It shows a real lack of faith in the exam, I think. If the exam is testing the requirements of being an insurance broker correctly, why have an "x hours of training" requirement as well?

The interesting discussion from the occupational licensing story was whether a given licensing requirement creates an undue barrier to people that want to pursue the career. That's what I was getting at, regardless of how terrible this hours requirement might be, it doesn't create much of a barrier to people that want to become insurance brokers. It's little more than an inconvenience.

(There's an argument to be made that an inane hours requirement is unfair to people that must work long hours to support themselves, but in this case it was the company urging paid employees to spend their time otherwise)