Effective January 1, 2008, New York State no longer allows its brokers or agents to repeat continuing education classes. In other words, a class taken as a CE credit two years ago to renew an insurance license will not be counted as additional CE credits if taken again to renew a subsequent license. That being said, it's important to keep track of any continuing education classes taken.
Finding Approved CE Classes in New York
To find approved continuing education classes and providers, visit the New York State Department of Insurance website. The website offers the choice to take classes on a self-study/internet basis or in a more traditional classroom/seminar setting. Be forewarned that using an old browser won't work with the search feature. The state recommends using Internet Explorer browser version 6.0 or higher. Although Internet Explorer is recommended it also works with the latest version of Mozilla Firefox.
Self-Study/Internet Continuing Education Classes
After selecting the Self-Study/Internet option on the search page, click "Submit" to begin the actual class search. Be prepared with the following information prior to beginning the search:
- Subject Area (choose as many as needed)
- Credit Range (number of credits sought - this is a mandatory field)
- Name of Course Provider (producers must select the name of the course provider - this is a mandatory field)
After filling in the necessary information click "Submit" and the website will provide a listing of courses that fit the search criteria. After reviewing the listing of courses, select one in order to get the provider name, designated person's name, telephone number and email address in order to register for the class.
Traditional Classroom Continuing Education Courses
The search function for the classroom setting differs slightly from the self-study/internet course search. Candidates must insert the date for which they would like to take the course, State (NY selected by default) and up to three state counties in which the agent/broker is willing to travel to take the course. After that selecting the number of credits and subject area click "Submit."
As with the self-study/internet search feature, select the class of interest and click "Submit." After clicking submit, the Department of Insurance will provide the following course information:
- Provider Name
- Name of Designated person
- Telephone Number
- City
- County
- Email Address
- Course Date
- Course Time
- Number of Credits
- Licensure Type and
- Whether or not it is a Designation Course
Continuing Education Search by Provider
For a less overwhelming search feature, use the continuing education providers search. This option allows brokers and agents to select a New York county to find education providers. The list is nowhere near as extensive as the education course list. As of this writing, many of the counties only list one education provider.
Since the continuing education requirement is to take 15 credits during the two-year term of licensure, its best start taking continuing education credits early. The search feature provided by the New York State Department of Insurance makes it easy for producers to locate and start taking continuing education credits early in order to avoid the end of the license term crunch.
Felicia A. Williams - Felicia A. Williams is a full time freelance writer with over 20 years of business writing experience.
