Maine Insurance Exam Guides
Pick the license you're studying for. Each guide covers Maine-specific requirements, fees, and official links — plus a free practice exam. Then scroll down to explore the Maine exam's state-law material, mapped.
Free study resource
What's actually tested on the Maine exam — the state regulations, mapped
Every Maine insurance exam reserves a block of questions for Maine-specific law — the fees, deadlines, limits, and rules that generic national study guides gloss over. This is that material: 145 facts from the TESTivity Maine regulations curriculum, organized the way we teach them. Open a branch, explore, and let the structure do some of the remembering for you.
Every fact below carries its source citation and the date we last verified it (most recently August 2026) — and is re-checked on a schedule. Facts marked tested are ones you should expect to see on the exam.
Life 19 facts
The life insurance rules that differ by state — free look, grace, reinstatement.
- Incontestability period tested2 years from issue, during the insured's lifetime (except for nonpayment of premium)
- Grace period for individual life tested30 days (one month); the insurer may charge up to 6% per year interest
- Window to reinstate a lapsed policy testedWithin 3 years of premium default (2 years for industrial life), on evidence of insurability and payment of overdue premiums
- Max interest chargeable on reinstatement, if capped testedOverdue premiums bear interest not exceeding 6% per year, compounded annually
- Free look for individual life tested10 days for individual life — the owner may return the policy within 10 days for a refund
- Free look for long-term care and Medicare supplement tested30 days for long-term care, in both the statute and the rule in identical words, and 30 days for Medicare supplement. Note the contrast with 10 days on individual life and 10 on individual health.
- Required nonforfeiture options testedCash surrender value, reduced paid-up insurance, extended term insurance
- Registrations required to sell variable products testedThe Life line plus FINRA securities registration; Variable Life and Variable Annuity is a separate Maine line
- Does the state regulate viatical/life settlements? testedYes — the Maine Viatical and Life Settlements Act
- Viator's rescission window testedThe EARLIER of 30 days after the contract is executed OR 15 days after the viator receives the payment
- Has the state adopted the NAIC best interest standard? testedYES — adopted the NAIC best interest standard (Rule Chapter 917), effective January 1, 2022. A producer recommending an annuity must act in the consumer's best interest.
- Suicide exclusion period tested2 years from the date of issue, while sane or insane - AND a separate 2 years running from the date of an increase in policy face amount. Mind the citation path: section 2525 has no subsection 5 or 6, and both provisions sit at 2525(1)(B)(5) and (1)(B)(6), inside the paragraph listing what a policy MAY exclude. Paragraph (1)(A) of the same subsection forbids limiting the time to sue to less than 3 years. Group life is governed separately.
- Notice before a life policy lapses for nonpayment testedAt least 21 days before the grace period expires, to the policyholder AND to any third party designated in writing, before an individual life policy in force one year or more may be terminated for nonpayment.
- Maximum policy loan interest testedAn election rather than a single number: a fixed maximum of 8% a year, or an adjustable maximum tied to a published monthly average from two months prior or to the cash-value crediting rate plus 1%. Adjusted no more often than every 3 months and no less often than every 12, and only where the indicated change is one-half of one per cent or more.
- When the policy loan right arises testedAfter 3 full years of premiums have been paid. The insurer may defer a loan 6 months except a loan to pay a premium, must print a table of loan values for the first 20 years, and may not terminate for indebtedness without 30 days' notice to the policyholder and any assignee.
- Misstatement of age on a life policy testedThe benefit is adjusted, never voided - the amount payable is such as the premium would have purchased at the correct age. Note the annuity counterpart is captioned misstatement of age OR SEX.
- Free look on an annuity contract testedMaine mandates NO GENERAL annuity free look. Section 2515-A is limited on its face to every individual LIFE insurance policy, and 2517 incorporates only 2518 to 2523, none of which is a right to examine. Two conditional rights exist: 15 days where the Buyer's Guide and disclosure document were not delivered at or before application, and 30 days on a replacement.
- Which rule governs life and annuity replacement testedRule Chapter 919. Every numeric clock in it belongs to an INSURER: the replacing insurer owes the 30-day unconditional-refund right to return and a 5-business-day notification to other insurers, the existing insurer owes a 5-business-day in-force illustration letter. The producer's rule, Section 3, contains no day count at all - only event triggers tied to the time of taking the application.
