Last reviewed 6 November 2026 against the sources linked in this post.
Insurance agent training has to teach the conversation as well as the product. In 2024 the Kansas Department of Insurance closed 3,661 complaints, 3,093 of them within its jurisdiction, and its Complaint Index Report says 5% of complaints concerned marketing and sales. That is the part of the file where an agent's own conversations matter most. The same report says complaints help the department spot companies or agents that may need investigating.
This is a list of 10 ready-made courses for agency principals and sales managers who onboard new agents and producers. Licensing and continuing education (CE) courses sit elsewhere: this list covers onboarding, selling skills, ethics, fraud and client data. Each group ends with an Our pick.
All 10 courses at a glance
| Course | What it covers | Length | Legal duty cited here? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Insurance agent training: new agent onboarding | How the agency works, reading a policy, the needs-based conversation | 50 min | None cited here |
| Insurance sales training: conversation practice workshop | Discovery questions, fair wording, follow-up | 60 min | None cited here |
| Life, health and pension advice: needs-based selling and product rules | Needs first, types of cover, exclusions, underwriting | 40 min | None cited here |
| Selling regulated and high-trust products: suitability, disclosure and fair conduct | Suitability, disclosure, vulnerable customers | 45 min | None cited here |
| Consumer protection & UDAAP | The tests for unfair, deceptive and abusive practices | 35 min | Federal framework; insurance is mainly state law |
| Code of conduct | A four-question decision test for grey areas | 35 min | None cited here |
| Conflicts of interest | Disclosing relationships before deciding | 25 min | None cited here |
| Social engineering, fraud and deepfakes: phone, payment and impersonation scams | Verifying money requests | 35 min | None cited here |
| Phishing & social engineering | Spotting and reporting attacks | 30 min | None cited here |
| Data classification & handling | Labelling and sharing client data | 25 min | None cited here |
Onboarding and selling skills
These three take a new agent from the first week to a first client conversation they can defend.
Insurance agent training: new agent onboarding
This 50-minute course is a structured start for new and returning agents: how the agency is paid, how to read a policy, the needs-based conversation, licensing and continuing education, and disclosures. New agents need it because the first answers they give shape the client's trust. Use its sample question in the session: a client asks how the agency is paid, so what is the best response?
Insurance sales training: conversation practice workshop
This 60-minute workshop has four lessons and a seven-question final check. It teaches agents to ask discovery questions before they recommend, and to word an opening honestly: who you are, why you are calling and what is in it for the client. Confidence comes from practice before real clients, so run its question in a poll: when should you recommend a product?
Life, health and pension advice: needs-based selling and product rules
Six lessons, 40 minutes: why needs come before products, types of cover, what is and is not included, waiting periods and exclusions, pensions and annuities, and grey areas such as fit, disclosure and underwriting. Agents who sell life, health and pension cover need the plain-words habit. Its drawdown question works well live: the pot can rise or fall, and the income is not guaranteed.
Our pick: Insurance sales training: conversation practice workshop. Agents learn selling by saying it out loud, and its lessons are built around discovery questions, honest openings and fair wording.
Ethical and fair selling
In the US, insurance is regulated mainly by the states. Federal law says the business of insurance, and every person engaged in it, is subject to the laws of the several States that relate to its regulation or taxation. So check your state insurance department for the rules that bind your agents. These four courses teach the habits behind them.
Selling regulated and high-trust products: suitability, disclosure and fair conduct
This 45-minute course covers suitability, what must be disclosed and when, and records and escalation. Clear disclosure helps clients make an informed choice and gives the agent a record to point to. Try its hard case: a customer has just been bereaved and is unsure about a decision. The answer is to slow down and offer to continue later.
Consumer protection & UDAAP
The course teaches the three tests for unfair, deceptive and abusive practices, with US federal framing. For insurance, note that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau generally has no authority to enforce the Consumer Financial Protection Act against a person regulated by a State insurance regulator, except where that person offers a consumer financial product or service. Use the tests as a shared habit and add your state's rules. Its poster question is a good opener: "no monthly fee" was true, so what is the problem?
