Maryland Life & Health Insurance Exam — Study Guide

This chapter covers only the Maryland-specific rules a resident Life & Health producer must know for the state portion of the licensing examination and for day-to-day practice. It supplements the national chapters on insurance concepts, life insurance, annuities, and health and disability insurance.

Maryland insurance law lives in two places, and the exam expects you to tell them apart:

• The Insurance Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland — cited as Md. Code, Ins. § 10-103, § 27-209, and so on. This is statute, enacted by the General Assembly. The Titles that matter most to you are Title 2 (the Commissioner), Title 9 (impaired entities and the guaranty corporation), Title 10 (producer licensing), Titles 15 and 16 (health and life/annuity policy provisions), and Title 27 (unfair trade practices, unfair claim settlement, and fraud).
• The Code of Maryland Regulations (COMAR), Title 31 — the rules adopted by the Insurance Commissioner. COMAR citations run Title.Subtitle.Chapter.Section, so COMAR 31.09.05.04 is Title 31 (Maryland Insurance Administration), Subtitle 09 (Life Insurance and Annuities), Chapter 05 (Replacement), Section .04 (Duties of Insurance Producer).

A note about numbers. Rules that are stable and knowable — whether a regulation exists, what conduct is prohibited, what a notice must contain, who must sign what, who must report to whom — are stated affirmatively in this chapter. Maryland does have a guaranty corporation. Maryland does have a replacement regulation. Maryland does have an unfair trade practices act and a separate unfair claim settlement practices subtitle. Maryland does impose a best-interest standard on annuity recommendations. None of that is in doubt.

What moves is the arithmetic: CE hour counts, licensing and renewal fees, free-look day counts, filing windows, and guaranty dollar limits. Read the citation attached to each figure literally. A figure that carries a dated citation was read from that named source on that date — the statute section, COMAR regulation, or Maryland Insurance Administration page cited, and nothing else. A figure that still carries a bracketed verify-current flag was not confirmed from a primary source and must be checked with the Maryland Insurance Administration at insurance.maryland.gov (Producer Licensing, 200 St. Paul Place, Baltimore) before you rely on it. Maryland amends this article every legislative session, so treat even a dated figure as perishable, and never quote a dollar amount or a day count to a real consumer out of a study guide.

1. The Maryland Insurance Administration and the Commissioner

Maryland's regulator is the Maryland Insurance Administration (MIA), an independent State agency headquartered in Baltimore. It is not a division of a larger department — a point Maryland exam writers like, because several neighboring states house insurance regulation inside a department of banking or business regulation.

The MIA is headed by the Insurance Commissioner, who is appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate and serves a 4-year term (Md. Code, Ins. §2–103(a); checked 2026-09-05). The Commissioner is directly responsible to the Governor and may be removed by the Governor for malfeasance, incompetence, or failure to carry out the duties of office. The Commissioner appoints a Deputy Commissioner subject to the Governor's approval, and appoints associate commissioners who run the MIA's units (Life and Health, Property and Casualty, Compliance and Enforcement, Consumer Education and Advocacy, Examination and Auditing, and the Insurance Fraud Division). Where the national chapters say "the Commissioner," in Maryland that means this appointed officer, acting through the Administration.

Powers and duties

The Commissioner's authority under Title 2 of the Insurance Article includes:

• Licensing and regulating insurers, health maintenance organizations, nonprofit health service plans, insurance producers, adjusters, public adjusters, advisers, and surplus lines brokers.
• Rulemaking — adopting the regulations that become COMAR Title 31, through Maryland's Administrative Procedure Act notice-and-comment process, with legislative review by the AELR Committee.
• Investigation — examining any person's insurance affairs and transactions to determine whether the Insurance Article has been violated, including the power to issue subpoenas, compel testimony, and require production of records.
• Examination of insurers — the Commissioner examines every authorized insurer's financial condition and market conduct, and Maryland law requires the Commissioner to examine each domestic insurer and health maintenance organization at least once every 5 years (Md. Code, Ins. §2–205(b)(2); checked 2026-09-05). The examined company pays the reasonable cost of the examination.
• Hearings and orders — after notice and an opportunity for a hearing, the Commissioner may issue cease-and-desist orders, order restitution, impose civil penalties — against a producer, not less than $100 and not more than $5,000 for each violation of the Insurance Article (Md. Code, Ins. §10–126(c); checked 2026-09-05) — and deny, suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew or reinstate a license.
• Solvency regulation — supervision, rehabilitation, conservation, and liquidation of impaired or insolvent insurers under Title 9.
• Form and rate review — life, annuity, and health policy forms must be filed with and are subject to disapproval by the Commissioner; forms that are misleading, ambiguous, or contrary to law are not permitted.
• Consumer services — receiving, investigating, and mediating complaints against insurers and producers, and publishing consumer guides and complaint data.

