Continuing Education (CE) Requirements

Below are the applicable Continuing Education (CE) and Training requirements in your state. Keep in mind that although training may not be monitored by the regulator, it still may have a bearing on your ability to sell, solicit, or negotiate the line of business affected.

Pennsylvania Continuing Education (CE) & Training Requirements
General Requirement

During each 24-month licensing period, a Pennsylvania resident producer must earn 24 continuing education (CE) credits of approved education subjects.

Grandfathering Exception

A producer is exempt from CE if he or she was licensed prior to 01/01/71 and has been continuously licensed for all lines of authority carried since. If the producer adds a line of authority or lets the license lapse, the grandfathering feature is lost.

Flood

If you sell Flood insurance, you must secure 3 hours of approved Flood “training.”

Training is set and monitored by the specific Write-Your-Own (WYO) companies (or NFIP/FEMA).

This is a one-time requirement. However, if 1) you want to participate in the NFIP's COOP or Referral programs or 2) your WYO carrier mandates a course every licensing period, you will need to take the course again.

LTC

If you sell, solicit, or negotiate Qualified Partnership Policies (referred to as LTCP), you must complete:

A 1-hour training course on Medical Assistance Program (Medicaid) prior to any sale, solicitation or negotiation of a Qualified Partnership Policy,

A one-time, 8-hour training course. The eight-hour training may include the one-hour LTCP course referenced above; Producers licensed in A&H before 04/01/11 must complete the course by 04/01/12. Producers licensed in A&H after 04/01/11 must complete the course prior to selling.

An ongoing, 4-hour training course, to be completed once in every licensing period.

EthicsN/A
Annuity Education/ Training

Since Dec. 2018, all producers having the authority to sell annuities (resident & non-resident) have been required to complete a one-time, four-hour approved training course. In 2021 (effective in 2022), the requirement was amended to include a more specific sales practices requirement. The need to complete the revised training and the timeframe to do so vary depending on the producer’s circumstances.

A producer with the life and annuities line of authority who had not completed any annuities training as of adoption of the 2022 changes needs to complete the entire revised training by the end of his or her next complete license period. These revised training includes:

  • The types of annuities and various classifications of annuities
  • Identification of the parties to an annuity
  • How product-specific annuity contract features affect consumers
  • The application of income taxation of qualified and nonqualified annuities
  • The primary uses of annuities
  • Appropriate sales practices, standards of conduct replacement, and disclosure requirements

A producer with the life and annuities line of authority who completed the annuities CE requirements that were required prior to the 2022 changes (Act 99 of 2021) can either retake the modified 4-hour course covering items 1 through 6 above, or simply take an approved one-hour course dedicated exclusively to item 6. The update must be secured by Dec. 20, 2022.

A producer who gets licensed or secures the Life and annuities line of authority after the effective date of the Act (June 20, 2022) has until the end of the first licensing period to complete the full 4-hour CE training.

Note that the 4-hour Concepts & Uses of Annuities training includes the 1-hour Annuity Best Interest Standards training. Also, training courses with substantially similar components from another state may be acceptable. You can inquire with your carrier(s) to verify if the training is compliant.

Access revised statute (Act 99 of 2021)

Other Items

Up to 24 hours of carryover credits are allowed in Pennsylvania.

You may not earn credit for repeating a course in the same licensing period. If you hold a designation that requires annual updates (e.g. CIC, CISR): Taking the same institute two years in a row will update your designation, but not count towards CE if it is taken in the same licensing period.

The license renewal date is the last day of the producer's birth month.

You have up to the date of expiration to fulfill the CE requirement. The Department sends a notice of compliance 90 days prior to the expiration date of your license.

If you let your license lapse by failing to timely renew, pay the fee, or complete the CE, you may, within one year, request reinstatement from the Department. You must submit the completed renewal form, the lapsed license fee, and verification that all CE has been completed for the previously licensed and lapsed period.

- If the request is received within 60 days of the lapse, the Department will reinstate retroactively.

- If the request is received more than 60 days after the license lapse, the license will be effective on the date of reinstatement.

