Under California Insurance Code Section 1749.8, before a life agent may solicit individual consumers to sell annuities, the agent must complete:

Why A is correct

Section 1749.8 requires every life agent who sells annuities to complete eight hours of approved annuity training prior to soliciting individual consumers, and four additional hours prior to each license renewal. The eight-hour course counts toward the continuing education requirement but does not satisfy the four-hour renewal requirement, so both components are separately required. The training covers annuity products, California law and regulations, prohibited sales practices, recognition of indicators that a prospect may lack the short-term memory or judgment to purchase the product, and fraudulent and unfair trade practices. The requirements ensure that annuity sales, which involve complex products and senior consumers, are handled knowledgeably.

Why the other options are wrong

• B) The statute requires eight initial hours of training, not four, and the four-hour component is tied to each license renewal rather than to a five-year cycle. Each renewal cycle demands the additional four hours, so the annuity training obligation is ongoing rather than a one-time initial course.
• C) There is no twenty-hour initial training requirement for annuity sales under Section 1749.8; the initial requirement is eight hours. The law sets the initial requirement at eight hours, so any claim of a twenty-hour initial requirement misstates the statutory amount.
• D) Annuity sales are subject to a specific eight-plus-four training requirement; completing the training is mandatory before soliciting individual consumers. The training protects consumers by ensuring agents recognize suitability concerns and prohibited practices before they solicit annuity prospects.

Memory hook

Annuity sales start with 8 hours of class, and every renewal adds 4 more.