fees. The application is good for six months. During that six-month period, you must take and pass the licensing exam. If you fail to take the exam or do not qualify for any reason within those six months, you must resubmit an application and pay a new application fee.

Once you have received notice that your application is approved, you must take the licensing exam. Testing is administered by Pearson Vue, an independent firm which offers several testing locations throughout the state of Florida. Tests are administered six days a week. On the testing date, you must bring a government-issued photo ID. You will be awarded your license after you have passed the exam.