Insurance License Hub

The West Virginia Life license

Life

Sells life insurance in West Virginia. This is one of the few states left that asks a course before the examination, and the Code delegates its length to the Board of Insurance Agent Education rather than fixing one.

Course

No count

A course is required and the regulator publishes no hour count for it.

Ways in

5

4 of them skip the state exam.

Exam

$84

Required on some routes and not others.

Every way to qualify

More than one route leads to this license, and which one you take changes what you study and whether you sit the exam. They are listed in full because the course is only the first of them.

  1. Route 1 Complete the approved program of study and pass the examination

    State exam required

    • A pre-licensing course in the Life line of authority, on criteria the Board of Insurance Agent Education sets each year and the Insurance Commissioner approves, approved by the Department

    West Virginia is the one state in this phase that still requires a course, and the duty is at 33-12-6(a)(9): "For new agents first licensed on or after July 1, 1989, completes a program of insurance education as established in section seven of this article." 33-12-7 is the Board of Insurance Agent Education's own section, and it is machinery rather than a duty: the Board sets the criteria each year and the Commissioner and Board may approve a course presenting those criteria and "the number of hours that the board and commissioner determine appropriate". So the requirement is mandatory and dated and the length is delegated, which is why no figure is shown here. The Commissioner's own candidate handbook makes it concrete: complete an approved program of study and present the Certificate of Course Completion, or the Commissioner's PL 789E form, at the test center before sitting the examination. Two clocks come with it. A pre-licensing certificate is good for six months from completion, and anybody not licensed within one year of passing the examination must complete pre-licensing again and retake the paper. 33-12-5(a) asks for the written examination unless exempt under 33-12-14, and 33-12-5(e) caps the retakes at seven, the only lifetime cap on this site. 33-12-6(a)(8) charges a $25 examination fee to the Commissioner on top of whatever the independent testing service charges. Both parts of a two-part paper have to be passed inside twelve months of the first one, or all of it is sat again.

    Read at code.wvlegislature.gov on 2026-08-16

  2. Route 2 Hold a designation the Commissioner names for this line, and still take the course

    Exempt from the state exam

    • CEBS Certified Employee Benefits Specialist, from The International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans with the Wharton School

    • or

      ChFC Chartered Financial Consultant, from The American College of Financial Services

    • or

      CIC Certified Insurance Counselor, from The National Alliance for Insurance Education and Research

    • or

      CFP Certified Financial Planner, from The Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards

    • or

      CLU Chartered Life Underwriter, from The American College of Financial Services

    • or

      FLMI Fellow, Life Management Institute, from LOMA

    • or

      LUTCF Life Underwriter Training Council Fellow, from The National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors

    The Commissioner's candidate handbook, under "Waiver of examination". Read the heading before assuming this waives everything: it says "An examination is not required as proof of competency" for a holder of one of the named designations, and the approved program of study is a separate numbered requirement in the same eligibility list. So a designation buys the paper, not the course.

    Read at the Department on 2026-08-16

  3. Route 3 Hold a college insurance degree, and still take the course

    Exempt from the state exam

    • A degree in a college insurance degree

    The Commissioner's candidate handbook: a college insurance degree waives the examination for all lines of authority, except Crop. Like the designations it sits under the heading "Waiver of examination", so the approved program of study is still owed. The carve-out for Crop is the state's own and it costs nothing here, because Crop needs no examination in the first place.

    Read at the Department on 2026-08-16

  4. Route 4 Hold the same line in another state

    Exempt from the state exam

    • an insurance producer license carrying the Life line of authority in another state

    33-12-14(a), and the waiver is worth more here than anywhere else in this phase because West Virginia is the one state with a course to waive. Somebody previously licensed for the same lines of authority in another state may not be required to complete any prelicensing education or examination, while that license is current or if the application arrives within ninety days of its cancellation with good standing certified by the other state or shown in the NAIC producer database.

    Read at code.wvlegislature.gov on 2026-08-16

  5. Route 5 Move to West Virginia and apply within 90 days

    Exempt from the state exam

    • 90 days Held a resident insurance producer license in another state carrying the Life line of authority, and applying within 90 days of the date that license was cancelled.

    33-12-14(b), and the handbook puts the consequence of missing it in plain words: an individual moving from another state where a resident license was held has ninety days from the cancellation of that license to apply, and "if application is made after ninety (90) days, the applicant must complete pre-licensing education and pass the examination for which application is made". Ninety days is the difference between nothing and both.

