LOA Insurance Agent: What "LOA" Means (Lines of Authority vs. Licensed-Only Agent) and Why It Matters

Getting started · 2026-10-13

If someone called you an LOA insurance agent this week, they meant one of two very different things. Either they were talking about your lines of authority — the kinds of insurance your license lets you sell — or they were pitching you a licensed-only agent contract, where you sell under someone else's agency and assign your commissions up to them. The first is a fact about your license. The second is a business deal that decides who gets paid and who owns your clients for years.

This guide covers both, with Florida-specific detail for new agents: which lines of authority each Florida license carries, why a line of authority alone does not let you write a policy, and what to check before you sign an LOA contract.

The three meanings of "LOA" in insurance

Meaning — Who uses it — What it is about

Line of authority — Regulators, NIPR, carriers' appointment teams — The kinds of insurance your license covers

Licensed-only agent — Agencies, IMOs and FMOs recruiting producers (mostly life, health and Medicare) — A contract where you sell under an agency and assign commissions to it

Letter of authorization — Clients, account managers — A signed form letting you request information from a client's current insurer

The first two are the ones that matter for your career. The third shows up when you remarket an account and need loss runs or policy details from the incumbent carrier.

Meaning 1: Lines of authority on your license

A line of authority is the NAIC's term for a general subject area of insurance a producer can be licensed to sell. Florida law says the same thing in plainer words: a "line of authority" is "a kind, line, or class of insurance an agent is authorized to transact" (s. 626.015(15), Florida Statutes).

The NAIC's Producer Licensing Model Act defines six major lines of authority that most states use:

  • Life — life insurance, including annuities, and it may include accidental death and disability income
  • Accident and health or sickness
  • Property — direct or consequential loss or damage to property
  • Casualty — legal liability
  • Variable life and variable annuity
  • Personal lines — property and casualty sold to individuals and families for noncommercial purposes

When you look yourself up on NIPR or a state licensee search, these are the labels you see next to each license.

How Florida license types map to lines of authority

Florida does not issue licenses as a menu of single lines. It issues license types, each with a number, and each type carries a fixed set of lines. These are the main agent licenses from the Florida Department of Financial Services:

Florida license — Resident / nonresident code — What it lets you sell

General Lines (P&C) — 2-20 / 9-20 — Property, casualty, surety, health and marine — everything except bail bonds

Personal Lines — 20-44 / 90-44 — P&C for individuals and families only, no commercial

Customer Representative — 4-40 / none — Assists one agency, as its employee, with the P&C lines that agency is authorized for, supervised by a 2-20 agent

Life (incl. annuities and variable contracts) — 2-14 / 8-14 — All classes of life insurance and annuities

Health & Life (incl. annuities and variable contracts) — 2-15 / 8-15 — Life, annuities and health

Health — 2-40 / 8-40 — All kinds of health insurance

Surplus Lines — 1-20 / 91-20 — Placing business with eligible non-admitted insurers

Two details new agents miss:

  • The 2-20 covers health insurance too. Under s. 626.311(1), "the license of a general lines agent also covers health insurance." It does not cover life — for that you need a 2-14 or 2-15.
  • Florida does not slice these licenses further. A general lines license cannot be limited to particular classes (bail bonds and personal lines are the exceptions), a life license covers all classes of life business, and a health license covers all kinds of health insurance. If you want the full breakdown of the P&C license, we wrote it up in what you can sell with a Florida 2-20 license.

Variable life and variable annuities sit inside the Florida 2-14 and 2-15, but selling them also requires securities registration, which is a separate process outside the insurance department.

A line of authority is not permission to write a policy

This is the part that costs new agents months. Having a line of authority means the state has qualified you to sell that kind of insurance. It does not connect you to anyone who will issue a policy.

Florida is explicit: "No agent licensee shall transact or attempt to transact under his or her license any line of insurance for which he or she does not have currently in force of record with the department an appointment by an authorized insurer" (s. 626.311(4)).