Two kinds of examination

Distinguish a financial examination (is the company solvent? are its reserves adequate? are its books accurate?) from a market conduct examination (how does the company actually behave — advertising, producer licensing and appointment, underwriting, replacement handling, claim settlement, complaint records?). A producer's file work — replacement forms, suitability documentation, advertising copy, complaint responses — is exactly what a market conduct examiner pulls.

Enforcement and your due process rights

A licensee facing adverse action is entitled to written notice of the alleged violation and an opportunity for a hearing before the Commissioner or a designee. Final orders are subject to judicial review in the Maryland circuit court. Remedies available to the Commissioner run from a private letter of concern through civil penalties, restitution, probation, suspension, revocation, and referral for criminal prosecution.

The Insurance Fraud Division

The MIA operates an Insurance Fraud Division. Under Md. Code, Ins. § 27-802, an authorized insurer, its employees, and insurance producers who in good faith have cause to believe insurance fraud has been or is being committed shall report the suspected fraud in writing to the Commissioner, the Fraud Division, or appropriate federal, State, or local law enforcement. An independent insurance producer satisfies the duty by reporting in writing to the Fraud Division. This is a mandatory duty, not a discretionary one, and Maryland protects good-faith reporters: material submitted in connection with a fraud investigation is not subject to public inspection for as long as the investigating authority considers withholding necessary to complete the investigation or to protect the person investigated from unwarranted injury.

2. Producer Licensing in Maryland

Licensing lives in Title 10, Subtitle 1 of the Insurance Article ("Insurance Producers"), with implementing rules in COMAR Subtitle 31.03.

Who must be licensed

Under § 10-103, a person may not sell, solicit, or negotiate insurance in Maryland unless licensed as an insurance producer for the appropriate line of authority — for our purposes, Life and Health (Maryland issues life and health as separate authorities; many producers hold both). Acting without a license is prohibited, and so is paying an unlicensed person for activity that requires a license.

Resident license requirements

An individual resident applicant must:

1. Be at least 18 years of age.
2. Be of good character and trustworthy, judged against the standards in § 10-126. Note the structure: good character is an affirmative qualification, not merely the absence of a disqualifier.
3. Not have committed any act that would be a ground for denial, suspension, or revocation under § 10-126.
4. Pass the Maryland licensing examination for each line of authority sought.
5. File the application in the form the Commissioner requires — Maryland accepts electronic applications through NIPR (nipr.com) — and pay the $54 initial licence fee (Md. Code, Ins. §2–112(a)(6)(iii); MIA, "Producer Initial and Renewal Licenses," insurance.maryland.gov; checked 2026-09-05).
6. Disclose background information, including criminal history and prior administrative actions, with supporting documentation.

Pre-licensing education — read this carefully

This is the single most out-of-date item in older Maryland study material. For years Maryland required resident applicants to complete a Commissioner-approved pre-licensing course for each line of authority [the historical figure was 20 hours per line]. The General Assembly repealed the pre-licensing education and experience requirements for producer applicants who must pass an examination, by House Bill 265 / Senate Bill 336 of 2024, effective October 1, 2024. The MIA implemented the repeal by bulletin: Prometric stopped accepting new pre-licensing provider and course applications on August 1, 2024, and the roster of all active pre-licensing providers and courses went inactive on September 30, 2024, after which completion rosters were no longer accepted (MIA Bulletin 24-19, July 24, 2024; checked 2026-09-05). Any Maryland study material that still lists pre-licensing hours predates October 1, 2024.

Two things do not change with that repeal:

• The examination is still required. The gate is now the exam, not seat time.
• Product-specific training is still required. Annuity best-interest training and long-term care training are separate obligations, discussed below. "No pre-licensing hours" never meant "no training obligations."

