Before You Sell in Louisiana: Annuity, LTC, Flood & Pet Insurance Training Requirements

If you're a licensed Louisiana insurance producer who plans to sell annuity products, long-term care insurance, NFIP flood policies, or pet insurance — there are mandatory pre-sale and ongoing training requirements that apply to each. These are not optional professional development recommendations. They are enforceable LDI requirements, and selling these products without completing the required training puts your license at risk. Louisiana's specialty training framework has several important differences from neighboring states, including an ongoing flood training requirement and one of the more comprehensive LTC training structures in the region. Here is exactly what you need to know before you write your first policy in any of these categories.

Annuity Best Interest Training (Effective September 20, 2024)

Louisiana adopted the Annuity Best Interest standard effective September 20, 2024. Every producer holding a Life line of authority who sells, solicits, or negotiates annuity products in Louisiana must complete a 4-hour Annuity Best Interest training course before doing so. This is a one-time requirement — once completed with an LDI-approved provider and properly reported, it does not need to be repeated in future renewal periods.

Producers who were already licensed and certified to sell annuities before September 20, 2024, had a transition window. They had until March 20, 2025, to complete either a 1-hour Annuity Best Interest update course or the full 4-hour course. The 1-hour update course is no longer available after March 20, 2025. All producers — whether newly licensed or previously licensed — must now complete the full 4-hour course.

The training covers the four obligations of the Best Interest standard: the care obligation (know the consumer's financial situation and recommend appropriately), the disclosure obligation (disclose material conflicts of interest and compensation), the conflict-of-interest obligation (manage and mitigate conflicts between your interests and the consumer's), and the documentation obligation (maintain records supporting your recommendation). Insurers are required to verify that agents have completed this training before allowing them to sell annuity products.

The 4-hour training counts toward the agent's 24-hour CE total in the renewal period of completion.

Long-Term Care Insurance Training

Life and Accident & Health producers who sell, solicit, or negotiate long-term care insurance in Louisiana must complete an 8-hour initial LTC training course before engaging in LTC sales for the first time. After completing the initial course, a 4-hour ongoing LTC training course must be completed during each subsequent two-year renewal period to maintain authority to sell LTC products.

Both the initial 8-hour and ongoing 4-hour LTC credits count toward the agent's 24-hour CE total in the applicable renewal period.

Louisiana's LTC training structure — 8-hour initial plus 4-hour ongoing per renewal — is more comprehensive than Kentucky's (4-hour initial plus 1-hour refresher) and Indiana's (4-hour initial, no ongoing refresher). Wisconsin's LTC requirement (8-hour initial plus 4-hour ongoing with mandatory Medicaid content) is the most comparable to Louisiana's in the comparison group.

There is no experience-based exemption from the ongoing 4-hour LTC requirement. It does not matter how many years you have been selling LTC products or how many policies you have placed — the 4-hour ongoing training is required every renewal period as long as you continue selling LTC.

NFIP Flood Insurance Training: Ongoing Every Renewal Period

Louisiana's NFIP flood training requirement is one of the most important distinctions between Louisiana and most comparison states. While Kentucky, Indiana, and Missouri treat flood training as a one-time requirement, Louisiana requires P&C and Personal Lines producers to complete a 3-hour NFIP flood insurance certification training course during each 2-year renewal period. This is an ongoing requirement, not a one-time completion.

The training covers NFIP coverage basics, eligibility, flood zone determinations, rating, community participation requirements, and the National Flood Insurance Program's structure. The 3-hour credit counts toward the agent's CE total for the renewal period.

Louisiana's ongoing flood training requirement reflects the state's extraordinary flood exposure. Louisiana consistently ranks among the most flood-prone states in the nation. The catastrophic impacts of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Hurricane Ida in 2021, and numerous other flooding events have demonstrated repeatedly that flood insurance is not a niche product in Louisiana — it is an essential coverage for a very large proportion of Louisiana property owners. Producers who are current on NFIP knowledge serve their clients in a genuinely important way, and producers who are not current are leaving clients exposed to one of the most financially devastating risks in the state.

Pet Insurance Training (Effective January 1, 2024)

Louisiana adopted the Pet Insurance Model Act (LA Act 94) effective January 1, 2024. Producers holding any major line of authority must receive training before selling any pet insurance product. Unlike the other specialty training requirements, Louisiana's pet insurance training is provided by the insurer — it is the insurer's responsibility to ensure that its producers have received training covering the required topics before selling.

Required training topics include: the differences between pet insurance and noninsurance wellness programs; hereditary disorders, congenital anomalies, chronic conditions, and how pet insurance policies interact with those conditions; and rating, underwriting, renewal, and other related administrative topics. A producer who satisfied a similar pet insurance training requirement in another state satisfies Louisiana's requirement.

This training counts toward CE credits when taken as an approved course.

Specialty Training Comparison: Louisiana vs. Comparison States

Louisiana is distinctive in its ongoing flood training requirement and in the pet insurance training obligation. The 8-hour initial plus 4-hour ongoing LTC structure places Louisiana alongside Wisconsin as having the most comprehensive LTC training requirements in the comparison group.

Frequently Asked Questions

• I completed annuity suitability training before September 20, 2024. Does it satisfy Louisiana's Annuity Best Interest requirement? No. The transition window that allowed completion of a 1-hour update course expired on March 20, 2025. All producers must now complete the full 4-hour Annuity Best Interest course before selling annuities in Louisiana, regardless of prior suitability training history.
• Does Louisiana's LTC training requirement reset every renewal period? After completing the one-time 8-hour initial course, producers must complete a 4-hour ongoing LTC course during every subsequent two-year renewal period as long as they continue selling LTC products. This is not a one-time completion — it is a recurring renewal obligation.
• Why is Louisiana's flood training ongoing rather than one-time? Louisiana's significant and recurring flood exposure — and the practical importance of keeping producers current on NFIP coverage, rating, and community participation requirements — underlies the ongoing renewal requirement. The LDI's position is that flood knowledge requires periodic reinforcement, not just one-time certification.
• What happens if I sell a pet insurance product without completing the required training? Selling pet insurance without completing the insurer-provided training required by LA Act 94 violates Louisiana insurance regulations and could result in LDI disciplinary action. Contact the insurer whose pet insurance products you intend to sell to confirm their training program and completion requirements before writing your first pet insurance policy.
• Do all specialty training courses count toward my 24-hour CE total? Yes — the Annuity Best Interest (4 hours), LTC initial (8 hours) and ongoing (4 hours), and NFIP flood (3 hours per renewal) all count toward your CE total in the periods they are completed. Pet insurance training also counts when taken as an approved CE course. This means specialty training obligations partially or fully satisfy your CE requirement in the periods they are completed. JustInsurance's Louisiana-approved specialty training courses cover Annuity Best Interest, LTC initial and ongoing, and NFIP flood — everything you need to sell these products in Louisiana with full regulatory compliance and confidence. Enroll at JustInsurance today and make sure you are trained before you sell.