Senate Bill No. 382
(By Senators Bailey and Buckalew)
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[Introduced March 20, 1997; referred to the Committee
on Banking and Insurance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section two-a, article twelve,
chapter thirty-three of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended; and to further
amend said article by adding thereto a new section,
designated section eighteen-a, all relating to continuing
education for insurance agents, brokers, solicitors and
excess line brokers; providing for inactive status; and
transfer to active status.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section two-a, article twelve, chapter thirty-three of
the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one,
as amended, be amended and reenacted; and that said article be
further amended by adding thereto a new section, designated
section eighteen-a, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 12. AGENTS, BROKERS, SOLICITORS AND EXCESS LINE.
§33-12-2a. Continuing education required.
The purpose of this provision is to provide continuing
education under guidelines set up under the insurance
commissioner's office effective the first day of July, one
thousand nine hundred ninety-two, with the guidelines to be set
up under the board of insurance agent education. Nothing in this
section shall prohibit an individual from receiving commissions
which have been vested and earned while that individual
maintained an approved insurance agent's license.
(a) This section applies to persons licensed to engage in
the sale of the following types of insurance:
(1) Life insurance, annuity contracts, variable annuity
contracts and variable life insurance;
(2) Sickness, accident and health insurance;
(3) All lines of property and casualty insurance; and
(4) All other lines of insurance for which an examination is
required for licensing.
(b) This section does not apply to:
(1) Persons holding resident licenses for any kind or kinds
of insurance offered in connection with loans or other credit
transactions or insurance for which an examination is not
required by the commissioner, nor does it apply to any such limited or restricted license as that the commissioner may
exempt;
(2) Individuals selling credit life or credit accident and
health insurance.
(c)(1) The board of insurance agent education as established
by section two of this article shall develop a program of
continuing insurance education and submit the proposal for the
approval of the commissioner on or before the thirty-first day of
December of each year. Each year after the first day of July,
one thousand nine hundred ninety-seven eight, the program shall
contain a requirement that any person appointed to be an agent on
behalf of a licensed health maintenance organization at any time
during the relevant biennium year must, as a component of his or
her mandatory continuing insurance education, complete a minimum
of six hours of continuing insurance education during the
biennium period beginning the first day of January and ending on
the thirty-first day of December which is on topics specific to
health maintenance organizations.
No program shall be approved by the commissioner that
includes a requirement that any agent complete more than thirty
six hours of continuing insurance education biennially annually.
No program shall be approved by the commissioner that includes a
requirement that any of the following individuals complete more
than six hours of continuing insurance education biennially annually:
(A) Insurance agents who sell only preneed burial insurance
contracts; and
(B) Insurance agents who engage solely in telemarketing
insurance products by a scripted presentation which scripted
presentation has been filed with and approved by the
commissioner.
(2) The commissioner and the board, under standards
established by the board, may approve any course or program of
instruction developed or sponsored by an authorized insurer,
accredited college or university, agents' association, insurance
trade association or independent program of instruction that
presents the criteria and the number of hours that the board and
commissioner determine appropriate for the purpose of this
section.
(d) Persons licensed to sell insurance and who are not
otherwise exempt shall satisfactorily complete the courses or
programs of instructions the commissioner may prescribe.
(e) Every person, subject to the continuing education
requirements shall furnish, at intervals and on forms as may be
prescribed by the commissioner, written certification listing the
courses, programs or seminars of instruction successfully
completed by the person. The certification shall be executed by,
or on behalf of, the organization sponsoring the courses, programs or seminars of instruction.
(f) Any person, failing to meet the requirements mandated in
this section, and who has not been granted an extension of time,
with respect to such requirements, or who has submitted to the
commissioner a false or fraudulent certificate of compliance
shall, after a hearing thereon, which hearing may be waived by
the person, be subjected to suspension of all licenses issued for
any kind or kinds of insurance. No further license may be issued
to the person for any kind or kinds of insurance until he or she
has demonstrated to the satisfaction of the commissioner that he
or she has complied with all of the requirements mandated by this
section and all other applicable laws or rules.
(g) Hearings for the violation of any provision of this
section, and the administrative procedure prior to, during and
following these hearings, shall be conducted in accordance with
the provisions of article two of this chapter.
(h) The commissioner is authorized to hire personnel and
make reasonable expenditures as deemed necessary for purposes of
establishing and maintaining a system of continuing education for
insurers.
§33-12-18a. Inactive status; transfer to active status.
(a) Any agent, solicitor or broker not under suspension, who
does not desire to sell insurance in this state, may, upon written request to the commissioner, be enrolled as inactive.
(b) Any inactive agent, solicitor or broker not under
suspension may transfer to active status upon written request to
the commissioner. Upon the filing of such request, and the
payment of the license fee for the current year as required by
section six of this article, and upon a completion of six hours
of mandatory continuing insurance education within the calendar
year he or she chooses to transfer to active status, the agent,
solicitor or broker shall be transferred to active status.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to reduce the number of
continuing education hours an agent, broker, solicitor or excess
line broker must complete to renew his license. The bill further
creates active and inactive status for agents, brokers,
solicitors and excess line brokers.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.
§33-12-18a is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.