The Missouri Property and Casualty Producer License
Missouri keeps Property and Casualty as separate statutory lines - "property insurance coverage for the direct or consequential loss or damage to property of every kind" and "casualty insurance coverage against legal liability, including that for death, injury or disability" (RSMo 375.018) - and sells them as one exam, code 55, at $40.
Entry is short: be 18, pass the exam, apply and pay $100. No pre-licensing course and no fingerprints. The DCI's own resident-producer page lists exactly those three steps.
The combined paper is the better buy, and the better sitting. Two standalone exams cost $64 against $40 combined, and the DCI licence fee is $100 either way. But the real advantage is time: the combined exam carries the same 100 items as Property alone and allows three hours rather than two. Missouri's Property and Casualty combination buys an extra hour, not extra questions - unlike the Life and Accident & Health combination, which adds five items.
This is also the licence surplus lines sits on. RSMo 384.043.2 issues a surplus lines licence only to "a qualified holder of a current resident or nonresident property and casualty insurance producer license." Property alone or Casualty alone will not carry it. The surplus lines rules themselves are in the Casualty guide.
One producer protection is unique to this side of the book. RSMo 375.031(4) defines "insurer" for the independent-producer contract statutes as "any property and casualty insurance company doing business in Missouri." The 90-day termination notice right at RSMo 375.033 therefore reaches P&C producers and no one else - and only independent producers, since RSMo 375.031(3) expressly excludes exclusive or captive ones.
Three Ways Into Missouri's Property-Casualty Market
Property and Casualty Insurance Producer (code 55): 100 items in 3 hours, $40. Property Insurance Producer (code 52): 100 items in 2 hours, $32. Casualty Insurance Producer (code 53): 100 items in 2 hours, $32.
All three papers are the same size. 50 scored general items plus 40 scored Missouri items plus 10 pretest, so 90 of the 100 count on every one. What changes across the three is the syllabus each item is drawn from and, on the combined paper, the clock.
That makes the pace comparison unusually clean. Two hours for 100 items is 72 seconds per question. Three hours for the same 100 is 108 seconds. The combined exam covers more ground and gives you half again as long to do it, which is why candidates who know both syllabuses often find it the easier sitting rather than the harder one.
Passing is a scaled 70, not 70%. The handbook says the reported score "is neither the number of questions you answered correctly nor the percentage of questions you answered correctly," because Missouri equates across multiple forms of each exam.
A fourth paper is worth knowing about even though it is not a route in. Personal Lines (code 56) is 125 items in 2 hours 30 minutes at $32 - narrower authority, more questions, tighter pace. It cannot reach commercial risks, so it is an alternative only if your book is households.
Most Tested Topics on the Missouri Property and Casualty Exam
The combined paper draws its Missouri items from both halves of the book, but the questions that separate passes from fails tend to sit in the shared territory: how claims must be handled, what happens when an insurer refuses to pay, how rates are filed, and what a producer may and may not do with money. From the TESTivity Missouri regulations curriculum, statute-verified:
| Concept | The Missouri rule |
|---|---|
| The claims-practices threshold | A one-off mistake is not a violation. An act becomes an improper claims practice only if "it is committed in conscious disregard" of the act or "it has been committed with such frequency to indicate a general business practice to engage in that type of conduct" (RSMo 375.1005) |
| What the claims act does not cover | "It is not intended to cover claims involving workers' compensation, fidelity, suretyship or boiler and machinery insurance," and "nothing ... shall be construed to create or imply a private cause of action" (RSMo 375.1000.2) |
| Acknowledge a claim | 10 WORKING days from receipt, by payment, a written acknowledgment kept in the file, or an oral acknowledgment noted with its date (20 CSR 100-1.030(1)(A)) |
| When the clock starts | At the producer. "Notification to any agent of the insurer, including a producer representing the insurer, constitutes notification to the insurer" (20 CSR 100-1.030(2)) |
| Accept or deny | 15 WORKING days "after the submission of all forms necessary to establish the nature and extent of any claim" - not from notice of loss (20 CSR 100-1.050(1)(A)) |
| Complete the investigation | 30 days - plain days, i.e. calendar, by contrast with the express "working days" clocks above - after notification, "unless the investigation cannot reasonably be completed within this time" (20 CSR 100-1.050(4)) |
| Status letters | 45 days, again plain days rather than working days, then every 45, but only "if the investigation remains incomplete", and each must set out the reasons (20 CSR 100-1.050(1)(C)) |
| Claim forms on request | 15 CALENDAR days - the only clock inside the statute itself, and it says "calendar" (RSMo 375.1007(13)) |
| Limitations warnings | 30 days to a first-party claimant, 60 days to a third-party claimant - and only where the insurer is negotiating directly with a claimant "who is neither an attorney nor represented by an attorney" (20 CSR 100-1.050(1)(E)) |