- Producer training required to sell annuities testedA one-time 4 credit hour course approved by the Bureau. Producers already holding a life line when the 2021 best-interest amendments took effect on 1 January 2022 had six months to complete it. Not to be confused with long-term care training, which is 8 hours plus 4 every 24 months.
Health 25 facts
Health coverage rules — continuation, prompt pay, mandates, public programs.
- Has the state expanded Medicaid under the ACA? testedYES — Maine expanded Medicaid, approved by a 2017 ballot initiative, with coverage beginning January 2019 (up to 138% of the poverty level)
- Effective date of expansion, if expanded testedJanuary 2019 (via the 2017 ballot initiative)
- Agency administering Medicaid testedMaineCare — Maine's Medicaid program, administered by the Department of Health and Human Services
- Federal marketplace or state-based exchange testedA STATE-BASED marketplace — CoverME.gov. Maine launched its own exchange for plan year 2022 under the Made for Maine Health Coverage Act.
- Name of the state CHIP program testedCub Care — Maine's CHIP (delivered alongside MaineCare)
- Clean-claim payment deadline, electronic tested30 days from proof of loss to pay or dispute a clean claim (Maine applies the same 30-day rule to electronic and paper)
- Clean-claim payment deadline, paper tested30 days — the same deadline as electronic claims
- Does the state distinguish electronic vs paper claims? testedNo split — a single 30-day clean-claim deadline for both paper and electronic claims
- Interest / penalty on late claim payment tested1.5% per month interest after the due date (18% per year) on an overdue clean claim
- Is the IRO's external review decision binding on the plan? testedYES — Maine runs a binding external review through a Bureau-contracted Independent Review Organization; request within 12 months, decision within 30 days (72 hours expedited), binding on the carrier
- Employer size at which federal COBRA applies testedFederal COBRA applies at 20 or more employees. The Bureau describes Maine's own continuation as the requirement for a company with FEWER THAN 20 employees - but 24-A M.R.S. 2809-A itself contains no employee-count threshold, and limits eligibility by trigger instead. Do not describe Maine's continuation as applying regardless of employer size.
- Employer size range covered by state continuation testedThe statute is trigger-based rather than size-based on its face: continuation runs from a temporary layoff, a qualifying permanent layoff, or job loss from a work-related injury or disease, after at least 6 months of coverage. The Bureau nevertheless states that Maine's requirement is for companies with fewer than 20 employees, federal COBRA occupying the field above that.
- Duration of state continuation coverage testedUp to 12 months from the last day of work (elect within 31 days)
- Election period for state continuation testedElect within 31 days
- Max premium as % of group rate testedUp to 102% of the group rate
- Grace period on an individual health policy testedTIERED BY PREMIUM MODE, not a single number: not less than 7 days for weekly premium policies, 10 days for monthly premium policies and 31 days for all other policies. Contrast individual life, where the grace period is a flat 30 days whatever the mode.
- Time limit on certain defenses, individual health tested3 YEARS, not the 2 taught nationally. After three years no misstatements except FRAUDULENT misstatements may be used to void the policy or deny a claim, and a claim for a loss commencing after three years may not be denied on the ground of a pre-existing condition not excluded by name or specific description.
- Free look on an individual health policy tested10 days from delivery, and the statute leads with its carve-outs: "Except as to nonrenewable accident policies and individual credit health insurance policies, every individual health insurance policy shall contain" the right to return.
- Pre-existing condition exclusions testedPROHIBITED OUTRIGHT, not merely limited. An individual, group or blanket contract issued by an insurer may not impose a preexisting condition exclusion - so there is no 12-month or 18-month look-back to memorise. Note the section heading still reads Limitations on exclusion and waiting periods from an earlier era.
- Structure of the individual and small group markets testedMERGED. All individual and small group health plans with effective dates on or after 1 January 2023 must be offered through a pooled market, and plans must conform to one of the CLEAR CHOICE designs the Superintendent develops for each metal tier - bronze, silver, gold and platinum - effective 1 January 2022 for individual plans. Carriers may offer up to 3 alternative designs with actuarial certification.
- Maine Guaranteed Access Reinsurance Association testedA mandatory-membership nonprofit REINSURANCE entity that reinsures high-cost individual-market lives so guaranteed-issue, community-rated premiums stay affordable. It is NOT a guaranty association and does NOT issue policies - a classic exam confusion. Insurers that have issued or administered medical insurance in Maine within the previous 12 months must participate.
