How to get contracted and appointed with insurance carriers
Last checked November 4, 2026, against federal and state rules, NIPR and each carrier’s public agent pages.
Most independent agents go through the same steps with every carrier. Get licensed in each state you’ll sell in. Line up E&O if your carriers require it, and finish the anti-money-laundering (AML) training each carrier accepts. Send the contracting paperwork, usually through your upline. The carrier then files your appointment with the state, and you finish any product training. After that, you can write business. The details differ by carrier, and most carriers keep them behind an agent sign-in or leave them to your IMO.
Contracted vs. appointed
These two words get used interchangeably, but they’re different steps. Your contract is your agreement with the carrier, often signed through your upline. Your appointment is the carrier telling the state that you represent it.
State law says you can’t act for an insurer without one, but states differ on timing. Pennsylvania’s rule reads: “To act as a representative of an insurer, an insurance producer shall secure a written appointment from each insurer it represents” (31 Pa. Code § 37a.21). Minnesota lets you transact business with an insurer’s permission as long as it appoints you within 15 days after your first application (Minn. Stat. § 60K.49). The first approach is often called pre-appointment and the second just-in-time. Your carrier or upline will know which applies in your states.
For Medicare Advantage and Part D, federal rules also require agents to be “licensed and appointed under State law” where the state requires it (42 CFR § 422.2274). Contracting can also happen one product line at a time. UnitedHealthcare tells agents, “You’ll need to complete the process for each product category you want to sell. In some cases, you may already be appointed based on other products you sell and the legal entity we use for licensing in your state” (UnitedHealthcare for agents and brokers).
What carriers usually ask for
Each carrier’s list is a little different, and most share it only once you’re signed in or through your IMO. Have these ready before you start:
- An active license in each state you’ll sell in, with the right lines of authority. (See license renewals by state.)
- Your National Producer Number (NPN).
- Proof of E&O coverage, if the carrier asks for it.
- An AML training certificate the carrier accepts.
- Tax and payment details for your commissions.
- Honest answers to the background questions on the application.
- Your upline’s information, if you’re contracting through an FMO, IMO or agency.
- Any product training the carrier requires before you sell.
AML training, and why final expense needs it
Federal rules require insurance companies that sell “covered products” to run an anti-money-laundering program. That program has to include ongoing training for their agents, which the insurer can do itself or by verifying that another qualified provider trained them (31 CFR § 1025.210). A covered product includes any permanent life insurance policy other than group life (31 CFR § 1025.100), so final-expense whole life counts. Transamerica’s own conduct guide says the same: agents are “required to follow the Company’s AML compliance program,” and covered products include “any permanent life insurance policy (other than group)” (Transamerica Guide to Professional Conduct).
The rule doesn’t name a course or say how often you have to retake it. Each carrier decides that, and one carrier’s course may not count for another. American Amicable, for example, runs its own AML course and asks you to include the certificate with your contracting paperwork. It also says the course “may not be used for purposes of satisfying any other company’s AML training requirements” (American Amicable AML course). So for each carrier, ask which course it accepts and how often it wants a new certificate.
E&O coverage
Errors and omissions (E&O) insurance covers you if a client claims you made a mistake that cost them money. Some carriers ask for proof of it before they’ll contract you.
None of the six final-expense carriers in the table below publishes an E&O minimum for final-expense agents on its public site. Those details sit behind agent sign-ins or come from your IMO. So before you buy a policy, ask your upline what each of your carriers requires. Once you have it, track its renewal date the way you track a license, so a lapse doesn’t catch you by surprise.
How each carrier contracts agents
This is only what each carrier says on its own public pages. If a carrier isn’t listed, ask your upline or the carrier’s agent support.
