(a) The department shall issue a license to an individual applicant to act as an agent who writes only life insurance policies in an amount that does not exceed $25,000 on any one life on receipt of certification from a stipulated premium company, a statewide mutual assessment company, a local mutual aid association, or a local mutual burial association, that the applicant has:
(1) completed a course of study and instruction in compliance with this subchapter; and
(2) passed without aid a written examination administered by the insurer.
(b) A license is not required under this subchapter for an agent who, in the preceding calendar year, wrote policies that generated, in the aggregate, less than $20,000 in direct premium.