Getting your Alaska insurance license is the first step to becoming an insurance agent in the state. Whether you’re interested in selling property and casualty insurance, life insurance, health insurance, or any combination of those lines of authority, this article has the information you need to get started.
The Alaska Division of Insurance has a 7-step process on how to become an insurance agent in Alaska. We’ll walk you through step-by-step; from the license application to insurance test prep, to the Alaska insurance exam, and beyond.
This guide has everything you need to know to get your AK insurance license quickly and easily.
Recommended: Interested in getting started? We recommend using Kaplan’s online study packages, which come with a 93% pass rate.
Alaska Insurance License
Getting your insurance license in Alaska is easy! Just follow our step-by-step guide. Be sure to bookmark this page so that you can visit it again throughout this process.
Step 1. Which Insurance Licenses Do You Need?
The first step to getting your insurance license is choosing which licenses you need. The most common licenses new insurance agents get are the property & casualty license (P&C), life and health insurance license (L&H).
The types of insurance products and policies you’ll be selling will determine which licenses you need. Here are some examples of the types of policies you can market with each license:
- Property and Casualty Insurance License – Auto Insurance, Home Insurance, Business Insurance, etc…
- Life and Health Insurance License – Life Insurance, Annuities, Medicare, Health Insurance, etc…
Most insurance agents and producers choose to get both P&C and L&H licenses, but if you plan on specializing in only one category then you don’t need every license.
Insurance adjusters require a separate license. You can find more information on becoming an insurance adjuster here: Alaska Insurance Adjuster License.
Note
If you plan on specializing as a life insurance agent, then you may also need to hold a certain FINRA securities license.
Step 2. Alaska Insurance Pre-License Education
After you’ve determined which licenses you need, it’s time to begin studying for the Alaska insurance exams.
Alaska does not require you to take a certain amount of pre-license credits before testing. This means that studying for your exam is 100% up to you.
Most folks choose to take an insurance pre-license course online. These courses are created specifically to give you the skills you need to pass the test. Others purchase books or other self-study tools to prepare themselves.
It’s wise to take a week or so to dedicate to your study of this exam. If you don’t feel as though you’re a strong test taker, take a little longer, but don’t let it drag out for long. We want you to pass your test the first time you take it, and we know that you can do it.
Recommended Course
Over 81% of our readers use Kaplan’s online courses — which come with a 93% pass rate — when preparing for their insurance license exam(s). For comprehensive study packages, StateRequirement recommends:
Step 3. Alaska Insurance License Exam
The next step after completing all of your pre-license coursework or self-study is to take the insurance exam. You will take one exam for each line of insurance you wish to carry. Life & Health (L&H) and Property & Casualty (P&C) lines are not combined lines in Alaska, so you will take one exam per line of authority that you wish to attain. The lines are titled: Life, Accident & Health, Property, and Casualty.
This is a proctored test, which means that you will be in a controlled environment with a person watching you. For people who haven’t tested in a situation like this should be aware of this fact, and work on taming their nerves prior to sitting for the exam.
The fee for each attempt of the exams is $89 (one exam per line of authority). When you show up you must have a photo ID. Each exam is made up of two parts. The first part is the General Section, of which there are sixty (60) questions. You have one hour and fifteen minutes (1 hour, 15 minutes) to complete this section. The second part of the exam is the State Section. There are fifty (50) questions, and you have one hour (1 hour) to complete this section. Here is a copy of the outline of the exams for all lines of authority.
To explain the scoring of this exam, we will quote Pearson VUE:
Score Explanation
Scaled Score
There are multiple versions of each of the licensing examinations. These versions are known as forms. Although all forms of an examination are developed based on the content outlines, the difficulty of the forms of an examination may vary slightly because different questions appear on each form. To ensure that no candidate is put at an unfair advantage or disadvantage due to the particular form of an examination that he or she is given, a statistical procedure known as equating is used to correct for differences in form difficulty. The passing score of an examination was set by the Alaska Division of Insurance (in conjunction with Pearson VUE) after a comprehensive study was completed for each examination. Raw scores are converted into scaled scores. To avoid misuse of score information, numeric scores are only reported to failing candidates. The scaled score that is reported to you is neither the number of questions you answered correctly nor the percentage of questions you answered correctly. With a passing score of 70, any score below 70 indicates how close the candidate came to passing, rather than the actual number or percentage of questions the candidates answered correctly.
Check out our Insurance Exam Guide. It’s extremely in-depth, and will hopefully help you pass the first time.
Looking for a guide to passing the insurance exam in Alaska? Check out our Alaska Insurance License Exam article.
Insurance license tests are intentionally difficult, but not impossible by any means. You should study to the point of comfortability with the information before you attempt the test. Failing the exam isn’t the end of the world, but keep in mind that you will need to pay the fee each time you attempt the test.
Tip
StateRequirement recommends that you study for one exam at a time, then after passing, starting on your next line. The exams are difficult enough on their own without confusing information from one line to another. Check out our review of the Kaplan Insurance Course.
You may register to take your exams and find more information on the Pearson VUE Alaska Insurance Exam Page. When contacting Pearson VUE about the exams, be sure to also ask them about fingerprinting, as it the next step in the licensing process.
Exam results are valid for one (1) year.