- If the lapse period exceeds one year, the person must reapply (and take the licensing exam). If you are unable to timely comply with the CE requirement or payment of a lapsed license as a result of military service or other extenuating circumstances, you may request a waiver for both the CE and the fee. The request should include sufficient detail and supporting documentation for the Department to make a decision.

Maryland Continuing Education (CE) & Training Requirements
General Requirement

During each 24-month licensing period, a Maryland resident producer must earn 24 continuing education (CE) credits of approved education subjects. The CE credits must correspond with the line(s) of authority carried on the license.

If you carry more than one line, you must earn at least 25% of your CE credits in each line for which you are licensed. For instance, if you are licensed in both P&C and L&H, you must earn at least 6 of your CE credits in P&C and 6 of them in L&H. The remaining 12 could be earned in either line. This rule also applies to "grandfathered" producers (see Grandfathering below).

Grandfathering Exception

A producer who has held a license continuously for 25 or more years as of Oct. 1, 2008, is only required to complete 8 credit hours.

In addition, producers who were over 70 years of age as of Apr. 30, 2013 are exempt from general CE requirements, including Ethics. This exemption is not included in the law or regulation, but this long-standing MIA practice was formalized in Bulletin 13-07. Note that for those producers over 70:

- Flood CE will not be monitored by the MIA (but likely will be by Write-Your-Own carriers and/or the NFIP).

- LTC training is still required if they sell Long-Term Care products.

Flood

Until Sept. 30, 2023: If you are licensed in P&C and sell Flood insurance, you must secure two CE credits in Flood insurance with every licensing period. If you do not sell Flood insurance but do sell Homeowners', you also need to secure two CE credits in Flood insurance. This is a one-time requirement.

Effective Oct. 1, 2023: If you are licensed in P&C and sell Flood, Homeowners', or Commercial Property Insurance, you need to complete at least two CE credits in Flood insurance with every licensing period.

LTC

If you are licensed in health insurance and also sell long-term care insurance, you must also earn 2 continuing education credits approved for long-term care credits. In addition, a separate training requirement applies to producers who sell or wish to sell long-term care insurance in Maryland. The training requirement includes:

- a one-time, eight-hour training course. Producers who sold LTC insurance prior to Sept. 10, 2007 must complete the eight hours of training before Sept. 10, 2008. Producers who are only starting to sell LTC (e.g. getting a new license, adding the line of authority) must complete the eight hours of training prior to selling LTC insurance.

- an ongoing, four-hour training course, to be completed once in every 24-month period.

Ethics

You need to complete three hours of Ethics credits (even if you are "grandfathered" or a title producer).

- any credits in excess of three will not count towards general credits (current interpretation of the regulation)

- if you are over 70, the MIA also exempts you from the Ethics requirement.

Annuity Education/Training

Effective Oct. 8, 2022, the sale of annuity products in Maryland is subject to specific continuing education/training requirements, with staggered completion dates.

A licensed producer who already holds a life insurance line of authority on Oct. 8, 2022 and wants to sell annuity products but has not completed any annuities training, has until Apr. 8, 2023 to complete a four-credit training course that meets the training requirements as modified by the revised regulations before engaging in the recommendation or sale of annuities.

A licensee who holds a life line of authority on Oct. 8, 2022, sells annuity products, and has completed an annuity training course previously approved by the MIA prior to Oct. 8, 2022, has until Apr. 8, 2023 to complete either:

  • A new four-credit training course approved by the MIA or
  • An additional one-time, one credit approved training course, that focuses on the new sales practices, replacement, and disclosure requirements established by the revised regulation.

An individual who obtains a Life line of authority on or after Oct. 8, 2022 must first complete the revised four-credit training course before engaging in the sale of annuities.

Note that the 4-hour Concepts & Uses of Annuities training includes the 1-hour Annuity Best Interest Standards training. Also, training courses with substantially similar components from another state may be acceptable. You can inquire with your carrier(s) to verify if the training is compliant.

Access applicable regulation (COMAR 31.09.12.08)

Other Items

Starting Jan. 1, 2020, CE credits must be completed 15 days BEFORE the license expiration date at the latest. (per SB 29, enacted in 2019)

There are no carryover credits allowed in Maryland.

