Insurance Continuing Education Classes – Online VS Classroom
Education is very important in any industry. Every professional should keep up to date on the newest laws, rules, and regulations in which they must abide by. Things are no different for insurance and financial professionals. No matter what type of license one holds; life, health and/or property and casualty; every state has different continuing education requirements. We are going to discuss your different options when completing your insurance continuing education classes and show you what to look for in a school.
Insurance Education Classes are offered either in a classroom or completely online. Many insurance agents choose to do their insurance education online to save time and money. Agents do not have to sit in a classroom for 24 hours; instead they will read a book and fill out a simple multiple choice exam. Some exams are open book while others are monitored. The only benefit from completing your continuing education requirements in a classroom is there are no multiple choice exams to complete. The insurance agent receives their certificate as soon as the class is over. You just have to sit and listen to an instructor and sign an affidavit stating that you were present. To find a class near you, you can contact your state’s department of insurance. They will be able to send you a list of classroom courses being offered in your area.
To complete your insurance continuing education credits online you can contact an approved insurance continuing education company and speak to a live representative regarding your state’s requirements and the online continuing education courses available. The representative should be able to find out what licenses you hold, what classes you need to take and how many credit hours you need to complete. Every compliance date is different so make sure you know when all of your education is due. If you fail to meet your state’s requirements by the compliance deadline there is often a fine and sometimes the state will even suspend your insurance license. So make sure to be aware of your compliance date!
When deciding which avenue to pursue we recommend considering many factors including time, money, convenience and value. You want to get the most out of all of these factors. You also want to consider what you have going on in your life and how your schedule looks. One way or the other you want to make sure you complete all of your continuing education by the deadline every 1-2 years.