Step 4. Fingerprinting And Background Check
The State of Alaska requires that all insurance license applications provide fingerprints prior to licensing. Giving your fingerprints will initiate a background check. If you have any prior misdemeanors or felonies, this may affect the outcome of your licensing efforts. For more information on this topic, call the Alaska Department of Insurance at (907) 465-2515 or email the License Department.
There is a $48.25 fee for fingerprinting services, plus a $15 processing fee, for a total of $63.25.
Schedule to have your fingerprints taken through Pearson VUE or your local law enforcement agency. When you are finished with the fingerprinting appointment, you will receive a fingerprint card. Do not lose your fingerprint card, as you will need to mail it in in a later step!
Step 5. License Application
Once you have completed your exams and fingerprinting, you are now ready to apply for your license. You must allow at least seventy-two (72) hours to pass after passing your license exams. This will allow time for the information to come from Pearson VUE to the state. If you have more than one line of authority that you have passed the exam for, be sure to apply for all of those lines.
The fee for an online application is $75, and NIPR will charge a $5.60 transaction fee for a total of $80.60. If you apply for your additional lines of authority, only the $5 transaction fee will be charged on later additions.
Fill out and submit your online application on the NIPR website.
Step 6. Mail Fingerprint Card
After submitting your license application to the state, you will now mail in your fingerprint card. You will send this card to the Juneau office (address below).
Alaska Division of Insurance
333 Willoughby Avenue, 9th Floor
Juneau, Alaska 99801-3597
P.O. Box 110805
Juneau, Alaska 99801
Step 7. Application Review
Once you have submitted your application and have filled all the other requirements, your license application will be reviewed by the state. Your background check will also be reviewed.
If everything is to acceptable standards your license should be issued quickly. If there are any items from your background check that need to be reviewed, it may slow down the process of issuance. If this is the case, the state may contact you to provide context to the issues that they have run into.
Once the review has been completed, you should receive an email from the Alaska Department of Insurance regarding the status of your license.
To check and see if your license has been issued, you may look yourself up in the State Based Systems License Look-Up System.
Congratulations!
You’ve done the work, put in the time and effort, and now hold the key to your own success! We’re proud of you. Take five (5) minutes and celebrate.
After Getting Your Alaska Insurance License
Once you’ve passed your exams and completed the licensing application, you are now a licensed insurance agent in Alaska. A common question we hear is, “I have my insurance license, now what?” Here are a few things you can do or need to know:
- Get a job in the insurance field. Check out StateRequirement’s Insurance Jobs board
- If you’re going to sell advanced life insurance products, you’ll need to have the proper securities licenses. Series 6, Series 7, and Series 63 are the most common among insurance agents, but you’ll need to begin with the SIE (Securities Industry Essentials) exam. Find out which licenses you need with our Securities Licensing Guide
- Every two years, you’ll need to renew your insurance license. Check out our guides on Alaska Insurance License Renewal and Alaska Insurance Continuing Education for more details
Alaska Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development Contact Information
Anchorage
Mailing Address:
Alaska Division of Insurance
P.O. Box 110805
Juneau, AK 99811-0805
Physical Address:
333 Willoughby AVE, 9th FL
State Office Building
Juneau, AK 99801-1770
Phone: (907) 465-2515
Fax: (907) 465-3422
Juneau
Mailing/Physical Address:
Alaska Division of Insurance
550 West 7th Avenue, Suite 1560
Anchorage, Alaska 99501-3567
Phone: (907) 269-7900
Fax: (907) 269-7910
Email: insurance@alaska.gov
Website: https://www.commerce.alaska.gov/web/ins/
License Search: Alaska Insurance License Search and Lookup
Alaska Insurance License FAQ
How long is the insurance license period in Alaska?
In Alaska, insurance licenses last for a period of two years — after this, renewal will be necessary before the expiration date in order to avoid interruptions in your ability to sell insurance. To find out more about how to maintain your insurance license, check out our Alaska Insurance License Renewal article.
How long does it take to get an insurance license in Alaska?
It will typically take between two and eight weeks, though the bulk of this time will be spent on studying for your Alaska insurance exam. While some people study for as little as one week and feel comfortable taking the exam, we recommend you take whatever amount of time you need to feel comfortable with the material. Check out our guide on How to Pass the Insurance Exam for more tips.
How much does the Alaska insurance license cost?
You should expect the total cost of getting licensed as an insurance agent or producer to be around $375. Although this covers the costs of your insurance course, application, and exam, your total may be greater if you don’t pass this exam on your first attempt. Any extra exam attempts you may need to take cost $89 each.
How do I get a life insurance license in Alaska?
To be able to sell life insurance policies in Alaska, you’ll need to complete a pre-licensing course, pass the state exam, submit an application, and pay the relevant fees. For more information on these steps to getting your license online, we’ve broken them down in much more detail above.
How do I get a property and casualty license in Alaska?
For a property and casualty license in Alaska, each applicant is required to complete some pre-licensing education, pass the state exam, and submit their application alongside any other applicable documents and fees. Before offering your services, you may also need a third party administrator such as an independent certified public accountant to be able to handle your financial statements and basic organizational documents.
Do I need business insurance in Alaska?
While not all businesses in Alaska need to provide details establishing that they have insurance, many will do. As a common example, businesses with employees need specific coverage like workers’ compensation in order to operate legally and provide reasonable assurance to employees. This protects both your business’s assets and its experienced and qualified personnel to ensure everything is running safely.