You Passed the Florida 2-20 Exam. Now What? A First 90 Days Checklist

Florida · 2026-09-03

Passing the Florida 2-20 general lines exam feels like the finish line. It is closer to the starting gate. Here is what the license gives you, what it does not, and what to do with your first ninety days.

What a 2-20 lets you do

The Florida 2-20 general lines agent license covers property and casualty — home, auto, flood, commercial and the rest of the general lines world. It is the broad license, which is why most people who intend to build a real agency go for it rather than the narrower customer representative route.

What it gives you is the legal ability to transact insurance. What it does not give you is the ability to place a policy anywhere.

The part nobody warns you about: appointments

To actually write a policy you need a carrier appointment — a contract with a carrier authorizing you to sell their product and be paid for it. Getting appointed generally requires an agency, E&O coverage, and, most painfully for a new agent, evidence that you can produce.

That is the wall. Read how carrier appointments really work for the detail on what carriers look at and the three ways agents get around it.

Your first 90 days

Days 1 to 30 — build the container

Decide your structure: work for an agency, or form your own entity
Get E&O coverage — usually $1,000,000 per claim; it is required for essentially every appointment and it protects you personally
Set up a business phone number, a professional email address on your own domain, and a Google Business Profile
Put a CRM in place before you have clients. Migrating fifty clients later is miserable; starting with one is free
Learn Florida-specific coverage properly: wind mitigation, flood, roof age and replacement cost rules. In this state the property conversation is the whole conversation

Days 31 to 60 — solve market access and start quoting

Line up the ability to quote real carriers. Direct appointments if you can get them; otherwise a cluster, an aggregator, or a market access arrangement that lets you quote 50+ carriers while keeping your own clients
Write down a repeatable intake: every question you need for a home quote and an auto quote, in one pass
Line up two referral sources — realtors and mortgage brokers are the natural fit for property, and they need a responsive agent more than you need them
Quote everyone you know. Do the practice reps where the stakes are low

Days 61 to 90 — get fast and get organized

Track two numbers only: quotes issued and speed to first quote. Close rate takes care of itself once those two are healthy
Ask every closed client for a review and one referral, the same week they buy
Put every renewal date in your CRM with a reminder — your year-two income lives there
Start the production record you will hand a carrier when you apply for direct appointments

What it costs to start, honestly

The recurring costs a Florida agent cannot avoid are E&O coverage, continuing education, license renewal, and the technology to quote and service business. Everything else — office space, staff, paid leads, expensive lead vendors — is optional in year one and most of it is a mistake in year one.

Keep the fixed costs low enough that a slow month is survivable rather than fatal.

The mistake to avoid

The most common way a newly licensed Florida agent stalls out is waiting: waiting for carrier appointments, waiting for a mentor, waiting to feel ready. Meanwhile the license CE clock is running and the savings are not.

You do not need appointments to start writing. You need markets, a system and speed. Get those three and the appointments will come to you — with a production record attached.

Frequently asked questions

What can you sell with a Florida 2-20 license?

A 2-20 general lines agent license covers property, casualty, surety, health and marine — home, auto, condo, flood, commercial property, general liability, commercial auto and workers' compensation. It does not cover life or annuities, which require the 2-14 or 2-15 license.

Can I write business right after passing the 2-20 exam?

Not on your own. You still need carrier appointments, and carriers grant those on production history. Most new agents write through market access first, placing business under an appointed agency's contracts while keeping the client and the renewal.

What is the difference between a 2-20 and a 4-40?

A 4-40 customer representative works under a licensed agent and cannot own an agency or hold appointments. The 2-20 is the full general lines license that lets you run an agency.

What do I need beyond the license to start writing?

An E and O policy, a W-9, an entity if you form one, and a system to hold clients, policies and renewals. Budget for software that does not charge per user while you are pre-revenue.

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