Iowa: Insurance Continuing Education

Iowa is more than just the lynchpin of American politics. It’s also an interesting state with unique rules regarding insurance continuing education (CE). Don’t understand what we mean? Follow along and we’ll explore the ins and outs of Iowa insurance CE.

Like the other states, your Iowa resident producer license remains in-force only if you’re up-to-date on your CE requirements. Plus, your nonresident licenses are all contingent on your resident insurance license, so CE is sort of the foundational element to keeping the other plates spinning, if you catch our drift.

We do our darndest to be knowledgeable and current, but please remember as you read that it is incumbent on you to know the compliance requirements of your relevant jurisdictions and follow them.

What is the due date for Iowa Insurance CE Credits? 

In most states, insurance CE is due the day of license expiration, and in most states, that license expiration is biennial, meaning every two years. Well, this is a double-whammy of Iowa exceptions: Iowa CE is due before license expiration, and Iowa insurance producer licenses renew on a triennial basis … every three years.

Deadlines are, similar to most states, based on a producer’s birth month. So, if you’re an Iowa resident, your CE license must be submitted sometime before the end of your birth month in the third year after you first got licensed.

This doesn’t apply to public adjusters in Iowa, whose CE and license renewal is set on a two-year cycle.

Based on the state law, you should have your CE completed with enough time for your CE provider to process your information and submit evidence of completion to the state department of insurance.

To help you keep up, Iowa sends you a notice to remind you of your upcoming renewal and CE period 90 days before it’s due.

Who’s exempt from Iowa Insurance CE?

Iowa recognizes the CE of other states as equally valid to its own, meaning nonresident producers don’t need to take Iowa CE as long as they are up-to-date in their own resident state.

Other insurance licensees who don’t have to fill Iowa’s CE requirements: 

• Producers licensed only for credit
• Producers licensed only for surety
• Producers who are also licensed attorneys, provided that they are up-to-date on their required continuing legal education credits

Producers who are licensed only to sell crop insurance have reduced requirements, as you’ll read in the next section.

How many hours of CE are required for Iowa insurance producers?

Licensed Iowa producers must complete 36 hours every three-year renewal period, including three hours of ethics training. 

Previously, Iowa resident licensees were required to complete 18 of their CE hours in a classroom. After adjusting to make accommodations for the pandemic year of 2020, Iowa has permanently dropped the in-person class requirement as of June 9, 2021. Now, if you’re an Iowa resident licensee, you can get your CE via classroom, online, or self-study courses. 

State law also allows producers to comply with CE requirements “by taking and passing the appropriate licensing examination for each qualification held by the producer.” A producer going this route has to retake the exam 90 days before their license expiration date, and with enough time that the insurance department’s services provider can update the CE to be compliant before renewal. 

Iowa doesn’t allow producers to take a course for CE credit more than once each renewal cycle, and Iowa resident producers can’t roll CE credits over from one period to the next. Although, they can pay to take courses for dual credit, such as those to become a Chartered Life Underwriter. Additionally, if you teach a CE course, you can get CE for the course just like your students. Iowa is also a member of the NAIC Continuing Education Reciprocity agreement, so residents have access to a long catalogue of national courses.

Line-specific Iowa insurance CE requirements 

Public adjusters, as mentioned previously, are on a biennial renewal cycle. They have to complete at least 24 hours of CE, including two credits specifically in ethics, every two years (which is their license renewal cycle).

If you’re licensed as a viatical settlement producer or viatical settlement broker, you need twenty credits specifically related to viatical settlements in order to renew your license.

If you’re only qualified to sell crop insurance, you must demonstrate the following, according to Iowa law:

1. You’ve completed any training or CE required by the federal Risk Management Association
2. You’ve completed 18 CE credits, with three in ethics

Iowa producers licensed to sell long-term care insurance must take a one-time, eight-hour class before trying to sell those products, as well as four hours of ongoing CE each renewal cycle.

If you sell flood insurance, Iowa requires you to take the three hours of training to be in compliance with National Flood Insurance Program requirements. 

To sell annuities, you must take a one-time, four-hour CE course about annuity products. Beginning in 2021, this course must include training to inform producers that they will be held responsible for acting in the best interest of their customers, in alignment with the NAIC’s Suitability in Annuity Transactions Model Regulation.

And, in the same vein as the requirements for annuity sales, if you want to sell an indexed product of any kind – annuities or permanent life insurance – you will need to take a one-time, four-hour course covering indexed product specifics.

For more information about state-specific licensing requirements, or to find out how AgentSync can make it easier to operate across multiple states, check out our state pages.

Iowa Insurance CE FAQs