(a) A personal lines licensee is a person authorized to transact automobile insurance, as defined in Section 660, including insurance for recreational vehicles used for noncommercial purposes, personal watercraft insurance, residential property insurance, as defined in Section 10087, including earthquake and flood insurance, inland marine insurance covering personal property, and umbrella or excess liability insurance providing coverage when written over one or more underlying automobile or residential property insurance policies, and a personal lines broker-agent license is a license to so act.

(b) A license under this section shall be applied for and renewed, following successful completion of a qualifying examination on this code, ethics, and products sold under the license, in the same manner as is provided in this chapter for a license to act as a property broker-agent or a casualty broker-agent, except as provided in subdivision (c) or where provided otherwise.

(c) A person licensed as a personal lines agent who makes an application to the commissioner to become a property broker-agent or a casualty broker-agent pursuant to Section 1625 shall do all of the following:

(1) Submit an application on a form provided by the commissioner.

(2) Complete prelicensing education as specified in Section 1749.

(3) Take and pass a qualifying examination pursuant to Section 1676.

(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for a personal lines license:

(1) “License term” for a personal lines license means all of that two-year period beginning as described in either subdivision (a) or (b) of Section 1629, as applicable, and ending the second succeeding year on the last calendar day of the month in which the initial license was issued.

(2) “License year” for a personal lines license shall be determined for each entity as follows:

(A) Upon initial licensing, the license year starts on the date the license is issued.

(B) Subsequently, each license year starts the first day of the month following the month in which the initial license was issued.

(C) A license year ends the following calendar year on the last calendar day of the month in which the initial license was issued.

(Amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 411, Sec. 9. (AB 1416) Effective January 1, 2012.)