Idaho Insurance Continuing Education

Resident Requirements

Residents of Idaho who want to renew their insurance license need to meet the state's Continuing Education (CE) requirements. All licensed Idaho residents need to complete the required CE hours in order to renew their license prior to the end of the 2 year period unless they have been exempted from the requirements.

All insurance producers, adjusters, and public adjusters must complete a minimum of 24 hours of insurance CE hours every 2 years, including at least 3 hours dedicated to ethics. Licensees may take courses under any line of authority, regardless of what they are licensed for. Only 4 hours of CE courses that are approved for public adjusters may count towards the required CE for Life and Health or Property and Casualty producer licenses. Insurance producers licensed in property, casualty or personal lines of authority who sell flood insurance through the NFIP must complete a one-time three-hour course related to the NFIP.

Rules for Non-Residents

Non-resident adjusters and producers are exempt from Idaho CE hour requirements if they are in compliance with their home state's CE requirements for their license. If their home state does not require ethics CE hours, licensees must complete ethics CE courses in Idaho.

If the non-resident licensee's home state does not have CE hour requirements, the non-resident must complete Idaho's CE requirements to renew their license in Idaho. Likewise, producers from states without long-term care training requirements, flood insurance requirements, or annuity training requirements must complete Idaho CE courses on the relevant subjects to handle these products. 

Carryover of Excess CE

In Idaho, while excess CE hours benefit the licensee's education, no CE hours from a given 2-year licensed period can be carried over into the next term for future credit on the next renewal. 

Insurance License Term Renewal Requirements

In the state of Idaho, insurance licenses are up for renewal every 2 years. Idaho insurance licenses expire on the last day of the licensee's birth month every other year. The first license renewal after issuance occurs between one and two years after the initial licensing date. For example, a licensee who is first licensed in December 2018 and was born in August will renew their license for the first time on August 31st, 2020, and then every two years thereafter. 

Insurance adjusters and producers must apply to renew their license prior to the renewal date. All CE courses must be submitted to the state and approved before the renewal date in order for Idaho to approve the license renewal. Because some course providers may delay the reporting procedure, it's important to confirm that CE hours have been submitted to the state before applying for their license renewal. Licensees may apply to renew their licenses up to 45 days prior to their license renewal date. Late renewals carry a penalty fee.  

Rules for Taking the Exam

Idaho insurance CE course exams may be taken as open-book tests. Students can refer to their course material as frequently as necessary without penalty. The state of Idaho requires CE exams to be passed with at least a 70% in order for the course to count for credit. 

Any failed exams may be repeated an unlimited number of times for the licensee to receive credit for the course. Idaho does not require any CE course exam to be proctored or otherwise supervised in order for a course to count for CE credit. 

Rules for Repeating a Course

Insurance proctors and adjusters may not repeat a given course during a single two-year licensing period. However, once the licensee has had their license renewed, they can retake the course for credit towards their next license renewal. 

Credit for Instructors

Idaho Insurance Continuing Education course instructors are still required to meet any CE requirements for their own license. Instructors do not receive credit for the courses they teach. Instead, they must attend courses approved for their particular license. 

Reporting Rules

The state of Idaho requires that CE course providers submit completed course hours on behalf of the producers and adjusters who take their courses. Licensees are not required to manually turn in their own CE hours. However, CE course providers can submit hours anywhere from the day of the course to more than a week later, so licensees should confirm when hours have been turned in. The status of completed CE hours can be checked on the National Association of Insurance Commissioners website.

Adjusters and producers should maintain records of their completed courses. The state of Idaho recommends that insurance producers retain copies of their course completion certificates for at least 5 years after the date of completion, in case of license audits. 

Insurance CE Requirement Exemptions

There are three individual groups that are exempt from Idaho's CE requirements. These groups are:

• Any licensee who currently holds a temporary license
• Any non-resident licensee who has completed their home state's CE requirements and is in good standing with their home state's licensing process
• Any insurance agent who is currently on inactive status and not working as an insurance agent

All other producers and adjusters in Idaho must complete the state CE requirements in order for their license to be approved for renewal. 

Idaho Annuity Insurance Requirements

'Effective July 1, 2021, Idaho insurance producers with a life line of authority will be required to complete a minimum of four credit hours of annuity best interest continuing education (CE) approved by the Department of Insurance (Department) and provided by a Department-approved education provider. Producers who have taken the previously approved four-hour suitability course may within six months of July 1, 2021, take either a one-hour update course or the updated best interest four-hour course to satisfy the new requirement. New producers licensed on or after July 1, 2021, must complete a one-time four-hour approved annuity best interest training course. The insurer is responsible for compliance with the Annuity Consumer Protection Act.'

Idaho Long-Term Care Requirements

Insurers offering long-term care insurance products in Idaho are required to obtain verification that the producers representing the insurer have received the required training, and must maintain records of verification. Records of verification must be made available to the Idaho Department of Insurance upon request.

The initial one time training course must be no less than eight hours and ongoing training shall be no less than four hours every 24 months. The training shall cover the following topics: long-term care insurance, qualified partnership program insurance policies, and the relationship between partnership polices and other public and private coverage of long-term care.

The satisfaction of these training requirements in any state will be deemed to satisfy the training requirements in Idaho.

Flood Insurance Training Requirements

Idaho licensees who intend to sell flood insurance must follow national guidelines. In order to sell flood insurance, the individual must complete a one-time minimum of three training hours as outlined by the National Flood Insurance Program and FEMA. This may be completed in any state in which the producer is licensed.