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

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

Louisiana Insurance License

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

1. Figure Out Which Insurance License You’ll Need
2. Complete a Pre-Licensing Education Course
3. Pass the Relevant Louisiana Insurance License Exam(s)
4. Complete a Fingerprint and Background Check
5. 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 Louisiana:

• Life
• Health and Accident or Sickness
• Life, Health and Accident or Sickness
• Property
• Casualty
• Property and Casualty
• Personal Lines
• Bail Bond
• Surety
• Industrial Fire
• Title
• Surplus Lines

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 — which you can find more information about in our Louisiana Adjuster License overview.

Step 2: Complete a Louisiana Pre-Licensing Education Course

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

Although the state of Louisiana does not mandate pre-licensing education for most insurance licenses — with the exception of the Bail Bond producer license — we strongly recommend enrolling in pre-licensing training regardless.

These courses are designed not only to prepare you for the licensing examination but also to provide a comprehensive overview of the industry and its regulations.

By completing these courses, you will be well-equipped to handle the complexities of the insurance market and significantly increase your likelihood of passing your exams on the first attempt.

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 Louisiana Insurance License Exam(s)

After completing your pre-licensing education course, you will need to take (and pass) the relevant Louisiana 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 property and casualty insurance agent, you will need to pass the Property and Casualty producer exam — which has 150 scored questions.

All insurance agent licensing examinations in the state of Louisiana are administered by PSI, with the cost ranging from $15 to $53 depending on the specific license that you are pursuing.

It should be noted that candidates must achieve a minimum score of 70% in order to pass a producer licensing exam in Louisiana.

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.

You should also keep in mind that Louisiana law places no limit on the number of times a candidate may retake each exam.

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

Step 4: Complete a Fingerprinting And Background Check

All applicants for the Louisiana resident insurance producer license must submit to fingerprinting as part of the licensing process.

The fingerprints are then used to conduct a comprehensive background check against both state and federal criminal databases in order to ensure that all candidates meet the required legal standards for licensure.

You can have your fingerprints taken on the day of your examination at the designated PSI testing center.

The center will then forward your fingerprints electronically to the Louisiana Department of Insurance. This service incurs a $39.25 state processing fee, which is payable to “PSI” by money order or a cashier’s check.

Please note that the processing of your fingerprints may take up to four weeks.

Note: Any misdemeanors or felonies may affect the outcome of your licensing efforts. If you’re worried about this, you can contact the Louisiana Department of Insurance by phone or email for more guidance on this topic.

Step 5: Submit Your Insurance License Application

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

To do this, you will need to submit your application through the National Insurance Producer Registry (NIPR).

You will also need to pay a processing fee of $75 (per insurance producer license application), unless you are applying for the surplus lines authority, which comes with an increased fee of $250.

Note: All applicants must be at least eighteen years of age.

Step 6: Application Review

And that’s it! After satisfying all the other requirements and submitting a license application to the Louisiana 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 Louisiana Insurance License

Once you have cleared your examinations and your application for licensure has been accepted, you will be recognized as a licensed insurance agent in Louisiana.

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 Louisiana, you will need to renew your license every two years through either the Industry Access portal or the National Insurance Producer Registry. The cost to renew will depend on your specific type of license and ranges from $50 to $350, with late renewals incurring an additional $50 fee.

Louisiana Department of Insurance Contact Information

Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 94214
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70804

Physical Address:
1702 N. Third Street
Baton Rouge, LA 70802

Phone: (225) 342-0860

Email: producerlicensing@ldi.la.gov

Website: http://www.ldi.la.gov

License Search: Louisiana Insurance License Search and Lookup