How To Obtain Your Texas Life & Health Insurance License
Getting your Texas life & health insurance license is the first step to becoming an insurance agent in Texas. Whether you’re interested in selling property and casualty insurance, life insurance, health insurance, or any combination of those lines of authority, this article has the information you need to get started. The Texas Department of Insurance has a process to getting your insurance license.
Do I Need To Be Hired or Sponsored By An Insurance Agency To Get My Insurance License?
No, you don’t need to be hired or sponsored by an insurance company or agency to go through the process of obtaining your insurance license. In fact, going through the process of getting and being licensed beforehand actually makes you more marketable for opportunities.
Complete a Texas Insurance Pre-Licensing Course
If you would like to sell insurance in Texas, you must pass a licensing exam. To prepare for the Texas licensing exam, you will need to take an insurance pre-licensing study course.
You can enroll in your Texas pre-licensing course here: New Leaf Exams Texas Life and Health Study Course
- Use discount code TEXAS for 50% off of your course
Pass Your Texas Insurance Licensing Exam
Licensing exams are provided by PearsonVUE. An exam fee must be paid at the time of scheduling by credit card, debit card, voucher or electronic check. You can make an exam reservation at least 24 hours before the desired exam date or 5 days in advance if paying by ACH.
Before scheduling your exam, you will need the following:
- Legal name, address, Social Security number, daytime phone number, and date of birth
- Name of the exam
- Preferred exam date and test center location
What to Bring
Two forms of current signature identification:
- A primary ID (photograph and signature, not expired) such as a Driver’s License or Passport
- A secondary ID (signature, not expired) such as a Debit or Credit card
Exam Procedures
- Report to the exam center 30 minutes before the exam to verify identification and be photographed for the score report.
- No personal items are allowed in the testing room such as cell phones, watches, wallets, or purses.
- Studying is not allowed in the exam center.
- The exam administrator will provide you with materials to make notes or a calculator. You may not write on these items before the exam begins or remove these items from the exam room.
Exam Format
Each major line exam is given in a multiple-choice format.
The exam consists of two parts:
- The general section deals with basic insurance product knowledge
- The state section deals with insurance laws, rules, and regulations, and practices that are unique to Texas
Each exam contains “pretest” questions that are mixed in with the scored questions and are not identified. Pretest questions may not be covered in your educational materials and do not affect your final score.
The passing score required for each exam is 70%.
When you complete the exam, you will receive a score report marked “pass or fail”.
Candidates who fail will receive a score report that includes a numeric score, diagnostic and re-testing information. Candidates can schedule another exam but must wait 24 hours before making the reservation.
Texas Exam Information
Exam Name: General Lines – Life, Accident & Health
Exam Time: 2 hrs 30 min
Total Questions: 150 (Scoreable Questions: 125 + Pretest Questions: 25)
Passing Score: 70%+
Take Your Insurance Exam From Your Home or Office
You ‘may’ be able to take your Texas Department of Insurance exam conveniently from home through OnVUE online proctoring. A live proctor will monitor you through the webcam on your workstation to provide a secure exam experience.
Go to PearsonVUE to see if you qualify, and then watch the short video on the Texas Department of Insurance online proctoring page to see how convenient it is to test from home or work. Be sure to run the system test before you sign in to register for an online proctored exam.
Register for Electronic Fingerprinting
Texas requires electronic fingerprints be taken in order to run a criminal background check.
Click here to make a reservation with IdentoGo, or call 844-321-2124. Insurance license fingerprint records are good for 1 year. The results of your criminal history check will be submitted electronically to the Texas Department of Insurance.
Apply for Your Texas Life, Accident & Health Insurance License
You can apply for your license 24 hours after passing the exam by completing an application at Sircon. The application process must be completed within one year of passing the exam or the exam must be retaken.
What If I Have a Criminal Record?
If interested in a career in insurance, you must undergo a full background check with fingerprinting. This process will reveal any criminal history, and if you have a past that includes crimes that involve dishonesty or a breach of trust from working in the insurance business, you will be denied licensure. Bill Clinton was responsible for this law called the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994. However, the law does permit you to become licensed if you can produce a signed 1033 consent waiver from the state where you operated.
Other considerations that will affect your ability to become licensed are the frequency of offenses, sentencing, and completion of rehabilitation. The insurance commissioner is really only concerned with felonies that are related to your ability to perform the functions necessary to work in the insurance industry.
Crimes such as robbery, theft, burglary, dishonesty, fraud, breach of fiduciary trust and any convictions related to work within the insurance industry would prohibit someone from being licensed. Other crimes that would affect licensure are those that threatened public safety and violent or financial crimes.
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