375.020. Continuing education for producers, required, exceptions--procedures--director to promulgate rules and regulations--fees, how determined, deposit of.
Continuing education for producers, required,exceptions--procedures--director to promulgate rules andregulations--fees, how determined, deposit of.
375.020. 1. Beginning January 1, 2008, each insurance producer,unless exempt pursuant to section 375.016, licensed to sell insurance inthis state shall successfully complete courses of study as required by thissection. Any person licensed to act as an insurance producer shall, duringeach two years, attend courses or programs of instruction or attendseminars equivalent to a minimum of sixteen hours of instruction. Of thesixteen hours' training required in this subsection, the hours need not bedivided equally among the lines of authority in which the producer hasqualified. The courses or programs attended by the producer during eachtwo-year period shall include instruction on Missouri law, products offeredin any line of authority in which the producer is qualified, producers'duties and obligations to the department, and business ethics, includingsales suitability. Course credit shall be given to members of the generalassembly as determined by the department.
2. Subject to approval by the director, the courses or programs ofinstruction which shall be deemed to meet the director's standards forcontinuing educational requirements shall include, but not be limited to,the following:
(1) American College Courses (CLU, ChFC);
(2) Life Underwriters Training Council (LUTC);
(3) Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC);
(4) Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter (CPCU);
(5) Insurance Institute of America (IIA);
(6) Any other professional financial designation approved by thedirector by rule;
(7) An insurance-related course taught by an accredited college oruniversity or qualified instructor who has taught a course of insurance lawat such institution;
(8) A course or program of instruction or seminar developed orsponsored by any authorized insurer, recognized producer association orinsurance trade association, or any other entity engaged in the business ofproviding education courses to producers. A local producer group may alsobe approved if the instructor receives no compensation for services.
3. A person teaching any approved course of instruction or lecturingat any approved seminar shall qualify for the same number of classroomhours as would be granted to a person taking and successfully completingsuch course, seminar or program.
4. Excess hours accumulated during any two-year period may be carriedforward to the two-year period immediately following the two-year period inwhich the course, program or seminar was held.
5. For good cause shown, the director may grant an extension of timeduring which the educational requirements imposed by this section may becompleted, but such extension of time shall not exceed the period of onecalendar year. The director may grant an individual waiver of themandatory continuing education requirement upon a showing by the licenseethat it is not feasible for the licensee to satisfy the requirements priorto the renewal date. Waivers may be granted for reasons including, but notlimited to:
(1) Serious physical injury or illness;
(2) Active duty in the armed services for an extended period of time;
(3) Residence outside the United States; or
(4) The licensee is at least seventy years of age.
6. Every person subject to the provisions of this section shallfurnish in a form satisfactory to the director, written certification as tothe courses, programs or seminars of instruction taken and successfullycompleted by such person. Every provider of continuing education coursesauthorized in this state shall, within thirty working days of a licensedproducer completing its approved course, provide certification to thedirector of the completion in a format prescribed by the director.
7. The provisions of this section shall not apply to those naturalpersons holding licenses for any kind or kinds of insurance for which anexamination is not required by the law of this state, nor shall they applyto any limited lines insurance producer license or restricted license asthe director may exempt.
8. The provisions of this section shall not apply to a life insuranceproducer who is limited by the terms of a written agreement with theinsurer to transact only specific life insurance policies having an initialface amount of five thousand dollars or less, or annuities having aninitial face amount of ten thousand dollars or less, that are designated bythe purchaser for the payment of funeral or burial expenses. The directormay require the insurer entering into the written agreements with theinsurance producers pursuant to this subsection to certify as to therepresentations of the insurance producers.
9. Rules and regulations necessary to implement and administer thissection shall be promulgated by the director, including, but not limitedto, rules and regulations regarding the following:
(1) Course content and hour credits: the insurance advisory boardestablished by section 375.019 shall be utilized by the director to assisthim in determining acceptable content of courses, programs and seminars toinclude classroom equivalency;
(2) Filing fees for course approval: every applicant seekingapproval by the director of a continuing education course under thissection shall pay to the director a filing fee of fifty dollars per course.Fees shall be waived for state and local insurance producer groups. Suchfee shall accompany any application form required by the director. Coursesshall be approved for a period of no more than one year. Applicantsholding courses intended to be offered for a longer period must reapply forapproval. Courses approved by the director prior to August 28, 1993, forwhich continuous certification is sought should be resubmitted for approvalsixty days before the anniversary date of the previous approval.
10. All funds received pursuant to the provisions of this sectionshall be transmitted by the director to the department of revenue fordeposit in the state treasury to the credit of the insurance dedicatedfund. All expenditures necessitated by this section shall be paid fromfunds appropriated from the insurance dedicated fund by the legislature.
(L. 1988 S.B. 430, A.L. 1990 H.B. 1739, A.L. 1991 H.B. 575, A.L. 1993 H.B. 709, A.L. 2001 S.B. 193, A.L. 2007 S.B. 66, A.L. 2009 H.B. 577)