- Free look on a Medicare supplement policy tested30 days, and any refund must be paid DIRECTLY TO THE APPLICANT by the issuer. Maine also runs an annual guaranteed issue period of at least one month each calendar year, designated by each issuer, during which standardized Plan A must be offered to all applicants regardless of health status.
- Producer training required to sell long-term care testedA one-time course of no less than 8 hours plus ongoing training of no less than 4 hours every 24 months thereafter, on top of a life or health producer license. The hours may be approved as continuing education under chapter 16 subchapter 7.
- Long-term care incontestability testedTHREE TIERS. Under 6 months: rescission on a misrepresentation material to the acceptance for coverage. Six months to under 2 years: material AND pertaining to the condition claimed. Two years and beyond: not contestable on misrepresentation alone, only on a showing the insured knowingly and intentionally misrepresented relevant health facts.
- Deadline to request an external review tested12 MONTHS from the final adverse health care treatment decision - three times the four-month federal default. The independent review organization decides within 30 days, or no more than 72 hours on an expedited review. Group plans must exhaust all internal grievance levels; individual plans only one.
Auto 16 facts
Auto insurance — minimum limits, fault system, required coverages.
- Fault-based (tort) or no-fault testedFault-based (tort). Maine has no no-fault system and no mandatory PIP, but it DOES require medical payments coverage ($2,000).
- Minimum bodily injury liability per person tested$50,000
- Minimum bodily injury liability per occurrence tested$100,000
- Minimum property damage liability tested$25,000
- The memorizable shorthand (e.g. 30/60/25) tested50/100/25, plus mandatory medical payments of $2,000 and towing/storage of $500
- Uninsured motorist: mandatory / must be offered & rejectable / not required testedMANDATORY — uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage must be provided equal to the bodily injury liability limits, unless the insured expressly rejects the higher amount in writing (never below the statutory minimum)
- Underinsured motorist status testedMandatory, matched to the UM limits (24-A M.R.S. § 2902)
- Personal injury protection status testedNo PIP — Maine is a tort state. But medical payments coverage of $2,000 is MANDATORY.
- Contributory / pure comparative / modified comparative negligence testedModified comparative negligence — a 50% bar. A claimant found EQUALLY at fault with the defendant recovers nothing. Below that, the jury reduces the damages 'to such extent as the jury thinks just and equitable' having regard to the claimant's share — a reduction stated as a DOLLAR amount rather than a strict percentage.
- The bar percentage, if modified comparative tested50% bar — a claimant equally at fault (or more) recovers nothing
- Assigned risk / residual market plan for auto testedThe Maine Automobile Insurance Plan (assigned risk), for drivers who cannot obtain coverage voluntarily
- Medical payments coverage - offered or compulsory? testedCOMPULSORY. A motor vehicle liability policy MUST PROVIDE at least $2,000 per person for medical costs sustained by the driver and passengers in that vehicle, limited to costs incurred within one year of the injury. There is no rejection form and no waiver. Policies covering more than 4 vehicles, and commercial risks such as garages, dealerships, repair shops and public parking, are excluded.
- Mandatory towing and storage coverage tested$500 per accident for reasonable towing and storage - and only where the vehicle is towed AT THE REQUEST OF A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER. A tow the driver arranged falls outside it. This coverage is close to unique to Maine.
- Subrogation and coordination against medical payments testedBoth barred. A casualty insurer may not subrogate against its own insured for medical services paid under med pay absent written approval and Superintendent authorization, and may not coordinate benefits against med pay or make it secondary to health insurance. The insured may claim under both, with no duplicate recovery for the identical expense; the insurer may still pursue the responsible third party directly.
- How long proof of financial responsibility must be maintained testedAt least 3 YEARS after conviction or adjudication and reinstatement of the license and registration; the Secretary of State may waive the demand after 3 years. Note the six-year figure elsewhere in the chapter is a DEPOSIT retention period, not an SR-22 duration. A certified policy may not be cancelled until at least 10 days after notice of cancellation is filed.
- When the insurer's liability attaches testedImmediately on the loss. The liability of every insurer insuring against accidental loss or damage shall become ABSOLUTE whenever such loss or damage, for which the insured is responsible, occurs - no judgment against the insured is needed first, and a judgment creditor has a direct route to the insurance.
CE & Renewal 7 facts
Continuing education and renewal rules — the numbers the exam loves.