| Vexatious refusal, the money | "Damages not to exceed twenty percent of the first fifteen hundred dollars of the loss, and ten percent of the amount of the loss in excess of fifteen hundred dollars" plus "a reasonable attorney's fee" - in addition to the loss and interest (RSMo 375.420) |
| Vexatious refusal, the gateway | The insurer must have failed to pay "for a period of thirty days after due demand therefor prior to the institution of the action", on a contract "issued or delivered in this state to a resident of this state" (RSMo 375.296) |
| Vexatious refusal, the exception | The list of covered lines opens with "automobile" and closes "except automobile liability insurance" (RSMo 375.420) |
| Rate filing | File AFTER use - within ten days after the manual, rating plan, policy or form takes effect (RSMo 379.321). Not prior approval |
| Commercial rates | Filed "for informational purposes only within ten days of use" and "not to be reviewed or approved by the department"; commercial underwriting rules are exempt from filing altogether (RSMo 379.321.6(1)-(2)) |
| The five carve-backs | The commercial exemption does not reach workers' compensation, medical malpractice liability, farm property and liability, assigned risk or residual market coverage, or any policy required by the division of workers' compensation (RSMo 379.321.6(4)) |
| Appointment | A producer may not act for an insurer unless "listed on the company register of appointed insurance producers." The insurer enters the name within 30 days of authorising the producer (RSMo 375.022) |
| Termination, and who hears about it | Both clocks are 30 days, but the recipient differs. For-cause termination on a RSMo 375.141 ground → notify the DIRECTOR within 30 days of the effective date. Any other reason → update company records only (RSMo 375.022) |
| The 90-day contract right | A P&C insurer may not terminate an independent producer's contract "except by mutual agreement or unless ninety days' written notice in advance has been given to the independent insurance producer AND the director" (RSMo 375.033.1) |
| The price of those 90 days | "During the ninety days' notice period the independent insurance producer shall not write or bind any new business on behalf of the insurer without specific written approval" (RSMo 375.033.2) |
| Fees from the insured | Permitted, but only "upon a written agreement between the insurance producer and the insured specifying or clearly defining the amount or extent of the compensation" - and the rule expressly reaches "adjustment of claims" (RSMo 375.116.3) |
| Charging above the filed rate | Prohibited absent that written agreement: no producer may "charge or receive from the applicant or insured any greater sum than the rate of premium fixed and shown on the policy" (RSMo 375.116.4) |
| Commission sharing | Permitted to a duly licensed insurance producer (RSMo 375.116.1). Missouri does not regulate the amount - RSMo 375.116.2 preserves "freedom of contract ... with reference to the amount of commissions or fees" |
Start with the threshold, because it changes the shape of every claims question. Missouri does not treat a single mishandled claim as an improper claims practice. RSMo 375.1005 requires either conscious disregard of the act, or conduct of "such frequency to indicate a general business practice." A question describing one late acknowledgment on one file is describing something that is not, by itself, a violation.
Then learn which clocks are working days and which are calendar days, because Missouri mixes them on purpose. Neither RSMo 375.1002 nor 20 CSR 100-1.010 defines "days" - the rule instead writes "working days" on the acknowledgment and determination clocks and plain "days" on the investigation and status-letter clocks. So the 10 and 15 are expressly working days, the 30 and 45 are plain "days" - calendar, by contrast - and RSMo 375.1007(13)'s fifteen is the only one the text calls calendar in terms. That mixture is exactly the kind of distinction a 40-item state section exists to test.
One rule citation to get right: 20 CSR 100-1.040 was rescinded on 30 July 2008. It used to carry the prompt-investigation standard. The 30-day investigation duty survives, relocated to 20 CSR 100-1.050(4). Anything citing 100-1.040 is citing a rule that no longer exists.
On vexatious refusal, two sections do two jobs and you need both. RSMo 375.420 supplies the damages formula - 20% of the first $1,500 of the loss, so a maximum of $300 on that tranche, plus 10% of everything above $1,500, plus a reasonable attorney's fee, all in addition to the loss and interest. RSMo 375.296 supplies the gateway: a thirty-day due demand that must run before suit is filed, on a contract issued or delivered in Missouri to a Missouri resident. It adds a presumption worth remembering - "failure of an insurer to appear and defend any action ... shall be deemed prima facie evidence that its failure to make payment was vexatious without reasonable cause."
On rate filing, Missouri is a competitive-rating state in substance, not just in procedure. General lines are file-after-use within ten days. Commercial property and casualty go further still - filed for information only and "not to be reviewed or approved." But five categories are carved back into full regulation, and two of them are Missouri additions most guides omit: farm property and liability, and residual market coverage. That second one is why RSMo 303.200.4 imposes prior approval on every form and rate of the Missouri Automobile Insurance Plan.
