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Obtaining your insurance broker license is simple if you follow the steps that are outlined by the state that you reside in. Each state has some of their own laws but for the most part everything is pretty much uniform.

The biggest step and the one that proves the most difficult to some people is getting to know the insurance terminology. There is the possibility for testing and educational requirements as well.

You’re also going to find that some states are moving away from calling it an insurance broker license; however, this again is going to vary state by state.

Insurance Agent versus Insurance Broker

An important aspect of wanting to become an insurance broker is to understand what the differences are between an insurance agent and an insurance broker.

Though these two may seem very alike they aren’t an interchangeable item. Here are the differences:

An insurance agent is going to be someone that works for one specific company and will try to sell the insurance products that are offered only for that company.

The insurance broker is not limited to any one insurance company and they are going to be able to provide offerings from a variety of companies.

State Licensing Laws

Insurance license requirements are going to vary by state so you’re going to want to determine the types of licenses are in your state. If you’re unsure you can Google, http://www.google.com , for your state insurance commissioners’ website and they will have everything you need to know on there.

The license requirements for the two are pretty much identical to each other so they have been moved to one designation called the insurance producer license. This allows anyone that has the producers’ license to sell insurance products regardless of being an insurance agent or insurance broker.

Educational Requirements

You now need to look into possible educational requirements as most states are going to require you to pass a written test. There are others that might require that you complete a certain amount of hours of training before you’re able to be fully licensed. You do have the option sometimes to complete your training online.

There really is no definitive answer to this as each state is a little different from the other. Like mentioned above, when in doubt look at the insurance commissioners website for your state and check out the licensing requirements so that you know what you have to do.

Fees and Deadlines

Make sure that you know the fees and the deadlines. There are some states that could have an open testing policy that all you need to do is show up at the testing center and take the test. There are others that will offer testing only a few times on each calendar year. Most all will have fees that need to be paid before being able to take the test.

Basically don’t just rush in and think that you’re going to be able to take your test, plan ahead.

Multiple States

The final consideration is for the people that want to sell insurance in more than their home state you need to look at the broker licensing requirements in each of the states you intend to do business in. You won’t have to get licensed in each state individually but there are specifics that one state might require that you don’t have in your state, you’re going to have to be familiar with everything.