- How long a license lasts before renewal testedThe resident producer license has NO EXPIRATION DATE and NO RENEWAL FEE. It continues in force so long as continuing education is met by the due date, and the Bureau renews it automatically on the first calendar day after that date. The Bureau reserves the word perpetual for NONRESIDENT licenses; for residents the accurate framing is no fixed expiration, conditioned on CE.
- What the renewal date keys off (flat term / birthday / birth year) testedBirth month plus birth-year parity. The biennium runs from the first day of the month after the birth month to the last day of the birth month two years later, ending in odd years for people born in odd years and even years for those born in even years. Individual resident producers owe no periodic fee at all; agencies, adjusters and consultants do.
- CE hours per renewal period, standard case tested24 credit hours of Bureau-approved continuing education every two years. Note 24-A M.R.S. 1482 caps what the Superintendent may require at not to exceed 30 hours - a source quoting Maine at 30 is quoting the ceiling rather than the requirement.
- CE hours if holding multiple license types (if different) testedStill 24 total — holding multiple lines does not multiply the hours
- Ethics hours required per period testedAt least 3 hours of ethics, inside the 24 rather than on top of them.
- What happens if CE is not completed (fine / expiry / cancellation) testedNO GRACE PERIOD. A penalty of $25 per outstanding credit hour, capped at $250, is assessed the day after the compliance date. You may keep selling for 60 days while you cure; at 60 days out of compliance the license is subject to a 60-day suspension, during which you may not sell, solicit or negotiate; still non-compliant at the end of that suspension and the license is terminated.
- Any CE exemption (e.g. long-service agents) testedNonresidents satisfy Maine by satisfying their home state - Maine's CE obligation attaches to resident licensees. A first biennium ending less than one year after licensure is waived outright, and the Bureau waives or defers CE for a licensee called to active military service on a written request with duty papers. There is no age-based or long-service exemption on the Bureau's waiver page.
Property 13 facts
Property insurance — rate regulation, residual markets, catastrophe exposure.
- Rate regulation system (file-and-use / prior approval / use-and-file) testedCOMPETITIVE FILE-AND-USE with prior filing — rates are filed at least 30 days before their effective date and take effect unless the Superintendent acts within 30 days. Rates must not be excessive, inadequate, or unfairly discriminatory.
- Is insurance credit scoring permitted in personal lines? testedPermitted but restricted in personal lines: an insurer may not use race, sex, sexual orientation, religion, national origin, income, address, ZIP code, or marital status, may not decline, cancel, nonrenew, or set a renewal rate SOLELY on credit, and must use a report no more than 90 days old.
- Does the state have a FAIR Plan? testedNO FAIR Plan and no property insurance underwriting association. Maine's residual mechanism is two-stage: 24-A M.R.S. 2325-A lets the Superintendent establish a VOLUNTARY market assistance plan, and 2325-B a MANDATORY standby program that activates only where voluntary participation proves insufficient - requiring proof of 2 declinations, capping dwelling coverage at $300,000 and any liability limit at $300,000, compelling membership, and expiring 2 years after it becomes operational.
- Dominant catastrophe perils in the state testedWinter storms and nor'easters, coastal wind, ice storms, and river and coastal flooding are Maine's dominant perils — the exposure is weather-driven, not hurricane-frequent.
- What license you must already hold to write surplus lines testedAn existing Maine RESIDENT PRODUCER license, plus surplus lines authority added on top under 24-A M.R.S. 1415. The Superintendent must find the applicant competent and trustworthy with respect to handling surplus lines, and the applicant must maintain an office at a designated location in Maine. No examination is required, but a surety bond of not less than $20,000 aggregate liability is.
- Is a diligent-effort search of the admitted market required first? testedYes, and Maine states it qualitatively with NO declination count: coverage may be exported only where the insurance is not available after diligent effort has been made to place it with authorized insurers. Contrast 2325-B, where Maine does name a number - two declinations - for its mandatory market assistance program. Section 2006 lets the Superintendent designate open lines for export.
- Does the state mandate a standard fire policy? testedYES, and Maine prints the entire policy text inline in the statute with consecutively numbered lines rather than adopting the 1943 New York form by reference. No insurer may issue fire insurance policies on Maine property other than the Maine standard fire insurance policy, though an endorsement or rider on a multi-state form may achieve compliance.
- The clocks inside the Maine standard fire policy testedProof of loss within 60 days after the loss; the loss payable 60 days after proof is received and the loss ascertained; coverage suspended where the building is vacant or unoccupied beyond 60 consecutive days; cancellation by the company on 10 days' written notice; and suit commenced within TWO YEARS after inception of the loss, where the New York form most national material teaches uses twelve months.
