Georgia’s CE Requirements at a Glance
In the Peach State, both agents and adjusters are required to meet CE standards. But who participates in Georgia insurance continuing education requirements? There are four separate groups of licensees, and each has their own set of required hours. Most non-resident license holders are exempt, so just be sure to check that there isn’t an action in your home state that requires you to fulfill Georgia’s requirements, too!
All resident licensees have to earn a total of 24 CE hours every two-year renewal period. These hours must include 3 ethics credits. Resident agents must comply, even if they are not appointed by a Georgia company. They also need to complete two hours of flood training unless they are error and omissions (E&O) exempt, which applies to anyone who has a $1 million or more E&O coverage. Resident licensees can take the necessary classes on their own (classroom/traditional CE) , via webinars or through online courses. The following lines will give you an overview of the requirements based on the license type:
• Resident agents (non-line specific): 24 total hours every two years, including 3 ethics and 2 flood.
• Resident life, health, or bail bond agents: 24 total hours every two years, including 3 ethics, 2 flood and 10 line-specific.
• Resident line of authority adjusters: 24 total hours every two years, including 3 ethics, 2 flood and 12 line of authority.
• Resident pre-need agents: 24 total hours every two years, including 3 ethics and 8 pre-need.
Non-resident agents and adjusters: Agents and adjusters who hold a valid non-resident license from their home state don’t have to take CE courses in Georgia. But, if their home state (regardless of whether it’s Georgia or not) requires CE, then they’ll need to take Georgia’s continuing education requirements as well.
Annual Requirements for CE Credits and Course Topics
In Georgia, insurance continuing education requirements vary slightly based on the type of license held. All licensed agents and adjusters who sell or renew a license are required to maintain a minimum of 24 hours of continuing education every renewal period. Out of those 24 hours, at least 3 hours must be ethics-based courses. Depending on your license, you may also need to fulfill a specific number of hours in the topics of the lines of authority in which you are licensed. Because they hold licenses in several different lines of authority, Georgia public adjusters are required to fulfill all of the above requirements.
Annual CE credits should be distributed according to the following schedule:
- Agents (except public adjusters or stamp agents): 3 hours in ethics, 21 hours in any combination of appropriate subjects.
- Adjusters (all adjusters except public adjusters): 3 hours in ethics, 21 hours in any combination of appropriate subjects.
- Public adjusters (except stamp agents): 3 hours in ethics, 21 hours in any combination of appropriate subjects, including 6 hours of approved courses in Public Adjusting and 12 hours in Property Insurance claims adjusting.
- Stamp agents: May take 12 hours in a property and casualty course. Errors and Omissions: Errors and Omissions: An E&O Course is not an acceptable alternative to the ethics requirement.
Approved CE Course Providers and Availability
In Georgia, a variety of providers offer courses for credit towards the state’s mandatory insurance continuing education. The list of approved continuing education providers is available through the Georgia Department of Insurance. Most of the major national firms that offer courses in retirement and finance also provide the necessary insurance continuing education, including Kaplan Financial Education, ExamFX, and Professional Development Strategies. To view a list of approved providers, you can visit the provider list on the Georgia Department of Insurance’s website.
You can find online courses for insurance continuing education, as well as in-person courses. In addition to national providers, there are several state-based education providers that support local agents, brokers, and adjusters. Some of these include Galen D. Disaia, Patricia Jameson, and Skills, Inc. These entities each offer their own continuing education courses for state insurance professionals. The state of Georgia website contains a useful guide to these local providers and their respective course offerings.
If you are an agent or broker seeking license renewal, you should really look at the online course offerings. Not only are these courses relatively inexpensive, but they are quite convenient to complete.
Annual Renewal Process and Deadlines
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To maintain an active insurance license in Georgia, licensees must complete a minimum of twenty-four (24) credit hours of continuing education (CE) every two years. The only exception to this rule is for first-time licensees. If a licensee is renewing an insurance license for the first time, the CE requirement is reduced to ten (10) credit hours, with three (3) self-study hours also required.
All CE coursework must be completed by the licensee or "considered paid" by the insurer for which the licensee works no later than the last day of the licensee’s birth month . The licensee’s renewal application with the Georgia Department of Insurance will not be approved if the licensee has not completed the required CE by their birthday in an even-numbered year, or within the two-year period prior to their birthday in an odd-numbered year.
Documentation demonstrating completion of the required CE credits may be in the form of a certificate of completion or completion slip and should maintain accurate records of completing the course, including name of provider, course number, title, credit claimed and date completed. Such records are to be retained for at least five (5) years following the license renewal date.
Additionally, when a licensee does not meet the CE requirements prior to license renewal, the licensee may pay a $250 fine in lieu of completing the balance of the required CE courses.
Penalties for Non-Compliance
Non-Compliance Penalties
License suspension, fines, and a tarnished professional reputation remain the principal consequences of failing to comply with Georgia’s insurance continuing education requirements. Unless the Georgia Commissioner of Insurance otherwise approves, an individual who is required to complete continuing education must do so within 12 months of the end of his or her compliance period, and may not complete more than 50% of the hours of continuing education for an adjustment year in the 6 months preceding the end of the compliance period. (GAC Rule 120-2-40-.03(2)) If an individual fails to complete the required hours, he or she may be placed on inactive status by the Georgia Department of Insurance ("Department"). (GAC Rule 120-2-40-.03(5)) Individuals who fail to complete the required hours during their compliance period are also subject to a penalty of up to $25 for each hour of non-completed coursework. (GAC Rule 120-2-40-.03(4)) Failure to submit the appropriate continuing education transmittal forms and duplicate classes subjects an individual to a penalty of up to $100. (GAC Rule 120-2-40-.03(6),(7),(8)) Finally, if an agent fails to report required CE courses taken through the Insurance Institute of America within 60 days of the class, he or she will be subject to a fine of $25 for each course. (GAC Rule 120-2-40-.03(10))
Tips for Maintaining CE Compliance
Staying organized is the best way to ensure you never fall behind on your Georgia insurance continuing education requirements. Most agents I know have a calendar (either paper or digital) and make it a habit to enter important dates into their calendars as well as set reminders. Do the same with your license renewal and continuing education dates. If you have selected the maximum ratio for non-continued to continued CE, make sure you set your calendar reminders for the last day of the month leading up to your deadline so you can be prepared for any last minute scramble to finish courses that you may have started but did not complete. If you are in need of a licensing renewal, make sure your calendar sends you a reminder about 3 months ahead of schedule to give you plenty of time to get all your requirements in order . In the event that you need to complete more courses than you had initially anticipated, the extra time should come in handy. As a reminder, we recommend taking your ethics courses at the beginning of each renewal period. A couple reasons for this are: These courses are great refresher courses for everyone but especially good for those that let the policy and procedure go to the wayside at times. If you have a large number of hours you need to get either because you missed some deadlines due to negligence or you were offered new products and needed CE for that line of insurance, double up your efforts! For example, you can log into our site and take an 8 hour excess and surplus lines class. While 8 hours may take more time then an hour course, the good news is you can kill multiple birds with one stone by getting both E&S and General Lines lines in one sitting.
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