If you are an insurance adjuster licensed in a state that doesn’t require continuing education, you may have run into an often-overlooked issue regarding your reciprocal licenses. Hopefully this article will clear up any questions and offer some solutions for keeping all your licenses active and in good standing.
Insurance Adjuster Renewal Requirements
Most states in the U.S. require insurance adjusters to complete a certain number of continuing education hours in order to renew their license. Some even require you to take certain courses or meet an hourly requirement in specific subjects, like Ethics or Flood, before you can renew. Fulfilling your home state CE requirements will also satisfy your reciprocal license CE requirements.
Many new adjusters in states like New York and Michigan are then thrilled to learn they don’t have to take CE hours every two years to renew their license. However that lack of requirement has some significant consequences when it comes to reciprocal licensing.
If you want to learn more about reciprocal licensing, visit our Adjuster License Reciprocity blog article.
Reciprocal License Requirements
Let’s cover our basics first. Reciprocal licensing allows you to get licensed to adjust claims in another state without having to take and pass that state’s exam. It’s an incredibly important quid pro quo that keeps claims moving through their settlement process when available adjuster quantities are low.
You do have to apply and pay for the reciprocal license(s). Your home state or designated home state license also needs to be in good standing. But other than that, it’s relatively simple. At least at first glance.
When you delve a little deeper into reciprocity, you’ll learn that equality is also required. Reciprocal licenses are only offered when you hold an equivalent license or a license with more lines of authority and requirements than what you are requesting. So, for example, you can’t hold a P&C adjuster license in Texas and then qualify for a reciprocal All-Lines license in Florida. Your P&C license doesn’t cover everything included in the All-Lines license.
This is where we run into the continuing education issue. While your home state license doesn’t require CE hours, many of your reciprocal licenses DO. Again, you need to meet equal education, requirements, and lines of authority to be compliant with the reciprocal state’s rules.
Let’s use another example. You hold a South Carolina adjuster license and want to get a reciprocal license in North Carolina. Licensing requirements are equal and in that regard, you qualify. But when it comes to renewal, NC requires continuing education and your SC license doesn’t meet that requirement. Now what?
The Result? You need to take CE.
Sorry, folks. Them’s the breaks.
But there is a relatively pain free solution. You simply need to pick a state where you hold a reciprocal license, and then purchase and complete CE that has been approved in that state. You do not have to complete CE for all the states where you hold a license. Thank goodness, right?
We recommend you complete CE from a state (where you hold a reciprocal license) with the most stringent requirements. Don’t worry – this doesn’t mean doing more CE or taking tougher courses. It means picking a state, like North Carolina, that requires the full 24 hours most states do, and also requires 3 hours of ethics and 3 hours of flood. Some states just require ethics or flood, but this way, you should be covered for any state you wish to apply for a reciprocal license in.
AdjusterPro offers two complete CE packages that include approved courses for that state, as well as the specific courses you’ll need to meet the state’s requirements. You can also check any state’s renewal requirements on our continuing education pages.
So long story short, or “TL;DR” as the kids say: You don’t have to complete CE to renew your license in some states, but you will need to complete CE if you want reciprocal licenses from any states that do require it for their adjusters. (And that is most states.)
If you have questions, don’t hesitate to contact us. We’re happy to talk through your situation and find a solution that works best for you.
