Kansas Insurance Continuing Education

Resident Requirements

On and after January 1, 2022, the bill amends the CEC requirement for agents to require each licensed agent to earn 18 CECs biennially, permit at least 3 hours of instruction in ethics, and remove the required insurance agency management hours. 

For producers who hold multiple authorities, 12 hours must cover life and health, and 12 hours must include property and casual, including two hours of education in professional ethics. 

Producers of crop insurance have a lower CE-hour requirement. These professionals only need to complete two hours of CE and two hours of ethics. 

Producers that only hold title insurance licenses must complete four CE hours and two hours of ethics. 

Kansas resident producers must complete courses approved by the Kansas Insurance Department. Further, producers must complete the courses during the biennium to which they apply. Contact the Producer Licensing Division at (785) 296-6755 to verify whether a professional designation course is acceptable to the Department. 

For self-study and internet courses are taken in Kansas, the amount of awarded credit depends on the successful completion of the course, followed by an independently-monitored examination. The insurance commissioner will determine the number of hours to assign to the course. 

The Kansas Insurance Department assigns credit only to those courses that impart substantive, procedural knowledge related to insurance and are beneficial to the insuring public.

Courses of the following types do not meet the department's criteria for approval:

• Courses designed to prepare students for a licensing exam.
• Courses that cover mechanical office or business skills, like typing, speed reading, or using calculators and other equipment.
• Courses that include sales promotions, including meetings held in conjunction with the general business of the licensee. 
• Courses primarily intended to provide knowledge of specific products or companies if the courses relate to the sales promotion or marketing of one or more of the products discussed.

The number of approved hours does not include the time spent on introductions, breaks, or other activities not directly related to department-approved educational information or materials. 

Rules for Non-Residents

If you are a non-resident producer in Kansas, you may qualify for exemption from the Kansas CE requirements if their home state or district has a CE requirement. Instead, you will file your Kansas renewal through the National Insurance Producer Registry (NIPR). 

Non-residents who comply with CE requirements of their home (resident) state are exempt from Kansas CE requirements. 

As a non-resident producer, you do not need to provide a certification letter from your home state. The Kansas Insurance Department will verify CE compliance through the NIPR producer database. 

If your home state does not require CE, you will need to comply with the Kansas CE rules. 

Carryover of Excess CE

In Kansas, producers may not carry over CE credits to the next 2-year license term.

Insurance License Term Renewal Requirements

Each license term ends on the licensee's date of birth, every two years. Licensees with birth years that end in an even date renew in even years and those with odd birth years renew in odd years. For example:

• Those born in 1975 would renew in 2021, 2023, 2025, etc.  
• People born in 1976 would renew in 2022, 2024, 2026, etc. 

Agents who do not meet the required CE credit hours posted before their license expiration date will have their Kansas insurance license or licenses revoked by the Kansas Insurance Department. 

Rules for Taking the Exam

Producers do not need to complete course examinations except in the case of self-study or internet-based courses. 

There are several rules CE exam-takers need to understand:

• Online certification exams are always closed-book.
• Course materials are not available while the exam is in progress.
• To receive CE credit, agents must pass the final exam with a score of 70% or higher. 
• Students can retake the exam an unlimited number of times.

Proctor or Monitor Requirements

A disinterested third party must monitor (proctor) online exams and must certify that the licensee had no assistance completing the exam. The proctor must complete the online Declaration of Compliance for exam takers to receive credit. 

Other exam rules:

• If the exam taker launches their exam without a monitor present, they will not receive CE credit. 
• The monitor must have no financial interest in the success or failure of an exam taker's ability to maintain their license.

Rules for Repeating a Course

Course repetition is not permitted within the compliance period, though producers may retake the final exam.

Credit for Instructors

If you serve as an instructor for an insurance CE course in Kansas, you may receive the same number of credit hours as students who take the course.

Reporting Rules

You must report your CE hours or have your instructor report your CE hours within 30 days of completing the course. Those reporting on behalf of an agent must provide the agent's National Producer Number (NPN).

The Kansas Department of Insurance collects a course reporting fee of $1.00 per online, self-study, and classroom credit hour. 

Insurance CE Requirement Exemptions

Kansas law states that each individual holding a life insurance license exclusively to sell pre-need insurance does not need to meet CE requirements. These licensees must provide affirmation that they transacted no other insurance business during the current renewal period. 

Producers serving active duty in the US Armed Forces may not need to comply with CE requirements. Confirm the details of your assignment with the Kansas Insurance Department. 

Annuity Requirements

Kansas producers who engage in selling or soliciting annuity products must complete a four-hour CE course specific to annuities. This one-time requirement applies to residents as well as non-resident producers.

On an ongoing basis, producers must also complete product-specific training sponsored by the insurance company offering the product. 

Starting January 1, 2024, insurance producers who sell annuities must complete an annuity best interest course.

If you have taken the course before January 1, 2024, you must:

• Complete a one-hour annuity best interest course OR complete the four-hour annuity best interest course. The one-hour version is only available until June 30, 2024. 

If you have not previously taken an annuity course, you must: 

• Complete the four-hour annuity best interest course.

Flood Requirements

The Kansas Insurance Department requires licensees who sell flood insurance to comply with the minimum Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) training requirements and those of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). This one-time training requires completion of a three-hour course covering flood-specific topics. 

Long-Term Care Training

Kansas agents must complete a four-hour training course before they may begin selling any long-term care insurance products. Additionally, these agents will need to complete one hour of related training every other year. 

Producers may take any NAIC-approved long-term care plan course for use in any licensed state.