IL Insurance Pre-Licensing - Exemptions

Some scenarios allow a candidate to be exempt from either/or the Pre-License education, state exam, or obtaining the license.

This article contains the following sections:

Exemptions from Pre-License Education and Exam Requirements

The following people must be licensed in Illinois but do not need to complete Pre-License education or pass a state exam:

  • Limited lines producers.
  • People already licensed in the same lines of authority in another state and have recently established residence in Illinois. (Their license must be in good standing, and they must complete the necessary DOI paperwork within 90 days of establishing residency.)
  • People already licensed in the same lines of authority in another state and are non-residents of Illinois. (Their license must be in good standing, and they must obtain a special “non-resident license” before insuring anything in Illinois or offering services to people in Illinois.)

Exemptions from Pre-License Education Requirements

The following people do not need to complete Pre-License education before sitting for a state insurance exam:

  • People with a college degree in insurance.
  • People who have earned specific professional designations (These designations are typically referred to by a particular abbreviation.):
    • The designations for the Life line of authority are CEBS, ChFC, CIC, CFP, CLU, FLMI, and LUTCF.
    • The designations for the Accident and Health line of authority are RHU, CEBS, REBC, and HIA.
    • The designations for the Property or Casualty lines of authority are AAI, ARM, CIC, and CPCU.

Exemptions from Insurance Producer License Requirement

Although Illinois does not have a comprehensive list of cases where no license would be needed, the state has carved out some specific exemptions. For example, the following individuals generally do not need an insurance producer license if no selling or solicitation of insurance is taking place:

  • An attorney gives legal advice about insurance laws or an insurance contract.
  • An accountant is giving insurance-related advice as part of their job duties.
  • A public adjuster gives insurance-related opinions or advice as part of their job duties. (A public adjuster represents consumers in insurance claim-related disputes but does not sell insurance products.)
  • Officers, directors, or employees of insurance businesses who do not receive sales commissions and whose jobs are managerial, executive, administrative, or clerical in nature and do not relate directly to sales.
  • People who have insurance-specific careers but do not receive any sales commission. (This would include non-salespeople who evaluate insurance applications, investigate claims, or process insurance-related paperwork.)
  • Group-benefit administrators who are not compensated by an insurance company.
  • Salaried, full-time risk managers who do not sell insurance or receive insurance-related commissions.

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