- Appraisal on a Maine fire loss testedSTATUTORY rather than merely contractual, because it sits inside the prescribed policy form. Each party selects a competent and disinterested appraiser and notifies the other within 20 days of the demand; the appraisers select an umpire and, failing for 15 days to agree on one, a judge selects the umpire.
- Deadline to begin adjusting a fire loss tested20 days after receipt of the notice of loss the insurer or its representative shall BEGIN adjustment - a separate and earlier clock from the 60-day payment period, and easy to conflate with one.
- Cancellation and nonrenewal of commercial property tested10 days to cancel, 30 days to nonrenew, with receipt presumed on the 3RD calendar day after mailing - against the 5th day under the personal-lines act. New-business window is 60 days, a hearing may be requested within 45 days, and the INSURER bears the burden of proof. Section 3007 expressly excludes anything subject to the personal-lines cancellation act.
- What triggers a hurricane deductible testedA NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HURRICANE WARNING, never wind speed and never a Saffir-Simpson category. The deductible may apply only from the moment the warning issues for a forecast zone covering any part of the municipality where the property sits, ending 24 hours after the last hurricane warning for that zone is terminated.
- Underwriting factors Maine bars outright testedTwo that catch out national material: an insurer may not act on the AGE OF A DWELLING alone, and may not refuse coverage because of a PREVIOUS OWNER'S LOSSES. Credit information is permitted but fenced - no race, sex, sexual orientation, religion, national origin, income, address, ZIP code or marital status in the score, no action taken solely on credit, and no report more than 90 days old.
Guaranty 11 facts
The safety nets when an insurer fails — and their limits.
- Name of the life & health guaranty association testedMaine Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association
- Life death benefit limit tested$300,000
- Life cash surrender / withdrawal value limit tested$100,000 net cash surrender value
- Annuity benefit limit tested$250,000 present value of annuity benefits (and $250,000 for a structured settlement)
- Health benefit limit tested$500,000 for a major-medical health plan; $300,000 for basic health, disability income, and long-term care
- Aggregate per-individual cap, if any tested$300,000 aggregate per life — except up to $500,000 where health-plan benefits are involved; a single owner of multiple policies is capped at $5,000,000
- Does the state follow the standard NAIC model limits? testedYes — standard NAIC model limits, with tiered health
- Name of the P&C guaranty association testedMaine Insurance Guaranty Association
- Per-claim cap testedCovered claims up to $300,000 per claim (a cyber claim up to $500,000). Workers' compensation claims are paid in full; unearned premium refunds are capped at $25,000 per policy, over a $50 threshold (the first $50 is not paid).
- Is using the guaranty association as a sales inducement prohibited? testedYes — using the existence of the guaranty association in a sale or advertisement is prohibited
- What the P&C guaranty association will not pay testedThe exclusions live in the DEFINITION of covered claim rather than with the dollar caps, and the date in it attaches to the INSOLVENCY, not to the policy. A covered claim arises under a policy "issued by an insurer that becomes an insolvent insurer after May 9, 1970" - so a policy written in 1965 is covered if the carrier fails today. Punitive damages are excluded, and so is a first-party claim by an insured whose net worth exceeds $25,000,000 on 31 December of the year before the insolvency. Claims must be filed within 24 months after the order of liquidation.
Workers Comp 6 facts
Who must carry workers' compensation and what it pays.
- Is workers' compensation mandatory for private employers? testedYes — essentially all private employers (and all governmental bodies) with employees must secure workers' compensation coverage
- Employee count at which coverage is required testedOne or more employees — Maine requires coverage from the first employee. Domestic-service workers and certain seasonal/casual agricultural and aquacultural laborers (with alternative liability coverage) are excepted.
- Agency administering workers' compensation testedThe Maine Workers' Compensation Board
- Temporary total disability wage replacement rate testedTwo-thirds of the gross average weekly wage, capped at 125% of the state average weekly wage (for injuries on or after January 1, 2020)
- Deadline to file a claim testedGive the employer notice within 60 days of the injury (for injuries on or after January 1, 2020); file a claim within 2 years of the injury (or the employer's first report), or within 6 years of the last payment if benefits were paid
- Ways an employer may comply (insure / self-insure / group) testedInsure with a licensed carrier, or qualify as an approved self-insurer
Regulator 5 facts
Who regulates insurance here and what powers the office holds.