So the working chain looks like this:

  1. License — you passed the exam and the state issued, say, a 2-20.
  2. Line of authority — that license carries property, casualty, surety, health and marine.
  3. Appointment — an insurer (or the agency you work for) files an appointment for you, for a specific line, with the Department.
  4. Contract and access — you can actually quote, bind and get paid.

A brand-new 2-20 agent typically has steps 1 and 2 and nothing else. That gap is common enough that we wrote a full guide on it: licensed but not appointed in Florida. The short version: appointments renew every 24 months in your birth month (s. 626.381), and if you go 48 months with no appointment on a license, you have to qualify again as a first-time applicant.

How to check your own lines of authority

  • Florida DFS Licensee Search — free, shows your license types, status and current appointments.
  • NIPR Producer Database — look up your National Producer Number (NPN) for free. Licensed producers are entitled to one free detail Producer Report per year, which lists your licenses, lines of authority and appointments across every participating state.
  • Your nonresident licenses — if you add another state, check that the nonresident license carries the same lines as your Florida license. Carriers' appointment teams check line by line, and a mismatch is one of the most common reasons an appointment request gets kicked back.

Keep a screenshot of your license record with your lines and NPN in your onboarding folder. Every carrier, wholesaler and market access program will ask for it.

Meaning 2: The licensed-only agent (LOA) contract

In life, health and Medicare distribution, "LOA" usually means licensed-only agent. You hold the license and do the selling, but you are contracted through an agency instead of directly with the carriers. The carriers pay the agency, and the agency pays you your share. The agency's portion is called an override.

The pitch to a new agent is reasonable on its face: you do not need your own carrier contracts, you get training, sometimes leads, sometimes an office, and someone else handles the paperwork. Recruiting-side sources openly describe splits like 60/40, 70/30 or 80/20, sometimes graduated as the agent's production grows. There is nothing wrong with the model itself. Plenty of good agents start this way.

The problem is that LOA contracts vary enormously, and the terms that matter are rarely the ones in the recruiting call.

What to check before you sign an LOA contract

Clause — The question to ask — Why it matters

Commission split — What is my share, of what base, and does it change with production? — "70%" of a reduced base can be worth less than 60% of the full commission

Book ownership — If I leave, are the clients mine? — This decides whether your years of work have any value outside this agency

Vesting — Do I keep renewal commissions after I leave, and after how long? — Some contracts pay renewals only while you are under contract

Non-compete / non-solicit — Can I keep serving my clients if I leave? Is there a radius? — A tight non-solicit can make your book worthless on exit

Chargebacks — Who eats the chargeback when a policy lapses early, and for how long? — Common in life and Medicare; can turn a good month negative

Leads — Are leads included, purchased or required? At what price? — Mandatory lead purchases are a cost, not a benefit

Term and exit — Minimum term? Release process for your appointments? — Some carriers require a release before another agency can contract you

Your own appointments — Can I get direct appointments with other carriers while under contract? — Determines whether you can ever outgrow the arrangement

Get these answers in the written contract, not in an email from the recruiter. If the agency will not show you the full agreement before you commit, treat that as your answer.

Red flags

  • "You'll own your book" said verbally, but the contract says the agency owns the business. The contract wins.
  • Renewals stop the day you leave. That means you are building the agency's asset, not yours.
  • Mandatory monthly lead or training purchases. Your first-year income is uncertain; your expenses should not be guaranteed.
  • Pressure to sign before you have seen carrier and commission schedules. You cannot evaluate a split if you do not know what it is a split of.

For the math on how splits, overrides and renewals add up, see how insurance agents get paid.

LOA contract vs. direct appointments vs. market access

For a new P&C agent in Florida, the LOA question usually shows up as a broader choice: sign with someone, chase your own appointments, or use a market access program while you build. Here is an honest comparison.