Code of conduct
A 35-minute course with a four-question decision test for grey areas, plus how to speak up and recognise retaliation. It sets the standard for a sale that is tempting but wrong for the client. In the session, ask what an agent should do when they answer "not sure" to one of the four questions. The course says to stop and ask.
Conflicts of interest
Commission differences between products can bias advice, so a conflict has to be disclosed before a decision, not after. The 25-minute course covers actual, potential and perceived conflicts and "disclose, then decide". Its sorting question works in a poll: is having a conflict of interest always a violation? The answer is no, but hiding one is a problem.
Our pick: Selling regulated and high-trust products. Suitability is the question behind good advice: did the product fit this client?
Fraud and client data
Policy files hold identity, health and bank details, and fraudsters value that data.
Social engineering, fraud and deepfakes: phone, payment and impersonation scams
Fraudsters impersonate clients, vendors or senior colleagues to redirect payments. This 35-minute course teaches agents to verify a money request through a number already on file, not a reply to the message. Ask the room: someone senior asks you to pay something and keep it quiet, so what do you do? Verify another way.
Phishing & social engineering
Policy applications carry personal and health data, which makes agents a worthwhile target for phishers. The 30-minute course traces a business email compromise and covers email, text, voice and QR codes, with a 12-question final check. Use its text-message scenario in the session: a link to fix a locked account. Do not tap, report it.
Data classification & handling
Client health and financial details need careful labelling and sharing. This 25-minute course explains classification levels and what to do when a file is mishandled. Its opener is quick: what does "anyone with the link" mean? Anyone who gets the link can open it, even if it was forwarded.
Our pick: Social engineering, fraud and deepfakes. One convincing call can move a payout, and "call back on a number you already have" is a habit that fits on a card.
How to roll the plan out
Start with onboarding and your state's required items, then the selling and ethics courses in the first 90 days. Schedule the fraud and data refreshers once a year, and add role-specific depth such as pension advice for agents who sell it.
Anchor each session to the same fact: 5% of complaints in the Kansas Department of Insurance's 2024 report concerned marketing and sales. Licensing is separate. Insurance agents are licensed by the states, and continuing education is set by each state. In Kansas, for example, the continuing education regulation says courses that prepare students for a licence examination do not count for credit. These templates are not approved CE courses, so check your state insurance department for the education an agent needs to stay licensed. No source cited here sets how often this training must be repeated, so set a frequency in your own programme. For the wider list, see our guide to compliance officer training.
Ways to run these courses on AhaSlides
You can offer all 10 in three formats:
- Self-paced courses. Use the AhaSlides course creator to send each new agent a course before their first client call, with less admin because completion is tracked for you.
- A live Q&A deck. Collect questions ahead of the session, then answer them in the room. For running it well, see our 9 tips for a successful Q&A session.
- Pre and post surveys. Measure what changed in the same session, and see how to track employee training completion.
Four slide types do most of the work:
- Pick Answer. Ask: "A client asks how the agency is paid. What is the best response?" Show the split before you reveal the answer.
- Word Cloud. Ask: "What makes a client trust an agent in the first minute?" The biggest words show what the team values.
- Rating Scale. Ask, before and after: "How confident are you explaining exclusions to a client?" Rate from 1 to 5 and compare the averages.
- Open Ended. Ask: "What would you want to know before recommending this policy?" Answers can be anonymous, so people say what they think.
FAQ
What training do insurance agents need?
Licensing first, which depends on your state, then onboarding, product, ethics and compliance training, with continuing education where your state requires it. The ten courses above cover the on-the-job part; your state insurance department sets the licence and CE side.
How do I become an insurance agent?
Through your state's licensing process, which usually involves an exam and an application. Some states also require pre-licensing education and others do not, so check your state insurance department. Check your state insurance department for the exact steps, because insurance is regulated by the states.
Do insurance agents need continuing education?
In many states yes, and the rules differ, so check your state insurance department. Kansas, for example, sets its rules in K.A.R. 40-7-20a.
This post is general information, not legal advice. For a decision about your own workplace, speak to a qualified lawyer or the regulator.
