License Florida 4-40 statutes require individuals involved in the transaction of insurance to be licensed and appointed, and insurance agencies to be licensed or registered (see question #3 for more on agency licensing). The Florida Department of Financial Services (FLDFS) offers a number of licenses for Florida residents, as well as nonresident equivalents for many of them. The major resident licenses include the General Lines (2-20) license, which is the broadest property-casualty agent's license, and the Life, Health & Variable Annuity (2-15) license, which is the broadest in the life-health category.
Because unlicensed employees are not allowed to discuss coverage’s or sell insurance, FLDFS offers licenses designed for customer service representatives (CSRs) who don’t do outside sales but do discuss coverages with clients and may solicit insurance from within the office. The Customer Representative (4-40) license is intended for an agency CSR and is more limited than the 2-20 in various ways, the primary one being that a License Florida 4-40 must act under the authority of a 2- 20 "supervising agent.”
The Limited Customer Representative (4-42) is similar to the License Florida 4-40, but is limited to personal auto insurance. In 2004 FLDFS introduced the Personal Lines Only (20-44) agent's license as an alternative to the 2-20. This license enables the licensee to act as a full-fledged agent but only for personal lines of insurance, such as homeowners and personal auto. A 20-44 agent may not be the responsible agent in the office (it must be a licensed 2-20 agent) There are several limited life-health licenses available, the main ones being the Life & Variable Annuity (2-14) license, and the Health-only (2-40) license. Although the 2-20 is primarily a property-casualty license, it includes a qualification for health insurance so, if someone with a 2-20 obtains an appointment from a health insurance carrier,
DFS will automatically issue them a License Florida 4-40 without their having to take another licensing class or exam.
Most of the major licenses (including all of those mentioned above) require passing an exam, but some of the more limited licenses do not require one. For most of the Florida resident licenses, a new resident can qualify for “transfer of license” if they’ve held the same type of license for at least a year in their previous home state, and they apply for their Florida license within 90 days of moving here. They’ll have to meet various requirements including providing a “letter of clearance” from their previous state for License Florida 4-40.
The Florida Department of Financial Services (FLDFS) provides a detailed explanation of what you need to do, including the difference between being “licensed” and being “registered,” so you can determine which is appropriate for your agency.
