Maine: Insurance Continuing Education

Maine’s insurance producers have a pretty straightforward time of keeping up with license compliance, thanks to one fun perk: Maine insurance producer licenses are perpetual. This means, as long as a resident insurance professional stays up on their continuing education (CE) requirements, their license is in good standing.

As you read on for Maine’s resident insurance producer license CE requirements, just remember that, as funny and well-informed as we are, you’re still the one responsible for keeping up-to-date on your license compliance. So, if you have questions, check with Maine, but for a quick overview on CE in the state that brings us 90 percent of America’s blueberries, keep reading.

What is the due date for Maine Insurance CE Credits? 

In most states, CE expiration is synonymous with license expiration, but not in Maine. In the Pine Tree State, licenses are perpetual, so while your sales-ability may be suspended if you don’t keep your CE current, your license won’t fully expire.

Your CE is due by the end of your birth month in an odd or even year based on whether you were born in an odd or even year. Just in case you’re feeling forgetful, you get a reminder from the state well in advance – six months, in fact.

Who’s exempt from Maine Insurance CE?

If you are a nonresident licensee in Maine, you don’t have to worry about it – with the exception of long-term care (LTC). Maine does require you to take CE if you are selling long-term care insurance, although even this isn’t too burdensome: If your resident state also requires LTC CE, Maine considers it reciprocal.

Limited and surplus lines agents also don’t have to worry about CE in Maine, and their licenses will automatically renew the first day after the compliance period expires. There is, however, an exemption to this exemption: If you hold a limited license for the sale of annuities, you will need to complete some CE requirements.

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

The Maine thing: For resident insurance licensees of Maine, every two years, you need to get 24 hours of CE credit, with three hours of ethics.

Maine’s requirements don’t allow for any course credit rollovers from cycle to cycle, nor can you repeat a course within the same cycle. Interestingly enough, if you teach a continuing education course, you may also only get course credit for it once every four years. The state of Maine does recognize other member states’ CE as part of the NAIC Continuing Education Reciprocity agreement.

Like many states, Maine follows some national guidelines for line-specific requirements:

• Per FEMA’s recommendations, those selling flood insurance must have a minimum of three hours of training in National Flood Insurance Program requirements. 
• Those licensed to sell annuities must take a one-time, four-hour training course covering some of the contract hot topics before they can solicit or act on any annuity business.
• Anyone looking to sell long-term care insurance contracts, whether licensed as a resident or nonresident, must have taken a relevant eight-hour training course, as well as taking ongoing CE of four hours per renewal cycle – Maine will accept LTC CE from other states as fulfilling the requirement, though. 

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.

Maine Insurance CE FAQs