- Name of the state insurance regulator testedThe Maine Bureau of Insurance, within the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation
- Title of the person who heads it testedSuperintendent of Insurance (Maine uses 'Superintendent,' not 'Commissioner')
- How the commissioner is chosen: elected / appointed by governor / appointed by other body testedAppointed by the Governor, subject to legislative review and confirmation, for a five-year term — not elected
- Where the state's insurance law is codified testedTitle 24-A of the Maine Revised Statutes (the Insurance Code), with regulations in Chapter rules of the Code of Maine Rules, 02-031 (Bureau of Insurance)
- Does the regulator sit somewhere unusual (e.g. inside a constitutional commission)? testedNo — a conventional Bureau of Insurance within the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation, headed by an appointed Superintendent
Cancellation 12 facts
When and how policies can be canceled or nonrenewed — heavily tested.
- Initial window during which an insurer may cancel more freely tested60 days — the auto cancellation-control restrictions do not apply to a policy in effect fewer than 60 days (property/homeowners uses a 90-day window)
- Notice days to cancel a homeowners policy inside the initial window tested20 days' notice to cancel homeowners (10 days for nonpayment); a reason is required unless the policy has been in effect fewer than 90 days
- Notice days to cancel a personal auto policy inside the initial window testedAt least 20 days' notice to cancel auto; 10 days for nonpayment. The notice must state the reason and the right to a hearing.
- Notice days for cancellation for nonpayment tested10 days for nonpayment of premium (auto and homeowners)
- Notice days for cancellation for other permitted causes tested20 days for permitted causes (auto)
- Notice days required for nonrenewal testedAt least 30 days' advance notice of nonrenewal for both auto and homeowners, and an EXPLICIT reason must be stated (vague terms like 'underwriting reasons' are not acceptable), with notice of the right to a hearing
- Must the reason be stated proactively, on request, or not at all? testedYes — an explicit, specific reason must be stated for cancellation and nonrenewal (auto and homeowners), with a hearing-right notice
- The new-business underwriting windows, side by side tested90 DAYS for personal property, 60 DAYS for personal auto - and a 120-day window that is routinely misquoted. Section 3049 stretches to 120 days only for residential property "expected to be continuously unoccupied for 3 months in any 12-month period" that is "other than the insured's primary residence" - a seasonal camp or second home, never the house the insured lives in. Inside the window the enumerated-reasons list does not bind the insurer.
- When notice is deemed received testedA postal certificate of mailing is conclusive proof of receipt on the 5TH calendar day after mailing for personal property and for personal auto - but on the 3RD calendar day for commercial property under section 3007. Maine's notice periods run from RECEIPT rather than from mailing, which is what makes the presumption matter.
- The distinctively Maine cancellation grounds testedELEVEN grounds once the window closes, and three of them are distinctively Maine: TRAMPOLINES and NON-COMPLIANT SWIMMING POOLS, each cancellable 30 days after notice, and DOG BITE LOSSES, cancellable unless the insured removes the dog after notice. All three carry a cure; only the first two carry a 30-day clock. The rest are nonpayment; conviction of a crime increasing the hazard; fraud or material misrepresentation; negligent acts, omissions or failure to disclose material facts; violation of the policy's terms or conditions (ground 4-A); uninsurable physical changes; vacancy without custodial care; and failure to follow loss-control recommendations within 90 days.
- Permitted grounds to cancel a personal auto policy testedFour only, once the 60-day window has passed: nonpayment of premium; fraud or material misrepresentation affecting the policy or the presentation of a claim; violation of the policy's terms or conditions; and a named insured or operator whose driver's license is suspended or revoked, with exceptions for certain first and second suspensions. Age-based cancellation, nonrenewal or change is separately prohibited.
- What the Property Insurance Cancellation Control Act covers testedNarrower than homeowners. It reaches real property used SOLELY FOR RESIDENTIAL PURPOSES, of NOT MORE THAN 4 APARTMENTS, that is OWNER-OCCUPIED, plus residents' personal property and a natural person's personal liability. Automobile, workers' compensation, commercial and industrial risks all fall outside it and are governed by section 3007 instead.
Licensing 31 facts
How you get and keep the license — exams, fees, applications, background checks.
