H*3320 Session 109 (1991-1992)
H*3320(Rat #0211, Act #0141 of 1991) General Bill, By Boan and J.T. McElveen
A Bill to amend Article 1, Chapter 43, Title 38, Code of Laws of South
Carolina, 1976, relating to insurance agents, by adding Section 38-43-106 so
as to provide for biennial continuing education requirements for agents
licensed or qualified to sell property and casualty insurance or life,
accident and health insurance, or both, to provide exceptions, to authorize
the Chief Insurance Commissioner to administer these requirements and to
promulgate regulations to implement these provisions, to provide for the
appointment of an advisory committee by the Commissioner to make
recommendations with respect to approved courses of instruction, and to
provide for the effective date of these provisions.-amended title
01/24/91 House Introduced and read first time HJ-9
01/24/91 House Referred to Committee on Labor, Commerce and
Industry HJ-9
02/13/91 House Committee report: Favorable with amendment Labor,
Commerce and Industry HJ-4
02/14/91 House Amended HJ-17
02/14/91 House Read second time HJ-19
02/14/91 House Unanimous consent for third reading on next
legislative day HJ-29
02/15/91 House Read third time and sent to Senate HJ-2
02/19/91 Senate Introduced and read first time SJ-11
02/19/91 Senate Referred to Committee on Banking and Insurance SJ-1
04/24/91 Senate Committee report: Majority favorable with amend.,
minority unfavorable Banking and Insurance SJ-13
06/04/91 Senate Amended SJ-16
06/04/91 Senate Read second time SJ-16
06/04/91 Senate Unanimous consent for third reading on next
legislative day SJ-16
06/05/91 Senate Read third time and returned to House with
amendments SJ-8
06/05/91 House Concurred in Senate amendment and enrolled HJ-27
06/06/91 Ratified R 211
06/12/91 Signed By Governor
06/12/91 Effective date 06/12/91
06/12/91 Act No. 141
06/27/91 Copies available
(A141, R211, H3320)
AN ACT TO AMEND ARTICLE 1, CHAPTER 43, TITLE 38, CODE
OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO INSURANCE
AGENTS, BY ADDING SECTION 38-43-106 SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR
BIENNIAL CONTINUING EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS FOR
AGENTS LICENSED OR QUALIFIED TO SELL PROPERTY AND
CASUALTY INSURANCE OR LIFE, ACCIDENT AND HEALTH
INSURANCE, OR BOTH, TO PROVIDE EXCEPTIONS, TO
AUTHORIZE THE CHIEF INSURANCE COMMISSIONER TO
ADMINISTER THESE REQUIREMENTS AND TO PROMULGATE
REGULATIONS TO IMPLEMENT THESE PROVISIONS, TO
PROVIDE FOR THE APPOINTMENT OF AN ADVISORY
COMMITTEE BY THE COMMISSIONER TO MAKE
RECOMMENDATIONS WITH RESPECT TO APPROVED COURSES
OF INSTRUCTION, AND TO PROVIDE FOR THE EFFECTIVE DATE
OF THESE PROVISIONS.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
Findings
SECTION 1. The General Assembly finds and declares that the business
of insurance is complex and complicated, with rapidly increasing statutory
and market changes, as well as rapidly increasing consumer requirements
and demands. Therefore, it is clearly in the public interest that licensed
insurance agents, with reasonable exceptions, be required to complete at
least minimum biennial insurance-related education to insure their
continuing competency to serve the needs of South Carolina's insuring
public.
Continuing education requirements
SECTION 2. Article 1, Chapter 43, Title 38 of the 1976 Code is
amended by adding:
"Section 38-43-106. (A) In addition to the requirements contained
in Section 38-43-105, any applicant or agent licensed to sell property and
casualty insurance or to sell life, accident and health insurance, or both, or
qualified for this licensure, must complete biennially a minimum of
twenty-four hours of continuing insurance education in order to be eligible
for licensure for the following two years.
However, if an agent is licensed in both property and casualty and life,
accident and health, the agent must complete at least one-third of the
twenty-four required biennial continuing insurance education hours in
courses related to each of these types of licenses or qualification for
licensure.
(B) The forty-hour prelicensing educational requirement contained in
Section 38-43-105 is sufficient to fulfill the requirements of this section for
up to the first two years. Any waiver of this forty-hour requirement, as
provided in Section 38-43-105(a)(2), is sufficient to meet the continuing
insurance education requirements of this section.