And on producer money, note the Missouri departure. RSMo 375.051 makes you a fiduciary in both directions - to the company for what you collect on its behalf, and to the applicant or insured for what you collect on theirs. But subsection 3 does not require a segregated premium trust account, provided the funds are "reasonably ascertainable from the books of account and records of the insurance producer." Many states mandate the separate account. Missouri mandates the traceability instead.
Moving to Missouri, or Writing Missouri From Elsewhere
Missouri is more generous here than its candidate handbook lets on, and the generosity is in the statute rather than in the candidate handbook - which is where most people look and find nothing.
If you are relocating, you may not have to sit the exam at all. RSMo 375.016(6): an individual licensed in another state who moves to Missouri must "make application within ninety days of establishing legal residence," and "no examination shall be required of that person to obtain any line of authority previously held."
A second route covers recent licensure. RSMo 375.016(5) exempts an applicant who is "currently licensed in that state" or whose application is received "within ninety days of the cancellation" of the out-of-state licence. Note the two ninety-day clocks measure from different events - one from the cancellation of the old licence, the other from establishing residence in Missouri. Check both; a relocating producer can satisfy one and miss the other.
The DCI does administer this, so it is a handbook gap rather than a practical one. Its FAQ says: "If you have just moved to Missouri, you will not have to take an exam if you hold a current agent, broker or producer license in another state, or have held a current agent, broker or producer license in another state within the past 90 days, and apply within 90 days of relocating to Missouri."
And the DCI carves out Title agents - on a different FAQ answer from the relocation one. To "I have a license in another state. Do I still have to take an examination?" the DCI replies: "No. If you hold a resident agent, broker or producer license in another state, you are not required to take an examination for those lines in which you are licensed, with the exception of Title agents." The words appear nowhere in RSMo 375.016(5) or (6), but RSMo 375.016(6) waives examination "except where the director determines otherwise by regulation" - an express delegation. Plan for the DCI's narrower version if Title is in your book.
Staying nonresident? The process is lighter than the paperwork usually implies. The fee is $100 through NIPR, you must be 18, and the DCI states plainly that "a Certification Letter from the producer's home state is not required" - home-state standing is verified through the Producer Database (PDB) report instead. Consistent with that, 20 CSR 700-1.030 "Certification Letters" was rescinded on 30 July 2008.
Nonresident continuing education rides on the PDB too. The DCI verifies compliance "through PDB as proof of continuing education compliance" rather than asking you to file transcripts - so satisfying your home state generally satisfies Missouri.
Nonresident surplus lines is reciprocal as well. The DCI states: "If you are a non-resident, we may issue a license based on reciprocity if you are currently licensed in your home state for Surplus Lines" - though the underlying P&C producer licence requirement of RSMo 384.043.2 still applies.
Two things reciprocity does not carry across. Missouri's appointment requirement is separate: you may not act for an insurer unless you appear on that insurer's company register (RSMo 375.022), whatever your home state shows. And Missouri's product gates - the annuity training, the Long-term Care Partnership training - are Missouri requirements attached to the product, not to the licence.
And the handbook still says none of this. Its licensure sections state that candidates "must: Pass the required examination(s) for the type of license you are seeking," with no exceptions listed. The full picture of the three statutory waivers is in the Life & Health guide, which owns that module.
Renewing a Missouri Producer License
Missouri's renewal machinery is fully published, which is not true of every state, and the numbers are all in one section plus two DCI pages that corroborate them.
| Item | The rule |
|---|---|
| Term | Two years. RSMo 375.018 issues "an insurance producer license for a term of two years" |
| Renewal date | Your birth date. The statute says renewal falls "on the birth date of the producer"; the DCI FAQ says licences renew "every two years on the producer's birthday" |
| Fee | $100 - "one hundred dollars for each license" |
| Due | "Your renewal is due on or before the expiration of your license" |
| Late penalty | $25 PER MONTH - "a penalty of twenty-five dollars per month that the license was expired" |
| Reinstatement window | 12 months from the due date, on proof of CE plus the accrued penalty plus the renewal fees owed |
| Where | NIPR |
| Address changes | Report within 30 days |
The birth-date basis is the thing to plan around. It means your renewal date has nothing to do with when you were licensed, and it means two producers in the same agency almost certainly renew in different months. Missouri does not send the deadline to you on a schedule you control - check it once and diary it.
The late penalty is monthly, not a flat fee. A licence three months past due carries $75 in penalty on top of the $100 renewal. The DCI puts it plainly: "A late fee of $25 per month shall be assessed for any producer who fails to renew their producer license by the expiration date," and it "continues until all required documents and fees have been received for a maximum of one year."
Twelve months is the outer edge of the reinstatement right. Within that window the statute lets you "reinstate the same license" on proof of continuing education, the accrued monthly penalty, and the renewal fees owed. Business entities follow the same window and the same penalty structure.
