Who Owns A.D. Banker?

A. D. Banker & Company was founded in 1979 in Overland Park, Kansas, by Dennis Anderson, whose initials gave the firm its name. The company focused from the start on a narrow problem: candidates sitting for state insurance licensing exams needed structured preparation, and the quality of available study materials was poor. Its courses were built by cross-referencing official exam content outlines, an approach that remains part of its marketing.

Through the 1980s and 1990s the firm grew into a multi-state provider covering Life and Health, Property and Casualty, Personal Lines, and Adjuster licensing tracks. It added FINRA securities exam preparation covering the Securities Industry Essentials exam and the Series 6, 7, 63, and 65 top-off qualifications, plus continuing education courses that licensed producers must complete to maintain their credentials.

A difficult episode came in 2001 when the Ohio Department of Insurance suspended the company's pre-licensing provider approval for two years after regulators found that exam questions in an A.D. Banker course manual substantially matched items from the state's test bank. The matter, detailed in the controversies section below, was resolved and the company continued operating and expanding nationally.

Delivery formats evolved with the market. Classroom instruction was supplemented by self-study manuals, then online interactive courses, live web classes, on-demand video lectures, simulated practice exams, and flashcard tools. The business side of the operation, A.D. Banker for Business, sells licensing programs to insurance agencies and financial firms that need to onboard and track employee progress at scale.

In December 2022 the founders' era ended when The CE Shop acquired the company as part of its Career Certified platform. Management described the deal as expanding reach while keeping the brand, team, and culture in place. The company continues to operate from Overland Park with approximately 70 employees.