Path — Speed to first policy — What you give up — Who owns the clients

LOA / licensed-only contract — Fast — A share of commission; often renewal rights and exit freedom — Depends entirely on the contract

Your own direct appointments — Slow — carriers want production history, entity, E&O — Months of not writing — You, under your own agency

Captive agent — Fast — Product choice; usually book ownership — Usually the carrier

P&C market access program — Fast — A share of commission on placed business — Should be you — confirm in writing

The right answer depends on your line of business and how soon you need income. If you sell life and Medicare, the LOA world is the main entry path, so learn to read those contracts. If you sell P&C, the appointment wall is the real problem, and you have more options than an LOA contract. We compared those P&C options side by side in market access vs. clusters vs. aggregators, and the captive question in captive vs. independent insurance agent.

Where ARLO fits

ARLO Market Access is built for licensed P&C agents who have lines of authority but no appointments yet. You quote our appointed carriers from day one, the client stays in your own book of business, and your share of the commission starts at 65% and grows to 75% with production. There is no non-compete on your book and no long-term contract, and when you earn your own appointments, you keep your clients.

Every Market Access plan includes ARLO CRM — $99, $149 or $199 a month depending on users — so your client records, policies and commission statements are yours from the first policy, not locked in someone else's system.

A 30-minute LOA checklist for new agents

  1. Pull your license record from the Florida DFS Licensee Search and your NIPR report. Confirm your lines of authority and note your NPN.
  2. List the lines you want to sell in year one. If life is on the list and you only hold a 2-20, you need a 2-14 or 2-15 first.
  3. List your current appointments. If there are none, you cannot transact yet, whatever your lines of authority say.
  4. Decide your entry path: LOA contract, captive, direct appointments or market access.
  5. If you are offered an LOA contract, get the full agreement and go through the clause table above line by line.
  6. Set up your own client records from day one, whatever path you choose. A book you cannot document is a book you cannot take with you.

Frequently asked questions

What does LOA mean for an insurance agent?

It usually means one of two things. On your license, LOA means "line of authority": the kinds of insurance you are qualified to sell, such as property, casualty, life or health. In recruiting, especially in life, health and Medicare, LOA means "licensed-only agent": an agent who sells under an agency's carrier contracts and assigns commissions to that agency in exchange for a split.

What lines of authority does a Florida 2-20 license include?

The Florida 2-20 general lines license covers property, casualty, surety, health and marine insurance — all P&C lines except bail bonds, which require a separate license. Under s. 626.311, it also covers health insurance. It does not include life insurance, which requires a 2-14 or 2-15 license.

Can I sell insurance with a line of authority but no appointment?

No. In Florida, s. 626.311(4) says an agent may not transact any line of insurance without a current appointment on record with the Department of Financial Services for that line. Your line of authority shows you are qualified; the appointment is what authorizes you to act for an insurer.

How do I check my lines of authority?

Search your name or license number on the Florida DFS Licensee Search, or look up your NPN in the NIPR Producer Database. Licensed producers are entitled to one free detailed NIPR Producer Report per year, showing licenses, lines of authority and appointments in every participating state.

Is being a licensed-only agent the same as being a captive agent?

Not exactly. A captive agent sells for one carrier, which usually owns the business. A licensed-only agent sells through an agency or marketing organization that may offer several carriers but holds the contracts and receives the commission first. In both cases, who owns your clients and what you keep when you leave depend on the contract.

What is a typical LOA commission split?

There is no standard. Splits like 60/40, 70/30 and 80/20 in the agent's favor are commonly quoted, sometimes graduated with production. The headline percentage matters less than the base it applies to, whether you keep renewals after leaving, chargeback rules, and who owns the book.

Do I need an LOA contract to start selling P&C insurance in Florida?

No. New P&C agents can work as a producer at an existing agency, join a captive carrier, apply for direct appointments, or use a market access program such as ARLO Market Access, which lets licensed agents quote appointed carriers from day one and keep their clients.

Market access for new insurance agents · Get appointed in Florida · ARLO CRM pricing · More guides