- Is there a standalone life license/exam? testedYes — a Life line with its own exam
- Is there a standalone health license/exam? testedYes — an Accident and Health or Sickness line with its own exam
- Is there a combined life+health license/exam? testedYes. Pearson VUE offers a combined Life, Accident and Health paper of 136 scored questions - 50 Life general, 50 Accident and Health general and 36 Maine Laws and Rules - as well as the standalone Life and Accident and Health papers. Maine's series codes are real but no verified code-to-exam mapping is published.
- Is there a personal lines license/exam? testedYes — a Personal Lines line with its own exam
- Is P&C one combined license, or split into Property and Casualty? testedBoth. Maine licenses Property and Casualty as separate lines of authority, and Pearson VUE offers them as individual papers OR as a combined Property and Casualty paper of 140 scored questions (50 Property general, 50 Casualty general, 40 Maine Laws and Rules), plus a narrower Personal Lines line at 100 scored questions.
- Does the life license cover annuities? testedYes — annuities are sold under the Life line (Variable Life and Variable Annuity is a separate line that also requires FINRA registration)
- Does the P&C license already include personal lines authority? testedNo — Personal Lines is its own line, but holding Property and Casualty covers personal-lines risks
- Full list of exam-based agent license types testedOne Maine producer license listing any of: Life · Accident and Health or Sickness · Property · Casualty · Personal Lines · Variable Life and Variable Annuity — plus limited lines (Credit, Travel, Title, and others)
- Exam administrator (Prometric / PSI / Pearson VUE) testedPearson VUE (formerly Promissor), at a physical test center only. The Bureau of Insurance ended online proctoring itself: no new registrations for online insurance examinations were accepted after 10 May 2025, and the last online sittings ran on 16 May 2025.
- Exam fee testedNOT PUBLISHED. Candidate handbook #122000 (March 2026) contains no dollar amount anywhere; no maine.gov page carries one; the Pearson VUE Maine voucher price list is the only source and is not publicly readable. Pearson VUE quotes the fee at reservation on (800) 274-4959.
- License application fee tested$25 total for a resident producer - a $15 application fee plus a $10 license fee - charged PER LICENSE rather than per line of authority. Nonresident is $55; surplus lines authority is $165. The $30 in 24-A M.R.S. 601(5) is the statutory ceiling, not the amount charged.
- Fee per insurer appointment tested$30 per appointment (per insurer), at issuance and biennially
- Passing score testedA SCALED 70, not a percentage. The handbook says the reported score is neither the number of questions answered correctly nor the percentage of questions answered correctly; raw scores are converted onto a 0-100 scale and equated across the several versions of each paper.
- Minimum age to be licensed tested18. Along with no disqualifying conduct under 24-A M.R.S. 1420-K, the fees, and a passing score on the examinations for the lines applied for.
- Is pre-licensing education required? testedNO course is required, and the statutory requirement was affirmatively REPEALED rather than merely absent: 24-A M.R.S. 1410(4) now reads only [PL 2007, c. 51, Sec. 1 (RP).]. Note the loose end - Rule ch. 542 Sec. 4(D) still prints a 16-credit-hour alternative and cites the repealed subsection as its own authority.
- Pre-licensing hours and any exceptions (e.g. Title, adjusters) testedNone in practice. The Bureau's published path for a first-time resident producer is exam first, then application, with no education step. Rule ch. 542 Sec. 4(D)'s unconformed 16 credit hours or 6 months of relevant full-time equivalent experience is a stale fragment of the pre-2007 regime, and Rule 542 is scheduled for amendment to update outdated provisions.
- Fingerprints, state police report, or none testedNEITHER. Maine does not fingerprint resident producer applicants and runs no separate criminal-history record check: Title 24-A chapter 16 grants no such authority, and NIPR's Maine page carries no fingerprint field. Screening runs on the uniform application's background questions plus Bureau review, with a right to a hearing. A federal 18 U.S.C. 1033 consent is a separate gate and must be obtained BEFORE a license application will be considered.
- Who takes the prints / issues the report testedNo vendor. The Maine Bureau of Insurance reviews the disclosures made on the NAIC uniform application filed through NIPR, and charges no separate background-check fee.
- Where you apply (Sircon / NIPR / state portal) testedNIPR electronically, or the NAIC uniform paper application by e-mail, fax or post to the Bureau. Those are the only two routes the Bureau lists. Maine's own ALMS Online portal handles maintenance - address, name and contact changes - rather than first applications.
- How Maine structures the examination testedTWO PARTS - a General Knowledge part and a Maine Laws and Rules part - independently passable. An individual who fails one part must pay the FULL examination fee but need only be examined on the part failed. Reservations for a resit are not made at the test center, and a candidate must wait one day before scheduling one.
