New York Insurance Continuing Education

Resident Requirements

All insurance licensees in New York, including producers and public adjusters, must complete 15 hours of continuing education (CE) during each two-year period of active licensure. If you hold both a life/health and a property/casualty license, you must complete 30 hours of CE, including 15 hours in each license area.

You may take any course that the state has approved as CE for your line category. Courses categorized as “bridge” may satisfy both life/health and property/casualty lines.

Only courses completed through approved Provider Organizations may count toward CE. You may take any course approved for your insurance line.

Approved course formats include:

• Classroom
• Online delivery
• Company seminar
• Computer-based training
• Print correspondence

Rules for Non-Residents

Non-resident producers are exempt from New York’s general CE requirements if their home state has a CE requirement.

If you’re a non-resident looking to claim this exemption, you must remain in good standing with your home state. If your home state does not have a CE requirement, you must comply with New York's requirements.

If you are a non-resident looking to sell long-term care partnership (LTCP) insurance, you must fulfill New York’s LTCP CE requirements regardless of your home state requirements. More information about those requirements is below.

Carryover of Excess CE

If you are renewing your insurance license, CE hours above the minimum 15 or 30 hours may not carry over into the next two-year term.

If you are applying for re-licensing, you may include credits that you completed in the previous renewal period as well as the period leading up to your re-license application.

Insurance License Term Renewal Requirements

The license term for insurance producers in New York is two years. Your activation and expiration dates are based on your date of birth and whether you were born in an odd-numbered or even-numbered year.

If you were born in an odd-numbered year, your license will expire on your birth date in each odd-numbered year. Likewise, if you were born in an even-numbered year, your license will expire on your birth date in even-numbered years. Your license will show your effective and expiration dates.

Public Adjusters are the exception to this guideline. The license for public adjusters ends on December 31 on every even-numbered year.

You must renew your license before its expiration date for the license to remain active. You do not need to complete CE credits during the two-year period between your initial certification and your first renewal. After that first renewal, you must complete your full 15 or 30 hours of CE before you apply for each subsequent renewal.

Rules for Taking the Exam

To receive credit for a CE course, you must complete a final exam with a score of 70% or higher. You may take the exam an unlimited number of times until you pass.

All online certification exams are closed book. You may not access course materials or any supplemental information while you are taking the exam.

Exams for self-study courses must have a state-approved monitor in attendance. The monitor’s job is to check the student’s ID and confirm after the exam that the student completed it without any assistance. A list of state-approved monitors is available through the New York State Department of Financial Services.

Rules for Repeating a Course

If you complete a course for CE credit in New York, you may not use that same course for CE again in the future.

Reporting Rules

You must report your CE hours within 30 days of when you complete the course. Submission must include your full license number.

If you receive a certificate of completion from your course provider, you must retain that original certificate for future reference.

Insurance CE Requirement Exemptions

Licensees who are called to active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces during the term of their license are exempt from CE requirements during that term.

There is no CE requirement for renewing Independent Adjuster, Reinsurance Intermediary, Mortgage Guarantee, or Bail Bond licenses.

Annuity and Life Insurance Requirements

Producers selling annuities and life insurance in New York must complete suitability and consumer Best Interest training, in keeping with changes to Insurance Regulation 187. This regulation is an amendment to Part 224 of Title 11 of the New York Codes, Rules, and Regulations.

A 2019 modification to Regulation 187 adds a Best Interests component to tighten standards on how insurance producers recommend annuities to customers. The modification also brings life insurance products under the umbrella of the same regulation.

The modification instituted this one-time training requirement with a deadline of August 1, 2019, for annuities producers and February 1, 2020, for life insurance producers. You must complete this training if both of the following apply:

• You have not completed the mandatory training
• You intend to sell annuities and/or life insurance starting before or during your next license term

This is a one-time requirement for producers who have not yet recommended the Best Interest training for these insurance lines.

Long-Term Care Training

To qualify to sell New York State Long-Term Care Partnership (LTCP) insurance, producers must complete a one-time six-hour training course. Only this specific course, offered through the New York Department of Financial Services, can qualify a producer to sell LTCP insurance in the state of New York.

Flood Requirements

Licensees are required to complete three hours of line-specific training before selling flood insurance under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Training programs must be in compliance with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) standards and offered through an Approved Provider Organization.

Flood training is a one-time requirement set by FEMA and the NFIP. Producers who complete this training will earn CE credits for the year in which the training takes place.