Virginia Insurance Agents

Checking an agent’s license in Virginia

Every licensed agent has a National Producer Number (NPN), a unique national ID separate from state license numbers. The NAIC’s free insurance agent search shows whether an agent is licensed in your state and for which lines of insurance, and your state insurance department can confirm a license. Blake Insurance Group’s NPN is 16117464.

In Virginia, you can also contact the State Corporation Commission’s Bureau of Insurance, Life and Health Consumer Services, at 1-877-310-6560 to confirm a license or file a complaint.

What independent agents do

• Compare plans and policies from several insurers they’re appointed with.
• Explain coverage, exclusions, and costs in plain terms.
• Help with applications and enrollment.
• Help with claims questions and annual reviews.

Medicare help

An independent agent appointed with several insurers can compare Medicare Advantage, Medigap, and Part D options available in your area, check your doctors and prescriptions against plan networks and drug lists, and help again each fall during Open Enrollment. Agents are paid by the insurers, so you don’t pay a fee for their help. Medicare.gov, 1-800-MEDICARE, and your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) also give free, unbiased help; the national SHIP line is 877-839-2675.

Federal rules shape how agents work. Third-party marketing organizations that represent more than one Medicare Advantage organization must give a disclaimer explaining that they don’t offer every plan in your area. Agents must agree with you on a Scope of Appointment, the products you want to discuss, before a sales appointment; a CMS rule effective June 1, 2026 removed the old 48-hour waiting period. And under a 2024 CMS rule, your personal information can be shared with another marketing organization only with your prior express written consent for each recipient.

Free, unbiased Medicare counseling is also available from VICAP (Virginia Insurance Counseling and Assistance Program), run by the Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services at 1-800-552-3402.

Life insurance

Source: NAIC. Final expense policies are usually small whole life policies.

Most states give you a free-look period, often 10 days and up to 30 days in some cases, to cancel a new policy for a refund; the NAIC’s state chart lists 10 days for individual life in many states. For the first two years, insurers can generally contest a claim for a material misstatement on the application, and a suicide in that period typically limits the benefit to a refund of premiums, according to the North Carolina and South Carolina insurance departments. Answer application questions completely.

Virginia free-look rules

Virginia gives a 10-day free-look period for individual life insurance and 10 days for replacements, according to the NAIC’s state chart.

Health insurance

Open Enrollment for 2027 coverage on HealthCare.gov runs November 1, 2026 through January 15, 2027, and you generally need to enroll by December 15 for coverage starting January 1. A 2025 federal rule would have ended enrollment December 15, but a federal court vacated that change in June 2026; HHS has appealed, so check HealthCare.gov or your state marketplace for the latest dates. Some state marketplaces set their own deadlines: California and New York run through January 31, 2027, and Virginia through January 29.

The enhanced premium tax credits that lowered marketplace premiums from 2021 through 2025 expired on December 31, 2025. The House passed a three-year extension in January 2026, but the Senate didn’t, and no extension had been enacted as of October 2026. That means the original rules apply again: premium tax credits are generally available from 100% to 400% of the federal poverty level, and households above 400%, about $63,840 for a single person for 2027 coverage, get no credit at all.

KFF had estimated that subsidized enrollees’ average premium payments would more than double, from $888 in 2025 to $1,904 in 2026, if the enhancements expired. For 2027 coverage, the IRS caps the benchmark silver premium for eligible households at between 2.15% and 10.22% of income, depending on income.

Business insurance

A business owner’s policy (BOP) packages the major property and liability coverages with business income (business interruption) coverage, for small and mid-size businesses that meet insurer criteria. The Insurance Information Institute notes that professional liability, workers’ compensation, business auto, and key-person coverage are separate policies; a BOP doesn’t include workers’ comp, health, or disability insurance.

Final expense coverage

Final expense insurance, also called burial insurance, is a small permanent life insurance policy meant to pay for a funeral and other end-of-life bills. Funeralwise puts typical face amounts at $1,000 to $25,000, sometimes up to $50,000. The death benefit goes to the beneficiary you name, who can use it for anything: the funeral, medical bills, or debts.

