Becoming An Auto Insurance Broker In California: A Guide

If you're considering a career as an auto insurance broker in California, there are a few key steps you need to take. Firstly, understand the role and its requirements, skills, and duties. Insurance brokers assist clients in finding suitable insurance policies, and they need strong interpersonal skills, industry knowledge, and the ability to handle sensitive information. Next, meet the minimum requirements, including age, education, and a clean criminal record. Complete pre-licensing education, which covers insurance policies, laws, and ethics. Then, take the California licensing exam, and pass a background check. Finally, apply for your insurance broker license through the state portal. It's important to note that auto insurance is just one type of insurance you can specialize in, and you may need to obtain additional licenses for other types of insurance.

Pick an area of expertise, e.g. auto insurance

Picking an area of expertise is an important step in becoming an auto insurance broker in California. This will determine the type of insurance broker license you need to obtain. The most common types of insurance broker licenses in California include:

• Accident and health insurance broker
• Life insurance broker
• Property insurance broker
• Casualty insurance broker
• Personal lines broker
• Limited-lines auto broker

Accident and health insurance brokers sell mostly health insurance, which covers medical expenses incurred due to accidental injury or illness, as well as disability insurance.

Life insurance brokers sell products that provide coverage on human lives, including life insurance, annuities, and funeral and burial insurance.

Property insurance brokers provide coverage for the loss or damage of any kind of property, including business property, crop insurance, livestock insurance, earthquake insurance, flood insurance, homeowners insurance, and inland marine insurance.

Casualty insurance brokers, often called liability insurance brokers, provide coverage against legal liability, including death, injury, disability, or damage to real or personal property. The most common form of casualty insurance is automobile insurance.

Personal lines brokers provide insurance specifically for individuals, including automobile insurance, residential property insurance (including earthquake and flood insurance), personal watercraft insurance, and umbrella or excess liability insurance for auto and home policies.

Limited-lines auto brokers sell, solicit, or negotiate automobile insurance for private use, including liability coverage, physical damage coverage, and collision coverage.

Once you have chosen your area of expertise, you will need to complete the required pre-licensing education for your specialty and pass the California insurance broker exam in that specialty. This typically involves taking a California insurance broker pre-licensing course and meeting the minimum educational requirements set by the state.

Meet California's minimum requirements, e.g. age, education, criminal history

To become an auto insurance broker in California, you must meet the state's minimum requirements. These include:

• Being 18 years or older at the time of the exam
• Completing pre-licensing education or meeting the minimum educational requirements (a high school diploma is required, and college-level instruction in business classes is recommended)
• Having no criminal history
• Living in the state of California and having proof of residence
• Passing a background check for insurance fraud or other insurance-related crimes and misconduct

If you meet these requirements, you can then proceed with the next steps to become a licensed insurance broker in California. It is important to note that becoming an insurance broker requires time, hard work, and financial investment, so it is crucial to ensure that you meet the minimum requirements before embarking on this career path.

Complete pre-licensing education

To become an auto insurance broker in California, you must complete pre-licensing education. This includes 20 hours of classroom instruction in the type of insurance you want to specialize in. For auto insurance, this falls under the 'casualty insurance' category.

If you are a new broker or are licensed in another state, you will also need to complete a one-time, 12-hour course in ethics and the California Insurance Code. This course is mandatory for all first-time applicants and covers insurance policies, laws, and ethics.

The total pre-licensing education requirement is 32 hours. You can take these courses online or in a classroom.

The California Department of Insurance provides a Provider Course Look Up Tool to help you find courses near you.

Take the California licensing exam

To take the California licensing exam, you must first complete the required prelicensing education for your specialty. The California Department of Insurance requires all aspiring insurance brokers to receive 20 hours of classroom instruction in the type of insurance they want to specialize in.

Applicants can also take 40-hour courses that combine property and casualty insurance or life and accident and health insurance. New brokers and brokers licensed in another state also need to complete a one-time, 12-hour course in ethics and the California Insurance Code.

You can find courses near you through the California Department of Insurance Provider Course Look-Up Tool.

Once you have completed the required prelicensing education, you can register for the licensing exam. To do so, you will need to register in advance and pay an examination fee. You can schedule your exam at the Department of Insurance or online through the PSI exams service. The examination fee is $50 if scheduled at a California Department of Insurance examination site or $83 at a PSI examination site.

The computer-based tests range from 1.5 to 2.5 hours and cover 60 to 150 questions. The Candidate Information Bulletin provides information on how to prepare for the exam, examination site procedures, sample exam questions, test-taking strategies, and driving directions to test centers.

On the day of the exam, you will need to bring one of the following types of identification to the test center:

• Current valid California or out-of-state driver's license
• California Identification Card
• Passport or Passport Card
• Military identification

Your name must match that on your identification.

Pass a background check and submit fingerprints

To become an auto insurance broker in California, you must pass a background check and submit your fingerprints. This is a mandatory step in the process, as the state of California requires all insurance brokers to submit to a background check and provide fingerprints to ensure they have no criminal history. This also helps to maintain a state record of licensed insurance professionals.

You can submit your fingerprints and background check after you pass your broker exam, although getting fingerprinted prior to testing may expedite the process if you pass your exams. Typically, you can submit your fingerprints and background check at the testing site, depending on where it is.

If you choose to submit your fingerprints after your exam, you can do so through the California Department of Insurance's (CDI) contracted fingerprint vendor, Accurate Biometrics. You can schedule an appointment with them by calling (866) 361-9944. When you go to your appointment, be sure to bring a completed Live Scan Request form LIC 442-39A.

If you choose to submit your fingerprints on the day of your licensing exam at a California Department of Insurance exam site, the processing fee will be $58.30, payable by money order, cashier's check, personal check, or credit card. Cash is not accepted. If you submit your fingerprints at a PSI test centre, the processing fee will be $68.95, payable to PSI by money order, cashier's check, company check, Visa, or Mastercard. PSI does not accept personal checks or cash.

Regardless of when and where you submit your fingerprints, nonpayment of the fingerprint fee or failure to submit the fingerprint impressions will delay the processing of your application. The fingerprint requirement must be fulfilled prior to the issuance of your license.

Frequently asked questions