- How long a passing score stays usable tested2 YEARS, and the clock starts on whichever part you passed FIRST. An individual who does not apply for a license within 2 years after passing one part or all of an examination must register and pay for a subsequent examination. The rule is statutory and appears NOWHERE in the candidate handbook.
- Is remote proctoring available? testedNO. The Bureau of Insurance directed Pearson VUE to stop: no new registrations for online insurance examinations were accepted after 10 May 2025, and the last online sittings ran on 16 May 2025. Candidates were rescheduled in person at no additional charge. Every Maine insurance examination is now taken at a physical test center.
- Where the exams are taken testedPearson Professional Centers in BANGOR and WESTBROOK are confirmed, and the handbook names both in a calculator-availability sentence - which confirms they exist but does not establish they are the only Maine sites. NO STREET ADDRESSES ARE PUBLISHED anywhere; the handbook directs candidates to the Pearson VUE locator. Book at least 24 hours ahead; there are no walk-ins.
- Identification required at the test center testedONE form, not two: a current government-issued photo-bearing primary identification, IN ENGLISH. Pearson VUE recognises no grace period on expiry - a licence that expired yesterday is expired. Arrive 30 minutes early; change or cancel 48 hours ahead or forfeit the fee; an excused absence may be requested within 14 days for illness, bereavement, a traffic accident, court duty, military duty or a weather emergency.
- Exemptions from examination testedEIGHT, across three subsections, and no professional designation among them. Subsection 1: current licensure in another state for the same lines in good standing, or an application received within 90 days of that license's cancellation. Subsection 2: a producer who MOVES to Maine and applies within 90 days of establishing legal residence. Subsection 3 carries six lettered paragraphs - (A) prior Maine licensure within 2 years on four conditions (CE met, voluntary termination, and still fully qualified); (B) travel insurance; (C) a resident title producer who is a Maine-licensed attorney; (D) mechanical breakdown; (E) motor vehicle rental; (F) equipment rental. The section is headed Exemption from examination and waives the exam only, never CE.
- Licences issued without an examination testedTwo, both 180 days and both $50. The TEMPORARY license is hardship-only - the surviving spouse or personal representative of a producer who dies or becomes disabled, a member or employee of a business entity whose designated individual dies or becomes disabled, the designee of a producer entering active military service, or where the public interest will best be served. The APPRENTICE license lets a sponsored employee write PROPERTY AND CASUALTY risks within the sponsor's authority, and expressly excludes life, annuities, long-term care and federal ACA activity.
- Is a carrier appointment required? testedNO. The Bureau: you do not need an active affiliation or appointment in order to remain actively licensed. An appointment is what authorises a producer to act as a particular insurer's agent; the INSURER files it within 15 days of the agency contract being executed or the first application being submitted, and pays $30 per producer per insurer biennially. Agency appointments are $0.
- How a producer must hold premiums testedAs TRUST FUNDS in a fiduciary capacity. Return premiums are due to the insured, or applied to outstanding balances, within 30 DAYS of receipt, while premiums owed to the insurer are payable promptly in accordance with the contract with NO day count. Rule ch. 540 requires one or more SEPARATE premium trust accounts, bars placing fiduciary funds in a personal or business operating account under any circumstances, bars pledging the account, and requires the account and its cheques to carry the words premium trust account.
- How long producer records must be kept testedAt least 3 years after completion of the respective transactions, available for inspection by the Superintendent - against 6 years for premium trust account transaction records under Rule ch. 540.
- Maine's rebating safe harbour testedGifts of NOT MORE THAN $100 PER YEAR PER PERSON and raffle prizes NOT VALUED IN EXCESS OF $500, and neither may be CASH. Note Maine bars both sides of the transaction - section 2160 and 2162 prohibit giving a rebate and section 2163 prohibits receiving one. Free or discounted services are permitted only where receipt is not contingent on purchasing insurance, they are offered uniformly, and written disclosure is made beforehand.
- What a licensee must report, and how fast tested30 DAYS for a change of address, telephone number, E-MAIL ADDRESS or name or other material change; for any criminal conviction other than a traffic violation; and for an administrative action by another jurisdiction, running from FINAL DISPOSITION. Separately, a pending criminal prosecution must be reported within 30 days of the INITIAL PRETRIAL HEARING DATE - a clock that starts long before any conviction.