A Life Insurers Council survey of 30 insurers found about 1.3 million final expense policies sold in 2025, with an average face amount of $15,344 for simplified-issue and $11,299 for guaranteed-issue policies. Simplified issue made up 76% of sales. The council notes its survey isn’t a complete view of the market.

Spotting insurance scams

Medicare.gov says Medicare will never call you to sell you anything or visit you at your home, and that it calls for personal information only in limited cases, such as returning your call. Don’t join a plan over the phone unless you called and asked for help, and don’t give your Medicare or Social Security number to anyone who contacts you unexpectedly. The FTC adds that Medicare sends new cards automatically and for free.

Report suspected fraud to 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) or the HHS Office of Inspector General at 1-800-HHS-TIPS (1-800-447-8477). Medicare Advantage and Part D members can also call the I-MEDIC at 1-877-772-3379.

Questions to ask an agent

• Which insurers are you appointed with?
• How are you paid?
• What’s your National Producer Number?
• Can I see the plan documents before I sign?
• How do you help after I buy?

What an independent agency does

An independent insurance agency is licensed to sell policies from several insurance companies. Instead of quoting one company's products, an independent agent can compare options from the insurers the agency represents, explain the differences in coverage, and help you re-shop at renewal. The insurance company, not the agent, makes underwriting and claim decisions.

Blake Insurance Group is an independent agency. We work with clients by phone, email, and online in states where we are licensed, and we will tell you which insurers we can quote for your situation.

How we work

Blake Insurance Group serves clients by phone, email, and online in states where we are licensed. The insurers and plans we can offer depend on our appointments and your location; a company named on this page may not be available through us.

How to verify an insurer or agency

Before buying through any website or app, confirm who is selling you the policy and who will issue it:

1. Find the licensed agency or insurer named in the site's footer, terms, or license page.
2. Look up the agency or producer on your state insurance department's license search, or through the National Insurance Producer Registry (NIPR).
3. Look up the insurer on your state insurance department's company search to confirm it is authorized in your state.
4. Save the insurer's name and policy number once issued, since that is who handles claims.

A legitimate service will make this information easy to find. Be cautious if you cannot identify the licensed entity.

Sources

We checked the facts on this page against the sources below in October 2026. Plans, prices, and rules change, so confirm current terms before you buy.

• NIPR: Find a National Producer Number (June 2026)
• NAIC: Insurance agent search
• 42 CFR 422.2267: Required materials and content (TPMO disclaimer)
• 42 CFR 423.2264: Beneficiary contact and Scope of Appointment
• ACL: State Health Insurance Assistance Program (Mar. 2026)
• Medicare.gov: Medicare fraud
• NAIC: Life insurance (Nov. 2025)
• NAIC: Life insurance disclosure provisions by state (chart LI-30)
• healthinsurance.org: When is the next open enrollment period? (Oct. 2026)
• HealthCare Insider: Will you qualify for an ACA subsidy in 2027? (Oct. 2026)
• KFF: Marketplace premium payments if enhanced credits expire
• Insurance Information Institute: Small business insurance basics
• Virginia Bureau of Insurance: Contact
• CMS: Virginia VICAP contact

What to have ready

These details help an agent quote accurately.

1. Medicare card. Your Medicare number and Part A and B start dates.
2. Doctors. Names of doctors and hospitals you want to keep.
3. Prescriptions. Drug names, doses, and pharmacies.
4. Current coverage. Any plan, employer, or Medicaid coverage you have.
5. ZIP code. Plans differ by county.

Virginia insurance agents FAQs

Related guides

• Medicare Advantage agents
• Medicare Supplement insurance
• Medicare Open Enrollment
• Choosing an independent Medicare agent
• Medicare Extra Help

Partner quote options

Your next step

Request a quote, and a licensed agent will compare options available to us for your situation.