South Carolina: Insurance Continuing Education

South Carolina likes to lay claim to being the birthplace of American barbeque, other southern states disagree. One thing that isn’t up for debate is South Carolina’s producer licensing continuing education (CE) requirements. These are hard and fast regulatory facts that only the South Carolina Department of Insurance can touch. 

We like to think we’re up to snuff on our South Carolina regulations but we always recommend you spend some time on the South Carolina Department of Insurance website. They’re the ones with the most up-to-date details on producer licensing CE requirements. 

What is the due date for South Carolina Insurance CE Credits? 

Producer licenses expire biennially on the last day of the licensee’s birth month depending on the year the producer is born. For producers born in an even-numbered year, they must complete their CE by the end of their birth month in even-numbered years. Similarly, producers born in odd-numbered years must complete their CE by the end of their birth month in odd-numbered years. 

CE is due before license renewal becomes available on NIPR. As a rule of thumb, South Carolina recommends that producers complete their CE hours at least a week before the license expiration date.

Who’s exempt from South Carolina Insurance CE?

If you’re a nonresident producer and you meet your home state’s requirements, then you can go ahead and stop reading this piece so long as you pay a $15 record-keeping fee! 

Additionally, producers licensed only for limited lines of insurance and licensees who are at least 65 years old with 25 years or more of licensure in South Carolina can request an exemption from CE requirements.

On top of that, credit hours earned to maintain the following professional designations will count towards the total 24 credit hours: Chartered Life Underwriter, Fellow Life Management Institute, Certified Financial Planner, Life Underwriter Training Council Fellow, Registered Health Underwriter, Registered Employee Benefits Consultant, or Chartered Financial Consultant for life/health lines of authority and Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter and Certified Insurance Counselor for property/casualty licenses. 

How many hours of CE are required for South Carolina insurance producers?

Resident producers are required to complete at least 24 hours of CE credit per renewal period. Of the 24 hours of credits, three must be in approved ethics courses. Additionally, eight of the 24 hours must be in courses approved for the licensee’s line of authority. If the licensee holds both life/health and property/casualty lines of authority, then they’ll need to complete eight hours in life/health and eight hours in property/casualty courses. 

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. Don’t stress if you have a hard time with an exam as they can be taken an infinite number of times. 

If you took a CE course that you absolutely loved and want to take again, you’ll need to wait two years after the course’s original completion date. That said, if you teach a CE course, you’ll receive the same number of credits as your students for the completion of that course. 

However, South Carolina will reward eager producers by allowing them to carry over a maximum of 18 hours of CE credits to the next compliance period. 

Annuity requirements

Before selling, soliciting, or negotiating insurance products, resident producers in South Carolina must first complete a one-time four-hour training course. 

Long-Term Care Partnership training requirements

Resident producers in South Carolina must first be licensed for accident and health or life insurance before selling, soliciting, or negotiating long-term care policies. Additionally, producers must complete a one-time training course of at least eight hours and a follow-on course of at least four hours every 24 months afterward. 

Flood training requirements

As determined by FEMA and the National Flood Insurance Program, producers who sell flood insurance must take a minimum of three hours of training. 

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.

South Carolina Insurance CE FAQs