If you’re thinking about becoming an insurance agent in Indiana, the first step you’ll need to take in order to kickstart your career is to obtain an Indiana insurance license.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through the step-by-step process of how to become an insurance agent in Indiana, as well as what to do once you get licensed.

Indiana Insurance License

In order to get your Indiana insurance license, you’ll need to complete the following four steps:

1. Figure Out Which Insurance License You’ll Need
2. Complete a Pre-Licensing Education Course
3. Pass the Relevant Indiana Insurance License Exam(s)
4. Submit Your Insurance License Application

Below we have explored each step in more detail.

Step 1: Decide Which Insurance Licenses You Need

The first step will be deciding what type of insurance policies you’ll want to sell — at least at the start of your career.

This is because the type of insurance policies you’re hoping to sell will dictate the type of license you’ll need. For example, you’d need a Property & Casualty (P&C) license to be able to sell auto, home, or business insurance.

Here’s a list of all the different types of insurance agent licenses that are available in the state of Indiana:

• Property & Casualty (P&C)
• Personal Lines
• Life & Health (L&H)
• Life
• Health
• Bail
• Surplus Lines
• Title

While there are a large number of different licenses to choose from, the vast majority of insurance agents will either obtain a Property and Casualty (P&C) or Life and Health license.

In fact, many agents actually opt to go for both of these licenses as it allows them to offer clients a much wider range of the most common insurance products.

However, if you already know you want to specialize in one particular type of policy, you’ll of course only have to focus on the specific license that’s relevant to this insurance type.

It’s worth noting at this point that if you’re looking to work as an insurance adjuster, you’ll need to obtain a separate license that’s relevant to your chosen specialty.

For example, those aiming to become independent adjusters will need to successfully pass the independent adjuster exam — which you can find more information about in our Indiana Adjuster License overview.

Step 2: Complete a Indiana Pre-Licensing Education Course

The next step you’ll want to take toward becoming a licensed insurance agent in Indiana is completing a pre-licensing education course.

In accordance with Title 27, Article 1, the Indiana Department of Insurance requires everyone that wishes to operate as an insurance producer to complete line-specific pre-licensing education. We’ve broken this down below:

• Life Line of Authority: You will need to complete 20 hours focused on life insurance, covering policy types, terms, benefits, and the underwriting process
• Life & Health Line of Authority: You will need to complete a combined course that requires 40 hours of training in both life and health insurance disciplines
• Personal Lines Property and Casualty: You will need to complete 20 hours dedicated to insurance for personal properties, such as homes and automobiles, which includes risk assessment and policy management
• Personal & Commercial Property and Casualty: You will need to complete a comprehensive 40-hour course which covers insurance policies for both personal and commercial properties
• Title Line of Authority: You will be required to complete a specialized 10 hour course that focuses on title insurance

Please note that the certificate of completion issued at the end of your course is valid for six months, during which you will need to pass your licensing exam and submit your application for licensure.

Due to the sheer number of pre-licensing education courses available, it’s normal to feel a little overwhelmed when deciding which one is right for you. To avoid this, we typically recommend making a decision based on the following factors:

• The course’s flexibility (e.g., does it allow flexible learning, does it require completing within a short time-window, etc.)
• The course’s price: This one is obvious; our only tip here is to not go too low, as from our experience you tend to get what you pay for when it comes to these
• The course’s reputation: How reliable is each provider? The last thing you want is insufficient and/or incomplete resources before your exam

If you want more information before getting started, you can also have a look at our in-depth overview of the five best pre-license education courses in 2024.

Step 3: Pass the Relevant Indiana Insurance License Exam(s)

After completing your pre-licensing education course, you will need to take (and pass) the relevant Indiana insurance license exam.

We say “relevant” because this will depend on the line you wish to specialize in; for example, if you’re planning to become a Life & Health insurance agent, you will need to pass the Life & Health examination — which costs $69.

This exam, like all insurance agent licensing examinations in Indiana, is administered by Pearson VUE. Exam costs range from $50 to $69 depending on the line of authority in question.

It should be noted that the passing score of all examinations — which is decided by the Indiana Department of Insurance — has been set at 70%.

Keep in mind that you can sit for more than one exam at a time (e.g., if you want to apply for both a P&C and a life and health insurance license).

Even so, we recommend avoiding this route; this is because passing your exam is hard enough as is, and there is arguably little to gain and a lot to lose with the added risk of confusing separate line material.

We found that the best approach is to study for one at a time, averaging between two to six weeks of study time per exam — depending on whether you are studying full time or part-time, as well as on how comfortable you are at taking proctored exams.

It’s important to note that there is no limit to the number of times a candidate can sit each exam; having said that, you will be required to wait 48 hours after failing before being allowed to re-register.

For more information, you can have a look at our Indiana Insurance License Exam guide.

Step 4: Submit Your Insurance License Application

With your exams out of the way, you’ll be ready to actually apply for your license.

To do this, you will need to choose your license (e.g., Life, Health, Life and Health, Property and Casualty, Personal Lines, etc.) and apply through either Sircon Indiana or NIPR.

Keep in mind that each license application incurs a $40 processing fee, which is nonrefundable and non transferable.

Should your application be denied, the Department will notify you in writing, detailing specific reasons as to why this was the case.

Note: As part of filing your application, you will be required to provide proof of your eligibility to work in the United States. You can do this by emailing the Indiana Department of Insurance at agentlicensing@idoi.in.gov or by attaching the relevant documentation electronically as part of your application.

Keep in mind that any misdemeanors or felonies may affect the outcome of your licensing efforts. If you’re worried about this, you can contact the Indiana Department of Insurance by phone or email for more guidance on this topic.

Step 5: Application Review

And that’s it! After satisfying all the other requirements and submitting a license application to the Indiana Department of Insurance all that’s left to do is wait.

If everything on your application has been filled out correctly, your license should be issued within three to five weeks — which is the amount of time it typically takes for a license application and background check to be reviewed.

It’s important to be aware that the issuance of your insurance license can take a bit longer than this if there are any items from your background check that need to be looked over. However, the state will likely get in touch with you to give some context if they run into any issues.

In any case, the state will send you an email regarding the status of your license once this review has been completed, so keep an eye out for that!

After Getting Your Indiana Insurance License

Once you have successfully passed all required exams and your application for a license has been approved, you will be officially recognized as a licensed insurance agent in Indiana.

At this point, there are four main steps that we recommend new insurance agents to take:

1. Obtain Any Relevant Securities Licenses: If you’re planning on selling advanced life insurance products, you’ll need to pass the Securities Industry Essentials (SIE) exam and obtain the relevant securities licenses (e.g., Series 6, 7, and 63).
2. Choose a Means of Selling: You’ll have to decide whether you’d prefer working as a captive agent employed by one company, or running your own business as an independent agent.
3. Develop Your Marketing Approach: To succeed as an insurance agent, you’ll need to adopt a marketing approach that’s effective for you. Finding and sticking to a niche, as well organizing all client appointments for the start of your week, are two great ways to do this.
4. Keep Your License Valid: In Indiana, an insurance producer license issued after July 1, 2011, is valid for a two-year period, after which it will need to be renewed at a cost of $40. To renew your license, you will be required to complete a minimum of 24 hours of continuing education every two years, which must include at least 3 hours in ethics training.

Indiana Department of Insurance Contact Information

Mailing Address:
Attn: Agent Licensing
311 West Washington Street Suite 103
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204-2787

Phone: (317) 232-2389

Fax: (317) 234-5882

Email: agentlicensing@idoi.in.gov

Website: https://www.in.gov/idoi/licensing/

License Search: Indiana Insurance License Search and Lookup