You made a considerable investment of time, money, and effort to earn your Indiana insurance license. It’s important that you protect this investment by keeping your license active. This article covers all the steps you need to take to keep your insurance license active in Indiana.
Every two years you need to renew your insurance license. This must be done prior to your license expiration date. Your license expiration is the last day of your birth month, and the year is determined by when you were first licensed. The Indiana Department of Insurance will send you a reminder 90 days from your expiration date, but if you want to be certain, you can look it up here: Indiana Agent Lookup
Now that you know your license expiration date, there are only two steps required to keep your license active:
- Complete the required continuing education.
- Submit the renewal application on time.
Step #1: Complete the Required Continuing Education
The amount of CE you are required to take is based on the type(s) of licenses you hold, but almost all agents are required to take 24 credit hours every two years. This includes all agents who are licensed to sell any of the major lines of insurance: life, accident, and health; property and casualty; variable life and annuity; and personal lines.
At least 3 of the 24 hours taken must be approved for ethics training. Aside from the ethics training requirement, courses can be taken in any subject matter as long as they are approved by the Indiana Department of Insurance. If you hold multiple licenses (property, casualty, life, health) you only need to take 24 credits total.
Special Training Requirements
There are special training requirements for agents who sell certain products such as flood insurance, long-term care, medicare products, and annuities.
Agents who sell flood insurance need to complete a one-time three-hour continuing education course related to the National Flood Insurance Program. Those selling annuity products must complete a one-time four-hour annuity suitability course.
Long-term care sales require an initial eight-hour long-term care training course, and a five-hour refresher course must be done every renewal period following. Long-term care partnership policy sales require an initial 15-hour training course that includes eight hours in long-term care and seven hours in long-term care partnership. Five hours of ongoing training must be done every two years.
Step #2: Submit Your Renewal Application Prior to Expiration
After completing your CE requirements, you can file your renewal application online at NIPR Indiana Agent Renewal or Sircon Indiana Agent Renewal. The renewal fee is $40, plus a $5 processing fee. Keep in mind that you can only renew when you are within the 90-day renewal window. Your application will not be available earlier than 90 days prior to your expiration date.
Continuing Education Exemptions and Extensions
If you have some special circumstances that you believe might prevent you from renewing your license or completing your CE requirements on time, you can request an exemption from the Indiana Department of Insurance. Exemptions are considered only for special circumstances, such as extended illness or military duty, and are decided on a case-by-case basis.
If you have reasons to believe you will not be able to complete your CE prior to your expiration date, you can request an extension of the time to complete your CE requirements. The extension can be up to 90 days but is usually granted for 30 days. Any requests for exemptions or extensions must be submitted at least 30 days prior to the license expiration date. See the request for CE extension form for more information.
What if You Didn’t Renew Your Indiana Insurance License Prior to Expiration
If you don’t renew your license prior to your expiration date, your license will go into inactive status and you can no longer do any insurance business activities. However, there are 2 options to have it reinstated, based on whether you completed your CE prior to your expiration date. In both cases, you have up to 12 months to reinstate your license, but the procedures for doing so are different.
If you completed your CE, but didn’t renew your Indiana insurance license prior to your expiration date, you can request reinstatement. You’ll need to submit the renewal application, pay the license renewal fee ($40), and pay a reinstatement penalty fee of three times the license renewal fee ($120), for a total fee of $160.
If your license expired and you did not complete the CE requirements, you’ll first need to complete the remaining CE requirements. Then you’ll need to register, pay for, and pass a special Laws and Regulation Assessment. The requirements for this are very specific, so please view them here: Reinstatement Requirements. Once all that’s done you will need to submit the license renewal fee and the reinstatement penalty fee ($40+$120=$160).
Unfortunately, if your license expired more than 12 months ago, you’ll need to start from the beginning with a new license application, pre-licensing education, and take the state exams.
None of this is pleasant or easy to do. The best thing is to complete your CE requirements well before license renewal.
Now Is the Time to Start Your Continuing Education
Even with a full two years to accumulate your 24 hours of continuing education, there’s no reason to wait to get started. We’ve got you covered with all the courses you need. You can find the full listing at Indiana Insurance Continuing Education Course Catalog.
The online training is self-paced and delivered to your computer, tablet, and smartphone. The quizzes and exams are scored instantly, and you can take them as many times as necessary to pass. Plus, you can return to the training whenever it is convenient. The course progress bar tells you exactly where you left off.
Our webinar courses are instructor-led and delivered live using video conferencing. You’re required to be in attendance for the full class time, with check-ins at random times throughout the webinar to confirm your attendance. Students can interact and ask questions. The advantages of webinars include no required reading and no quizzes or final exams. You can view a listing of our webinars here: Indiana Webinar Catalog
Completions Reported the Same Day
Note that your continuing education course credits will be reported directly to the Indiana Department of Insurance on the same day you complete the training. So, if you’re in a rush to complete your continuing education, we’ve got you covered.
Summary of Steps to Renew Your Indiana Insurance License
Even though we’ve mapped it out above, it’s still a great deal to digest. Here’s a quick summary to get you started on the path to renewal.
- Determine your license expiration date.
- Determine your continuing education requirements.
- Select and enroll in courses well in advance of your expiration date.
- Complete your courses – we submit your credits to the Indiana Department of Insurance the same day you complete them.
- Renew your license.
We’re certain that everything you need to keep your license active is easily accessible through our website. If not, simply call our office and we’ll happily assist you.
If you’re near your renewal date, there’s no time to be lost. Sign up now for the most trusted and convenient solution for keeping your license active.
We’re Here to Help
At BetterCE we provide more than the most convenient and affordable solution for insurance continuing education. Our agent support services are provided by experienced insurance licensing professionals who have helped thousands of agents easily navigate the insurance license renewal process.
Have a question or need assistance? Phone 1-888-501-7330 for our customer care team. We also respond to email as well as via our Contact Form. On our contact page, you can also sign up for convenient license renewal reminders.
