Individuals attempting to
qualify for a Department of Financial Services, DFS, (formerly the Department of
Insurance) license exam (2-20 or 4-40) must have had the appropriate "all lines"
experience if seeking to qualify based on experience. For the 2-20 license it's
a full year of experience, and for the 4-40 license it's six months of all lines
experience. The term "all lines" means the individual has had experience in all
of the following five lines of insurance:
-
Marine
-
Health
-
Casualty
-
Property
-
Surety bonds
Having had experience means
the applicant has performed all of the following tasks:
-
Incidental taking of
applications
-
Quoting premiums
-
Receiving payments
-
Handling daily reports
(declarations pages) for these five lines
If you're planning to sit
for the exam based on experience our advice is to gain the experience by way of
spending time with someone in the agency who does that specific task. For
example, to gain the proper health insurance experience, sit with the health
insurance specialist in the agency when a client is being interviewed. Then
next time have the health specialist show you how to quote the policy and then
complete the application with the client. When a policy arrives from the
company, review it with the health specialist and then be present when the
policy is delivered to the client. By doing these tasks on an "incidental"
basis you'll have gained the required experience and will be able to honestly
complete the application for exam.
As far as the DFS is
concerned it's very simple: if you haven't performed all the "experience" tasks,
then you don't qualify to sit for the exam by way of experience. You must
either gain that experience or attend the 200-hour (2-20 license) or 100-hour
(4-40 license) qualification course.
A recent statute change
granted some relief for those who hold the 4-40 license and wish to apply for
the 2-20 license. If someone has held the 4-40 license for a full year
but has not worked in all five lines of coverage they may sit for a "conversion
class" which will then allow them to sit for the 2-20 exam. This class is a
40-hour class and is presented by FAIA throughout the state several times a
year. Check our on-line
Education Calendar for dates and cities near you. Simply look for the "4-40
to 2-20 Conversion Class" listing.
Version 05/03
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