Final expense
| Carrier | Route | How to start | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Americo | Through an IMO only. Americo says, “We do not contract agents directly.” | If you don’t have an IMO, fill out its request form, and Americo shares your information with an IMO in your area. | Become an agent |
| American Amicable | Through an IMO. New agents are referred to one. | Fill out the form on its agent page to be referred to one of its IMOs. Take its AML course and include the certificate with your contracting paperwork. | Careers · AML course |
| Transamerica | Through brokerage general agencies, IMOs and direct marketers, plus its own career routes (Transamerica Agency Network and World Financial Group). | Start with your upline, or with one of its career routes. It doesn’t list requirements publicly. | Working with us · Conduct guide |
| Royal Neighbors | Not stated publicly. One form takes inquiries from agents, IMOs and agencies. | Fill out the become-an-agent form. IMOs and agencies answer a few extra questions about their sub-agents and recruiting. It doesn’t list requirements publicly. | Become an agent |
| Foresters | Not stated publicly. | Fill out the form on its for-agents page, and its sales team contacts you. | For agents |
| Mutual of Omaha | Not stated publicly. | There’s no public agent-recruiting page. Agent access runs through its Sales Professional Access sign-in, so start with your upline. | No public page |
Medicare Advantage and Part D
| Carrier | Route | How to start | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aetna | By invitation. | Ask your recruiter or local market for an invitation to onboard. They’ll send a link to Aetna’s contracting site. | Producer FAQs |
| Devoted | Directly as an independent broker, or through an upline or agency that’s one of its partners. | Call Devoted Agent Support at 877-764-9446, or reach out to your upline. Certification is a separate step (see ready to sell). | Broker manual |
| Wellcare | Directly, or through a hierarchy-level broker or agency. | Complete Wellcare’s contract, or ask the agency you want to work under for an onboarding invitation. | 2027 broker roadmap |
| UnitedHealthcare | Directly as a commission-only “direct agent” (not a captive contract), or through an agency you contact yourself. | Fill out UHC’s direct agent contract request form. For a general agency contract, email edc_contracting@uhc.com. If you’ve held a UHC Medicare agent ID in the last 6 months, you may need a letter of release. | Agent contract request form |
| Anthem | You request your own appointment. Anthem doesn’t say publicly whether you go direct or through an upline. | Start at Anthem’s Get Appointed page, which takes you to Producer Toolbox. When you register there, an agency uses its tax ID and an independent agent uses their SSN, and Anthem says that if you’re not already appointed with it, you register with your SSN. Questions: medicareagentsupport@anthem.com or 800-633-4368. | Get appointed · Producer Toolbox registration |
| Humana | Not stated publicly. Humana says it “reserves the right to decline contracting with or appointing any individual or entity at its discretion.” | Start with your upline, or call Humana Agent Support at 1-800-309-3163. | 2027 Producer Partnership Plan · Medicare agent page |
Carrier availability and contracting rules can change from year to year, so confirm with the carrier before you start.
Not sure whether to contract directly or through an FMO or IMO? See FMO vs IMO: what each one is and how to pick one. After you’re contracted, Medicare carriers have one more step before you can sell: ready to sell.
How to look up your appointments
Every state at once: your NIPR PDB detail report. NIPR’s Producer Database (PDB) pulls together licensing information from every state, and its detail report shows your licenses, appointments and terminations. Insurance professionals get one free detail report a year (NIPR’s PDB page, PDB user guide). It’s the closest thing to a single list of every carrier you’re appointed with.
One state at a time: your state’s free lookup. Most states have a public license search. Links for several are on our license renewals page. If the PDB and the state disagree, go by the state.
Keep a record of every contract
Contracting has a lot of loose ends: paperwork sent and not yet approved, an appointment in one state but not another, an E&O policy that renews in March, an AML certificate one carrier wants retaken. For each carrier, write down the upline, the date you sent the paperwork, the date you were appointed and in which states, and when your E&O and AML certificate expire.
The free recert & license tracker has a Carrier Contracts tab that lists every contract request and the date you sent it, and marks anything still waiting after 14 days for follow-up so you know who to call.
Formation follows each carrier contract from application to writing number, with the next step and who to call, so paperwork can’t sit pending without you knowing. It keeps those records in your office’s own system, not your upline’s, and checks them every morning alongside your license renewals and certifications. If everything’s on track, you don’t hear from it. Formation isn’t an FMO and doesn’t replace one.
Questions agents ask
What’s the difference between being contracted and being appointed?
Your contract is your agreement with the carrier, often signed through your upline. Your appointment is the carrier telling the state that you represent it. State law says you can’t act for an insurer without one. Some states, like Pennsylvania, require the appointment before you act for the carrier. Others, like Minnesota, let the carrier file it within 15 days of your first application.
Do I need AML training to sell final expense?
Usually, yes. Federal rules require insurers that sell permanent life insurance to run an anti-money-laundering program that includes training their agents, either directly or by confirming another qualified provider trained them. Final-expense whole life is permanent life insurance. Each carrier decides which course it accepts and how often you retake it, so ask yours.
Do I need E&O insurance to get contracted?
Ask each carrier. None of the six final-expense carriers on this page publishes an E&O minimum for final-expense agents on its public site. Those details sit behind agent sign-ins or come from your IMO, so confirm them with your upline before you buy a policy.
How do I see which carriers I’m appointed with?
Pull your NIPR Producer Database (PDB) detail report. It shows your licenses, appointments and terminations across states, and insurance professionals get one free detail report a year. Your state’s free license lookup is the other option. If the two disagree, go by the state.
Can I contract directly with a carrier instead of through an FMO?
With some. Americo says it does not contract agents directly and works only through IMOs, and American Amicable refers new agents to an IMO. UnitedHealthcare, Devoted and Wellcare all say you can contract with them directly or through an upline. Check each carrier’s agent page, or ask its agent support.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Rules change, and your state’s insurance department and your carriers have the final word.