A life and health license covers insurance on people: life insurance, annuities, and accident and health coverage. A property and casualty license covers insurance on things and on legal liability: homes, cars, businesses, and lawsuits. Theyâre separate lines of authority with separate exams, and you can hold both.
Your state issues both licenses, so the exact names, exam codes, and requirements come from your stateâs department of insurance. This guide sticks to the framework most states share.
What does each license let you sell?
The NAICâs Producer Licensing Model Act, a model law states can adopt, defines the major lines of authority. Paraphrasing its definitions:
| Line of authority | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Life | Insurance on human lives, including endowment and annuity benefits. It may include accidental death or dismemberment benefits and disability income benefits. |
| Accident and health or sickness | Coverage for sickness, bodily injury, or accidental death. It may include disability income benefits. |
| Property | Coverage for direct or consequential loss or damage to property of every kind. |
| Casualty | Coverage against legal liability, including liability for death, injury, disability, or damage to property. |
| Personal lines | Property and casualty coverage sold to individuals and families for primarily noncommercial purposes. |
| Variable life and variable annuity products | Coverage under variable life insurance contracts and variable annuities. |
âLife and healthâ usually means the first two lines together. âProperty and casualtyâ usually means the third and fourth together. Texas, for example, describes a general lines life, accident, and health license that covers life and health insurance, including annuities, and a separate general lines property and casualty license for home, auto, commercial, and liability insurance.
Are the exams separate?
Yes. The model act requires a resident applicant to pass a written exam on the lines of authority theyâre applying for, the duties of an insurance producer, and that stateâs insurance laws. The NAICâs Uniform Licensing Standards go further: states are to offer a separate test for each major line of authority, and combination exams may be offered.
Texas shows how that looks in practice. Its life, accident, and health exam (InsTX-LAH05) and its property and casualty exam (InsTX-PC06) are different tests, per the Texas Department of Insurance. The content barely overlaps. A life and health exam tests policy types, riders, annuities, disability income, and Medicare. A property and casualty exam tests homeowners, auto, commercial property, and liability coverage.
Both exams share some contract basics (insurable interest, the elements of a contract, how an application becomes a policy), and both include state law. The insurance basics and underwriting guide covers the shared contract ideas from the life and health side.
Can you hold both licenses at once?
Yes. Under the model act, a producer can be qualified in one or more lines of authority. Each line generally needs its own exam (or a combination exam where your state offers one), and states that require pre-licensing education generally set those hours by line. Check your stateâs requirements for each line you add.
Holding a license isnât the same as being able to sell a particular insurerâs products. The model act notes that the license itself doesnât give the holder authority to represent or commit an insurer. Insurers generally appoint producers before they can sell their products, and your state handles that process.
Which license should you get first?
Match the license to the products youâll actually sell. If a hiring agency sells home and auto policies, it needs property and casualty. If it sells life insurance, annuities, Medicare supplement coverage, or disability income, it needs the life line, the health line, or both. An agency that sells both may want you to hold both.
If youâre not sure, ask the agency or insurer that will appoint you which lines of authority the role requires. That answer decides the exam, not the job title.
What does each path involve?
The steps look similar for both licenses, though the details vary by state:
- Complete any pre-licensing education your state requires for that line.
- Pass the state exam for the line (or a combination exam).
- Complete fingerprinting or a background check if your state requires one.
- Apply for the license through your stateâs system or through NIPR, the multistate licensing clearinghouse.
- Get appointed by the insurers youâll represent.
For the full life and health process, see how to get a life and health insurance license. Costs are broken down in life and health exam cost.
How does CertFuel fit in?
CertFuelâs Life and Health course covers the general life, annuity, and health knowledge that state life and health exams share. It doesnât cover state-specific insurance law, it doesnât satisfy any stateâs pre-licensing education requirement, and it doesnât cover property and casualty.
If life and health is your line, start with the study guide and read how hard the exam is. To decide between the combined exam and a single line, see life vs. health insurance license.