The examination

Maryland contracts its producer examinations to a third-party vendor — currently Prometric, at prometric.com/maryland/insurance (MIA, "Producer Initial and Renewal Licenses," insurance.maryland.gov; checked 2026-09-05). Each exam has a general (national) portion and a Maryland state-law portion. You reserve a seat and pay the examination fee [verify] through the vendor. The MIA and the vendor publish a Maryland Insurance Candidate Information Bulletin with the current content outline, question count, time limit, passing score, and admission requirements — that document, not any study guide, is authoritative on exam mechanics. A passing result is valid only for a limited period within which you must apply for the license [verify the window]; let it lapse and you re-test.

Appointment by insurers

A license lets you sell; an appointment lets you represent a particular company. Recent change — this is where out-of-state material gets Maryland wrong. Maryland does not require an insurer to file a notice of appointment with the Commissioner, and there is no per-producer appointment fee. Instead, each authorized insurer keeps its own producer register, entering the producer's name, licence number, and appointment date within 30 days of appointing the producer, and sends the producer written documentation of the appointment; a producer may not act for an insurer until that written documentation is received (Md. Code, Ins. §10–118(b), (d)(2); checked 2026-09-05). The MIA states the point flatly: "Maryland no longer requires insurers to report appointments or terminations, except terminations for cause. Instead, the insurer is required to keep a Producer Register of its appointed agents beginning with those appointed on and after January 1, 2004 in accordance with Maryland Regulation (COMAR 31.03.13). Insurers are required every 31 days to check on whether any disciplinary action has been taken against their agents." (MIA, Producer Licensing FAQ, insurance.maryland.gov; checked 2026-09-05). Trap: the superseded rule — an appointment notice filed with the Commissioner plus an appointment fee — is still printed in older guides and still appears as an exam distractor. You do still need an appointment to be paid by a carrier; it is simply not filed with the State.

Termination for cause. When an insurer terminates a producer's appointment, employment, contract, or other insurance business relationship, it must update its own producer register with the effective date within 30 days of that date. If the termination is in whole or in part the result of a belief that the producer engaged in conduct set out in § 10-126, the insurer must notify the Commissioner and, on written request, supply further documents and records — the statute imposes the reporting duty without stating its own day count (Md. Code, Ins. §10–118(e); checked 2026-09-05) [verify the filing deadline the MIA applies to that notice]. Two clocks that are fixed: the insurer must mail the producer a copy of the notice, certified or overnight, within 15 days of giving it to the Commissioner, and the producer then has 30 days after receiving it to file written comments, which go into the Commissioner's file and travel with every copy of the report (Md. Code, Ins. §10–118(g); checked 2026-09-05). Insurers receive immunity, absent actual malice, for statements made under this section. The policy purpose is simple: the regulator learns about bad actors even when a carrier quietly cuts one loose.

License term, renewal, and reinstatement

Maryland issues individual producer licenses on a biennial basis, expiring on the last day of the producer's birth month. That is a birth-month cycle, not a common expiration date — a frequently tested Maryland distinctive.

To renew, you file the renewal application and pay the renewal fee of $69 — a $54 renewal fee plus a $15 fraud-prevention fee (MIA, "Licensing and Registration Fees" and "Producer Initial and Renewal Licenses," insurance.maryland.gov; Md. Code, Ins. §2–112(a)(6)(iii); checked 2026-09-05). You must also have completed your continuing education before you renew — specifically not later than 15 days before the expiration date of your licence (Md. Code, Ins. §10–116(a)(2); checked 2026-09-05). Maryland allows reinstatement for up to 1 year after the expiration date, on filing the reinstatement application, paying the $54 renewal fee, the $15 fraud-prevention fee, and a $100 reinstatement fee ($169 in all), and submitting proof of CE (Md. Code, Ins. §10–116.1(a); MIA fee schedule; checked 2026-09-05). Timing inside that year matters: apply within 60 days of expiry and the licence is reinstated retroactively to the expiration date; apply after 60 days and reinstatement is prospective only, from the date it is granted (Md. Code, Ins. §10–116.1(c); checked 2026-09-05). And your appointments do not survive the gap on their own — a licence that expires terminates them, though an insurer may reappoint retroactively if the licence is reinstated within the 60-day window (Md. Code, Ins. §§10–115(a)(2), 10–118(e)(2); checked 2026-09-05). After one year, you are re-applying from scratch, examination included.

