New York: Insurance Continuing Education

If you’re familiar with the insurance industry and, we assume that if you’ve made it this far in our continuing education (CE) series, you are, then you know that New York is something special. We’re not talking about the street dogs, fashion industry, or Broadway scene that make New York special to non-insurance people. 

No, no. To us, New York is special for its unique producer regulatory requirements, including when it comes to CE requirements for resident producer license renewals. 

We’ve done quite a bit of research on New York’s regulatory requirements. And, while our vagabond shoes rarely lead us astray, we’d recommend you check out the New York Department of Financial Services to keep up-to-date on the state’s resident producer regulatory requirements.   

What is the due date for New York Insurance CE Credits? 

In New York, resident producers must renew their licenses every two years. For producers born in an even-numbered year, their licenses will expire on their birthday in an even-numbered year. For producers born in an odd-numbered year, their licenses will expire on their birthday in an odd-numbered year.

If you’re reading this and thinking – huh?! – just check your producer license. It’ll include your effective and expiration dates. 

Unfortunately, your CE due date and your license renewal date aren’t the same. CE credits must be accumulated during the renewal period and must be completed before processing the renewal or relicensing application.

Who’s exempt from New York Insurance CE?

Resident producers must complete 15 hours of CE credits per renewal period. These credits must be from approved courses in the line of authority with which the license is held. Those producers holding multiple licenses must complete 30 hours of CE, with 15 hours in each line category held. Some courses are approved for multiple lines and may be used to satisfy CE requirements for more than one line. 

Not everyone in New York needs to adhere to New York-specific CE requirements. All nonresident producer licensees are exempt from New York’s CE requirements. There is an exception to this exemption, however. Nonresident producers selling long-term care products in New York must adhere to New York’s specific long-term care requirements, as outlined below. 

Starting on April 1, 2022, all renewals and new licenses will include more nuanced requirements for the 15 hours of CE, including:

1. At least one hour of insurance law instruction
2. At least one hour of ethics and professionalism instruction
3. At least one hour of diversity, inclusion, and elimination-of-bias instruction
4. At least one hour of flood instruction, if the licensee is licensed to sell one or more lines of property/casualty; and
5. At least three hours of enhanced flood insurance instruction if the licensee sells flood insurance through the NFIP (National Flood Insurance Program)

How many hours of CE are required for New York insurance producers?

To get CE credits, students must take an exam at course completion. These courses are closed book and must be passed with a score of 70 percent or higher. Each self-administered course is required to have a 50-question test at the end. Don’t stress if you don’t pass the exam on the first go. These exams can be retaken an infinite number of times. 

As of November 2020, the New York Department of Insurance has waived the requirement for an exam proctor. While students will still need to complete an end-of-course exam, they will no longer need to be monitored. 

While, generally, the number of CE credits required per renewal period is 15, New York has specific requirements for certain lines of authority. As a member of the NAIC Continuing Education Reciprocity agreement, New York producers have a wide catalogue of courses available to them.

Long-term care insurance

Licensed producers who wish to sell, solicit, or negotiate New York State Long-Term Care Partnership (LTCP) insurance must first complete a one-time, six-hour training course which is offered by the New York Department of Financial Services.

Flood training requirements

For licensees wishing to sell flood insurance, FEMA and the National Flood Insurance Program established a national three-hour minimum CE requirement. New York state doesn’t have any additional requirements for those producers on top of the national minimum.

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.

New York Insurance CE FAQs