3 How To Become An Insurance Broker In Illinois

(doylc.com) How To Become An Insurance Broker In Illinois - In Illinois, both insurance brokers and agents are certified under a "maker's license." To become a real estate agent in this state, you must meet certain educational requirements in order to qualify for the exam. Once you are ready, take the exam at a Pearson VUE exam center. If you pass, you can apply for your driver's license and look for a job. Note that even after you have been employed as an insurance broker, you must still have licensing requirements. However, with some preparation, you should be able to start a new career as an insurance broker.

• How To Get The Right Skills

Get a degree in business or finance. Although technically you only need a high school diploma to become an insurance broker, a bachelor's or associate's degree will make you more competitive in the job market. Most brokerage firms look for candidates with a bachelor's degree in finance, economics, or business administration. If you're looking to save time and money, consider an associate's degree in insurance or risk management.

When deciding on a program, you can contact the business or business department and ask if they offer training programs or internships for aspiring insurance brokers.

Consult the course catalog of a future program. See if they offer risk management, finance, or insurance courses.

If you're already in a program, talk to your advisor about taking the best courses to prepare you for a career in the insurance industry.

Choose the type of manufacturer license you want to purchase. This is called the "Line of Authority" and indicates what type of insurance you are allowed to sell. You can have multiple lines of authority, but you must complete pre-licensing courses and exams for each one. The powers include:

life

Health

Property

accident

motor vehicle

Private lines of property or accident insurance

Sign up for your pre-licensing courses. Each line of authority requires twenty hours of pre-licensing courses. While you can find both online and face-to-face classes, a minimum of 7.5 hours must be in a classroom setting, not online. You can search for local prelicensing courses through the Illinois Department of Insurance.

The Automotive Line of Authority requires 12.5 credit hours, including 5 hours in the classroom.

Request proof of pre-licensing completion. After completing your pre-licensing courses, you will receive a signed certificate. If you do not receive this certificate immediately, ask your program or degree director to mail it to you. Keep these safe as you will need to present them prior to your producer inspection.

If you are currently licensed in another state or your license was revoked in a prior state within 90 days, you do not need to take the pre-licensing course and exam. Instead, you must demonstrate your certification and good standing in the other state when you apply to the National Insurance Producer Registry. To do this, you should request a letter of approval from that state.

• How To Applying For Your License

Read the Illinois Insurance Licensing Candidate Exam Handbook. This PDF contains a breakdown of the exam and the application process. It provides helpful study material for the exam itself, as well as an overview of all the fees, documents, and procedures required. In it you will find:

Illinois License Requirements

Exam Reservations and Procedures

Audit information for each line of authority

Information on grades, examination centers and extra forms.

Plan your exam. You will take your exam at Pearson VUE test centers. You can find a testing center or schedule the exam by visiting their website or by calling 1-800-274-0402. You can schedule your test up to one day before the actual test date, provided there are still places available in the test center. The test costs approximately $102. There are seven exams you can take depending on which line of authority you specialize in. These are:

accident producer

Accident and health producer

life producer

motor vehicle

personal lines

real estate producer

Public Reviewer

Arrive at the exam center. You should be thirty minutes early for your exam. Before you can take the test, you must sign the "Candidate Rules Agreement". The exam itself is taken on the computer. Bring along:

Photo ID such as a driver’s license, passport, or military ID

A second identity card, e.g. B. Another photo ID, social security card or debit/credit card.

Your signed Pre-License Course Certificate

Fail report (when retaking the exam)

You are not allowed to bring any personal items such as phones, wallets or purses into the exam room.

Repeat the check if necessary. A score of 70 is required to pass. You will find out whether you passed the exam directly after the exam. If you fail a section, you can retake that section within 90 days of your original exam date. You do not have to repeat any part of the exam that you have passed.

The motor vehicle and the public law expert examination each have only one section.

If you fail the Public Expert exam, you must wait seven days before you can retake it. This does not apply to all other powers.

Apply online to the National Insurance Producer Registry (NIPR). You must wait five days after passing your exam to apply for your license. To do this, go to the NIPR website. Enter your personal information and pay your dues to apply for an Illinois First Producer License. Upon acceptance, the NIPR will submit the license information to the Illinois Department of Insurance. You will be notified when you can print your license.

A Producer Class Certificate costs $180.

Illinois no longer mails out licenses. Instead, print it out from the NIPR website.

• How To Find a Job  An Insurance Broker In Illinois

Looking for an entry-level job as an insurance broker. Insurance brokerage is a growth industry. You can search for jobs through job search websites or apply directly to local brokerage firms. Research which companies operate in your area and what areas of expertise they specialize in.

Occasionally brokerage firms will hire and train people who are not yet licensed. You may want to look for an Illinois company that offers a training program before applying for a license yourself.

If you know a local company, you can contact them to see if they have any vacancies.

It may be helpful to attend an event or trade show hosted by the Independent Insurance Agents of Illinois. These events can help you to make contacts and get to know important employers in the industry.

If necessary, apply for your guarantee. If you are not under contract as a broker, you may be required to post a deposit of $2,500 or 5% of last year's referrals, whichever is greater. This is required to secure your activity as a broker and must be kept at the place of business. You can obtain this guarantee through an authorized guarantee company.

To obtain a deposit, contact an authorized guarantee company. The type of bond you need is called an insurance maker bond. While premiums vary, you can find those under $100 for the $2,500 base bond.

Earn Continuing Education (CE) credits. You must provide the Department of Insurance with a 24-hour CE proof before renewing your license. Of these, three credit hours must be an ethics course taught in a classroom setting (not online).

It takes two weeks for CE points to appear on your license. Plan your CE courses accordingly so that you can still renew your license on time and without delay.

The Independent Insurance Agents of Illinois offer continuing education courses for members.

Renew your license. Depending on the type of license, you will need to renew your license every one to two years. Your license will state the expiration date. You can renew either an online or a paper application. Before renewing, you must have completed all required CE courses for the year. Your renewal period begins 90 days before your license expires.

The state of Illinois strongly recommends that you apply online as the paper application can take up to ten weeks to process.