What happens after the twelve months is not published. Neither RSMo 375.018 - which stops at the reinstatement right - nor the DCI renewal page says whether an applicant must then reapply as new and re-sit the exam. We have read both. Rather than guess, treat the twelve months as a hard boundary and do not let it pass; if you are approaching it, call the DCI on (573) 751-3518 rather than relying on any secondary source, this one included.
CE proof is what gates reinstatement, which is the practical answer to "what happens if I fall short on CE?" RSMo 375.020 itself is silent on any penalty, and the DCI's CE page does not state one - but RSMo 375.018 conditions reinstatement on "providing proof of continuing education." The mechanism is a gate, not a fine.
Three CE reliefs exist and are worth knowing before you need them. The director may waive the requirement on a showing that compliance is not feasible before renewal, "including, but not limited to: (1) Serious physical injury or illness; (2) Active duty in the armed services for an extended period of time; (3) Residence outside the United States; or (4) The licensee is at least seventy years of age." Separately, "for good cause shown, the director may grant an extension of time ... but such extension of time shall not exceed the period of one calendar year."
And three exemptions sit in the statute itself: holders of licence types not requiring examination, limited lines and restricted licensees as the director exempts, and life producers limited to policies or annuities of $20,000 or less for funeral expenses.
Appointment renewal is a separate matter from licence renewal. Your licence keeps you licensed; your place on an insurer's company register keeps you able to act for that insurer (RSMo 375.022). Losing one does not automatically resolve the other.
What It Costs
Two payments to get licensed and nothing else. No course fee, no fingerprint fee. Then $100 every two years to keep it, on your birth date - plus $25 for every month you are late.
Eligibility Requirements
At least 18, exam passed for each line applied for, $100 paid, and no act committed that is a ground for denial under RSMo 375.141 (RSMo 375.015(1)). No course, no prints.
Order of operations: exam first. The DCI's numbered steps read 1. "Be 18 years old." 2. "Pass any necessary examination." 3. "Submit an application and pay the $100 fee." The handbook adds that you should wait "24-48 hours" after passing before applying, so the results can load. A passing score stays valid for one year.
Then get appointed before you write anything. RSMo 375.022 bars a producer from acting for an insurer unless "listed on the company register of appointed insurance producers authorized to sell, solicit or negotiate contracts of insurance on behalf of the insurer." The insurer has 30 days to enter you - but the bar operates on you, not on it.
Premiums are held in trust from day one, in both directions. RSMo 375.051 makes you "responsible in a trust or fiduciary capacity" to the company for money collected on its behalf, and to the applicant or insured for money collected on theirs. Missouri does not require separate bank accounts per payor, provided the funds are "reasonably ascertainable from the books of account and records of the insurance producer."
And be careful with fees. You may charge the insured a fee, but only under a written agreement "specifying or clearly defining the amount or extent of the compensation" (RSMo 375.116.3) - and that rule expressly covers claims-adjustment services too. Without the writing, charging "any greater sum than the rate of premium fixed and shown on the policy" is unlawful.
Keeping the License
Important CE details: 16 credit hours per two-year cycle, of which 3 must cover ethics, Missouri law and producer duties to the department (20 CSR 700-3.200(2)), and the 16 does not increase with the number of lines held. Missouri allows excess hours to carry forward to the immediately following period (RSMo 375.020.4), which is unusual.
16 credit hours every two years, of which 3 are a single combined block. The 16 is statutory (RSMo 375.020.1). The 3 is regulatory and is not three hours of ethics alone: 20 CSR 700-3.200(2) requires producers to "complete three (3) hours of instruction covering ethics, Missouri law, and producer duties and obligations to the department during any two-(2-)year licensure period." RSMo 375.020.1 mandates business-ethics content without naming an hours figure, so cite the rule, not the statute - and note that Missouri's CE rule lives in 20 CSR 700-3, not 700-1. RSMo 375.020.1 mandates business-ethics content without naming an hours figure, so cite the rule rather than the statute.
The 16 does not grow with lines held. The DCI lists Life/Health 16, Property/Casualty 16, and "Life/Health + Property/Casualty: 16 hours any combination." Title producers do 8.
Excess hours carry forward to the immediately following two-year period (RSMo 375.020.4) - unusual, and worth planning around. What does not carry is a repeat: "Courses may not be duplicated during a renewal period."
Who approves the courses is a three-party answer. Approval authority rests with the director, assisted by the nine-producer insurance advisory board under RSMo 375.019. But providers register through SBS (State Based Systems), Pearson VUE runs provider support, and the DCI links an approved-course catalog hosted by Sircon. A course approval lasts one year, providers may renew a course 90 days before its renewal date, and completions must be reported electronically within 30 days.
You can check your own record at SBS Connect rather than waiting for a renewal notice to tell you something is missing.
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