You may not earn credit for attending the same course within the same licensing period or during two renewal periods but within six months of each other. Be particularly mindful of this if you hold a designation (e.g. CIC, CISR) that requires annual updates: Taking the same institute two years in a row will update your designation, but not count towards CE if it is taken in the same licensing period or within six months of the previous one.

Effective Oct. 1, 2013, there is no longer a limit on the number of credits that can be taken by correspondence or online.

The license renewal date is being transitioned to the last day of the producer's birth month.

Non-resident licensees simply need to attest that they are in good standing in their home state and their license will be renewed. Maryland recognizes all states for CE purposes, and will use the NAIC producer database to check on the producer's good-standing status.

RegulationAccess COMAR 31.03.02 (CE regulation)
Delaware Continuing Education (CE) & Training Requirements
General RequirementProducers are required to complete twenty-four (24) credit hours of continuing education
FloodAny resident licensee who writes flood insurance under the National Flood Insurance Program must complete a two (2) hour continuing education course related to flood insurance and the National Flood Insurance Program. Effective Dec. 11,2015, this requirement no longer applies to producers authorized to write homeowners' or personal lines coverage but to producers who sell flood insurance.
LTC

If the resident producer holds a health license and solicits long term care policies, as part of his/her biennial requirement, the producer must complete at least three (3) hours of training in Delaware long term care insurance that consists of product knowledge, laws, rules and regulations.

Bulletin 63 of 2013 states that Producer training must be established to address the requirements of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, in particular for Partnership policies (see paragraph J). [Delaware was the only state that had not published any requirements in that area. It appears that for the time being, Delaware is relying on issuers (carriers) to monitor that the training required by the Deficit Reduction Act was completed.]

EthicsOf the 24 general credit hours required, three (3) must be in ethics -- biennially by February 28th of every even year.
Annuity Education/ Training

Effective June 1, 2017, all Life and Annuity producers (resident and non-resident) must complete a one-time, four-hour approved training course. The training must be completed prior to selling, soliciting or negotiating these products by Nov. 29, 2017.

A non-resident producer may comply by providing a certificate of completion from a course that has been approved in Delaware or in a state that has adopted the 2010 NAIC Suitability in Annuity Transactions Model Regulation.

Access revised regulation 1214, section 5.0)

Pet Insurance

Before selling, soliciting or negotiating a pet insurance product, an insurance producer must complete carrier training on the product in question and some of its features.

Other Items

A newly licensed producer does not need to earn any continuing education credits in the first two years in which he becomes licensed if he was licensed after the beginning of a CE cycle, which is March 1st of every even year.

Producers can carry over up to 5 credits. Ethics credits cannot be carried over.

A course can only be credited once during a CE cycle. If a course is repeated in the same licensing period, it will only count once. Be particularly mindful of this if you hold a designation (e.g. CIC, CISR) that requires annual updates: Taking the same institute two years in a row will update your designation, but not count towards CE if it is taken in the same licensing period.

License renewals are mailed to the licensees 90 days prior to the due date.

Both resident and non-resident licensees may renew electronically. The renewal notice will provide information on how to renew online.

Your agency needs to have a procedure to make sure that the partnership or corporation and all individuals’ expiration dates in the agency are logged and monitored to assure that no licenses expire without being renewed.

If you are a resident and you have not received your CE transcript or if you are a nonresident and you have not received your memo by mid-November, you should call the Department of Insurance (DOI). The time to notify the DOI is before your license expires.

Producers continuously licensed for 25 years or more at the beginning of their licensing period (or who hold a specifically approved professional designation) are eligible for an automatic twelve credit hours. These automatic credits cannot be applied to any required Flood, Ethics or LTC credits (see above).

Access Regulation 504

This document is not a legal opinion and should not be relied upon as such. The intent of this document is to provide a general background regarding the topic or topics discussed, not to provide legal advice. Producers and agencies should consult an attorney regarding specific situations and specific questions with respect to the topic or topics covered in this document. Neither the Insurance Agents & Brokers nor any of its employees shall be responsible for any errors or omissions regarding any statements made in this document, nor any errors or omissions regarding any statutes, regulations, court rules, and/or any other government documents cited in this document.
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