PreLicenseTraining.com

What PreLicenseTraining.com is

PreLicenseTraining.com is an online school for people who want an insurance license and for licensed agents who need continuing education (CE) to keep it. It is a product for the LEARNER: a career changer studying for a state producer exam, a new hire at an agency who has to be licensed before selling, or an existing agent with a renewal deadline. The home page calls it "CA's first approved online pre-licensing school, trusted by 100k+ students for Pre-License & CE", and the About page describes the company as California based, with "over 20 years of experience providing insurance pre-licensing classes".

The About page goes further on its origins. It says the school was the first in California to replicate a classroom experience with streaming video, and calls itself the first provider in the state "to provide DOI APPROVED insurance prelicensing and continuing education courses over the internet". The national page puts the scale at "over 150,000 individuals" helped to obtain their insurance licenses and keep them updated and compliant.

Two paths: pre-license and CE

The home page splits visitors into two groups. "I Want to Get My Insurance License" leads to pre-license training, with the promise that you can "be ready in as little as 15 days". "I Already Have My License & Need CE" leads to continuing education, which the page says you can "finish in just a few hours". The national pre-license page lists every US state plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico in its state selector, and the content then switches to that state's site. The California site carries the most detail.

How the pre-license course works

A pre-license program combines streaming video classroom instruction, online textbook material and practice exam questions with the correct rationale. The national page describes it as "online textbooks, audio, exams and video", and the California About page specifies "over 300 practice examination questions that include the correct rationale". You can attend a lecture "anytime 24/7 from any location in the nation", and the FAQ explains that all video and audio is streamed on demand, so you can drag the timeline to any point without loading the whole file.

StudyHall is the practice testing center that sits next to the course. On the California site it offers "over 1000 updated test questions" that you can take as a final exam or as quizzes for a specific study area, and it lets you simulate the state exam in the same timed format. The national page describes StudyHall as giving access to "hundreds, sometimes thousands" of test questions, depending on the state. A Video Cram Course is listed among the products, and the national page adds that live instructor-led exam prep classes are "coming soon".

The licensing path, step by step

The site frames the whole process in four steps: review the educational objectives, schedule and pass your exam, fill out the state application, and give state exam feedback. The California Schedule Exam page then spells out what that means in practice:

• Complete the prelicensing education. You finish the required program time (the page lists 12, 20, 40 and 52 hour programs) and pass the course's final exam. You then receive a passing certificate from PreLicenseTraining.com and an email confirming that your completed courses were submitted to the Department of Insurance.
• Pass the state exam with PSI. You register with PSI, the testing provider authorized by the California DOI, and choose an online or onsite exam and its language. The page includes a table of time limits: 90 minutes for most single lines, 120 for Personal Lines, and 180 for Life, Accident and Health or for Property and Casualty.
• Get fingerprinted. A background check through an approved LiveScan vendor is required, unless you already hold an active license or were fingerprinted for one within the last year.
• Apply. After passing, PSI issues a 12 digit DOI ID number, and you submit the "FLASH" application on the DOI website.

The same page covers cancellation rules (at least two days before the exam to keep your fee) and test-taking strategies, and it points back to the course: review the educational objectives, StudyHall and the Video Cram Course before the exam.

California program requirements

The Program Requirements page lays out how many hours each California license needs. Property, Casualty, Life Only, Accident and Health, Personal Lines and Limited Lines Automobile each require 20 hours of general prelicensing education plus 12 hours of Ethics and the California Insurance Code. Combined Property and Casualty, or Life, Accident and Health, require 40 hours plus the 12. The ethics hours are taken only once, even if you add more license types later. A commercial insurance upgrade from Personal Lines needs 20 hours, and bail licenses need 20 hours with the ethics material included. Holders of designations such as CLU, CPCU, CIC or CFP may only need the 12 ethics hours for certain licenses, and independent and public adjusters have no prelicensing requirement. For a learner this is a useful map of which course to buy before spending anything.

Guarantee and price

The home page makes two promises under "Pass & Price Guarantee". It says the school does not just help you pass but guarantees it, and adds: "And we won't be beat on price. Ever." The About page repeats that its guarantee to pass the first time is "unmatched in the industry" and that it offers "the highest quality study material at the lowest cost". The home and About pages print no course prices.

Free resource, mentors and support

The home page offers a free download, "14 Things No One Tells You About Getting Into Insurance", in exchange for a name and email, pitched as the things most schools skip. A Mentors & Recruiters program has its own sign-up and login, aimed at people who bring new licensees into the industry. The resource menu links to prelicense study schedules, a "What Courses Do I Need?" helper, license status checks through the DOI and SIRCON, the California Insurance Code and the educational objectives. Support runs through a contact form and a toll-free number.

Who it suits

PreLicenseTraining.com suits someone in California, or another state the selector covers, who wants to study for a producer license on their own schedule from video lectures and a large practice question bank, without sitting in a classroom. The California pages are especially useful for working out which hours you need and what happens after the course. Licensed agents can use the same account for CE. Learners who want live teaching should note that instructor-led classes are still announced as coming soon.