Temporary licenses

Maryland provides for temporary licensees at Md. Code, Ins. § 10-120 and COMAR 31.03.01. The classic use is protective, not promotional: when a licensed producer dies or becomes mentally or physically disabled — or, under the regulation, enters active service in the armed forces — the Commissioner may issue a temporary license, without regard to the examination requirements, to the surviving spouse, next of kin, personal representative or the personal representative's appointee, legal guardian, or an employee of the firm or an officer or employee of the corporation, so the book of business can be serviced and wound up and policyholders are not stranded (Md. Code, Ins. §10–120(a); COMAR 31.03.01.01A; checked 2026-09-05). Three fixed numbers: the fee is $27; the Commissioner must issue or refuse in writing within 30 days of receiving the application; and the temporary license expires 15 months after its effective date (Md. Code, Ins. §§2–112(a)(5), 10–120(c)–(e); MIA fee schedule; checked 2026-09-05). The grant is restricted to the same kinds of insurance the original producer held, and if the business is sold or otherwise disposed of the temporary license terminates and must be returned for cancellation (COMAR 31.03.01.01B, D; checked 2026-09-05). It is not a shortcut into the business.

Nonresident licenses

Maryland issues nonresident producer licenses on a reciprocal basis under § 10-119, consistent with the federal Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and the NAIC's producer licensing model. A producer licensed and in good standing in their home state may obtain a Maryland nonresident license for equivalent lines without sitting for Maryland's examination, by applying (typically through NIPR) and paying the same $54 licence fee a resident pays (Md. Code, Ins. §§10–119(b)(1)(iii), 2–112(a)(6)(iii); MIA fee schedule, which lists the producer fee as "Resident / Non Resident"; checked 2026-09-05).

Three consequences the exam likes:

• The nonresident license is derivative — if the home-state license lapses, is suspended, or is revoked, the Maryland license is affected.
• The nonresident generally satisfies continuing education through the home state, provided the home state's requirements are substantially equivalent and it reciprocates.
• A nonresident who moves to Maryland must apply for a resident license within 90 days after establishing legal residence, and keeps the examination waiver for lines previously held if the application lands inside that 90 days (Md. Code, Ins. §10–119(h); checked 2026-09-05). Every licensee must file a change of legal name, trade name, e-mail address, or address within 30 days of the change; failing to do so is itself a violation of § 10-126(a)(1) (Md. Code, Ins. §10–117(b); checked 2026-09-05).

Grounds for denial, suspension, revocation, refusal to renew, and penalties

Md. Code, Ins. § 10-126 is the disciplinary heart of Title 10. After notice and opportunity for a hearing, the Commissioner may deny, suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew or reinstate a license, and, in place of or in addition to suspension or revocation, may impose a penalty of not less than $100 but not exceeding $5,000 for each violation of the Insurance Article and may order restitution to any citizen who suffered financial loss (Md. Code, Ins. §10–126(c), (d); checked 2026-09-05). Grounds include:

• Making a material misstatement, misrepresentation, or fraud in obtaining or attempting to obtain a license.
• Fraudulently or deceptively using a license.
• Violating any provision of the Insurance Article, any regulation, or any order of the Commissioner.
• Willfully misrepresenting the terms or effect of an insurance contract, application, or claim.
• Misappropriating, converting, or unlawfully withholding money belonging to an insurer, insured, beneficiary, or other person — the fiduciary violation.
• Conviction of a felony, a crime of moral turpitude, or any criminal offense involving dishonesty or breach of trust.
• Having a professional license or occupational license suspended or revoked for a fraudulent or dishonest practice, in Maryland or elsewhere.
• Engaging in fraudulent, coercive, or dishonest practices, or demonstrating incompetence, untrustworthiness, or financial irresponsibility in the conduct of business.
• Having a license denied, suspended, or revoked in another state or by another regulator.
• Cheating on a licensing examination or forging another's name on an insurance-related document.
• Failing to comply with an administrative or court order regarding child support, or a State tax obligation.