Verifying a licence

The two places to check

• Your state insurance department, which maintains a licensee lookup and any disciplinary history
• The National Insurance Producer Registry, which shows licences held across states

What licensing involves

Requirements vary by state, and generally include pre-licensing education, a state examination, a background check, and continuing education to maintain the licence.

Licences are also line-specific — life, health, property, casualty — so someone licensed for property and casualty is not thereby licensed to sell you life insurance. And selling variable products such as variable universal life additionally requires securities registration.

Appointment is a different thing

A licence permits someone to sell insurance. An appointment is an insurer authorising a specific producer to represent it.

Both matter. Someone can be licensed without being appointed by the company whose product they're describing to you, so it's reasonable to ask about both.

Warning signs

• Reluctance to give a full legal name and licence number
• Pressure to decide immediately, or a deadline with no contractual basis
• Asking for payment by wire transfer, gift card, or to a personal account
• Mail or calls implying a government or lender requirement
• No named insurer, or a company you can't find on your state's list of admitted insurers
• Discouraging you from reading the policy or involving a family member

Where premiums should go

Premium payments should be made to the insurance company, not to an individual. A request to pay a producer personally is a serious warning sign and worth reporting to your state department.

If you're unsure, call the insurer directly using a number from its own website and confirm.