    Read at code.wvlegislature.gov on 2026-08-16

Courses

This is the part you buy. 4 of the 6 products sold for this license satisfy the requirement above, and the rest are practice material. Each seller opens to what it holds and what each package costs.

  • A.D. Banker & Company

    Meets the requirement: complete the approved program of study and pass the examination.

    $79.95 to $296.85

    See 9 options ▾

    Approved as "Life", course 113271, 20 credits, category PreLic Life, active 2025-09-02 and up for renewal 2027-09-02. A.D. Banker's older "Life (Prelicensing)", course 103095, is on the register too and is flagged not public with a renewal date of 2025-11-25

    Go to A.D. Banker & Company

  • ExamFX

    Meets the requirement: complete the approved program of study and pass the examination.

    $169.95 to $299.95

    See 6 options ▾

    Approved as "Life Prelicensing", course 114114, 20 credits, category PreLic Life, active 2026-03-02 and up for renewal 2028-03-02

    • West Virginia Life - Self-Study Package

      60 Days Course Access · Interactive Learning Portal · Online Exam Simulations · Readiness Exam · Instructor & Technical Support read 2026-08-22

      $169.95

    • West Virginia Life and Health Bundle - Self-Study Package

      60 Days Course Access · Interactive Learning Portal · Online Exam Simulations · Readiness Exam · Instructor & Technical Support read 2026-08-22

      $169.95

    • West Virginia Life - Video Study Package

      60 Days Course Access · Interactive Learning Portal · Online Exam Simulations · Readiness Exam · Instructor & Technical Support · On-Demand Video Lectures · Online Flashcards read 2026-08-22

      $219.95

    • West Virginia Life and Health Bundle - Video Study Package

      60 Days Course Access · Interactive Learning Portal · Online Exam Simulations · Readiness Exam · Instructor & Technical Support · On-Demand Video Lectures · Online Flashcards read 2026-08-22

      $219.95

    • West Virginia Life - Live Online Study Package

      Live Online Webinar · Note-Taking Notebook · 60 Days Course Access · Interactive Learning Portal · Online Exam Simulations · Readiness Exam · Instructor & Technical Support · On-Demand Video Lectures · Online Flashcards read 2026-08-22

      $299.95

    • West Virginia Life and Health Bundle - Live Online Study Package

      Live Online Webinar · Note-Taking Notebook · 60 Days Course Access · Interactive Learning Portal · Online Exam Simulations · Readiness Exam · Instructor & Technical Support · On-Demand Video Lectures · Online Flashcards read 2026-08-22

      $299.95

    Go to ExamFX

  • Kaplan Financial Education

    Meets the requirement: complete the approved program of study and pass the examination.

    $349.00

    See 2 options ▾

    Approved as "Pre-License Insurance Life Online", course 113348, 20 credits, category PreLic Life, active 2025-10-01 and up for renewal 2027-10-01. Kaplan sells it inside the Career Launcher Package rather than on its own

    • Career Launcher Package (WV - Life & Health)

      $349.00

    • Career Launcher Package (WV - Life Only)

      $349.00

    Go to Kaplan Financial Education

  • WebCE

    Meets the requirement: complete the approved program of study and pass the examination.

    $109.95 to $159.95

    See 4 options ▾

    Approved as "WV Life Exam Prep", course 105971, 20 credits, active 2018-10-10 and up for renewal 2026-10-10. The name says exam prep and the register says pre-licensing education, which is the Florida trap running backwards: there a study aid was named like a course, here the approved course is named like a study aid

    • WV Life, Accident and Health Exam Prep Complete Package

      $109.95

    • WV Life Exam Prep Complete Package

      $109.95

    • WV Life, Accident and Health Exam Prep Plus Complete Package

      $159.95

    • WV Life Exam Prep Plus Complete Package

      $159.95

    Go to WebCE

  • XCEL Solutions

    Exam practice. It does not satisfy the course requirement.

    $199.00 to $299.00

    See 3 options ▾

    • West Virginia Life Pre-licensing

      $199.00

    • West Virginia Life and Health Pre-licensing

      $199.00

    • West Virginia Life and Health Pre-licensing Premier

      $299.00

    Go to XCEL Solutions

  • Mometrix

    Exam practice. It does not satisfy the course requirement.

    $59.99/month

    See 1 option ▾

    • Life and Health Insurance Exam Prep Course

      $59.99/month

    Go to Mometrix