(C) The Chief Insurance Commissioner shall administer these
continuing education requirements and shall approve courses of instruction
which qualify for these purposes. In administering this program, the
commissioner, in his discretion, may promulgate regulations whereby
agents provide to a continuing education administrator established within
the Department of Insurance proof of compliance with continuing
education requirements as a condition of license renewal or, in the
alternative, contract with an outside service provider to provide
record-keeping services as the continuing education administrator. The
costs of the continuing education administrator must be paid from the
continuing insurance education fees paid by agents in the manner provided
by this section, except that course approval responsibilities may not be
designated to the continuing education administrator. The continuing
education administrator shall compile and maintain, in conjunction with
insurers and agents, records reflecting the continuing insurance education
status of all licensed or qualified agents subject to the requirements of this
section. The continuing education administrator shall furnish to the insurer,
within ninety days of the agent's renewal date, as specified by regulation, a
report of the continuing insurance education status of all of its agents. All
licensed agents shall provide evidence of their continuing insurance
education status to the continuing education administrator at least one
hundred twenty days before the annual renewal date. Any continuing
insurance education approved courses taken subsequent to one hundred
twenty days before the renewal date must be applied to the following
biennial continuing insurance education required period.
The commissioner shall promulgate regulations prescribing the overall
parameters of continuing education requirements, and these regulations
shall expressly authorize the commissioner to recognize product-specific
training offered by insurers, subject to those parameters and guidelines as
are promulgated by the regulations. The commissioner shall appoint an
advisory committee to make recommendations with respect to courses
offered for approval, but the commissioner shall retain authority with
respect to course approvals, subject to those regulations as are promulgated.
When the advisory committee is approved, it shall meet regularly as
needed, but no less than semiannually, to review new course applications.
Also, the advisory committee shall review modifications of courses
previously approved and review previously promulgated regulations to
make recommendations regarding any need for modifications, deletions, or
new regulations. The advisory committee must be comprised of two
representatives from each of the following associations, groups, or
categories:
(1) the Carolina's Association of Professional Insurance
Agents;
(2) the Independent Insurance Agents of South Carolina;
(3) the South Carolina Association of Automobile Insurance
Agents;
(4) the South Carolina Association of Life Underwriters;
(5) the Association of South Carolina Life Insurance
Companies;
(6) the Direct Writers Insurance Companies;
(7) the Association of South Carolina Property and Casualty
Insurance Companies; and
(8) insurers that are not members of national insurance trade
associations.
Advisory committee members must be appointed by the commissioner
from recommendations made by the respective associations, groups, or
categories to the commissioner.
(D) The license of any agent may not be renewed for any license year
unless the agent has completed the mandated continuing insurance
education requirements during the previous two-year accreditation period.
Each insurer is responsible, annually at renewal, for furnishing to the
department certification that its agents meet the continuing insurance
education requirements. Insurers appointing individuals who are qualified
but not currently licensed for any insurer are also required, in connection
with the appointment of such an agent, to certify to the department that the
agent meets the continuing insurance education requirements. Each agent is
responsible for payment to the continuing education administrator of a
reasonable annual fee for operation of the continuing insurance education
program. These fees must be used to administer the provisions of this
section.
(E) This section also applies to nonresident agents unless otherwise
provided herein. However, any nonresident agent who successfully satisfies
continuing insurance education requirements of his resident state and
certifies this information to the continuing education administrator as
specified in subsection (C) is deemed to have satisfied the requirements of
this section regardless of the requirements of that other state.
(F) Insurance agents licensed solely for credit life or credit accident
and health insurance, credit property insurance, crop hail insurance,
automobile physical damage insurance, mortgage guaranty, or mortgage,
title, travel accident and baggage, or the federal crop insurance are exempt
from the provisions of this section. Insurance agents licensed solely for
domestic insurance companies which have less than one million dollars in
written premiums in any calendar year are exempt from the provisions of
this section. Licensed special agents, or any or all of them, that the
commissioner by regulation shall specify are exempt from the provisions of
this section.
(G) The commissioner is authorized to promulgate regulations to
implement the provisions of this section.
(H) A licensed agent reaching the age of fifty-five, with a minimum of
twenty years of continuous licensure, is exempted from the requirements of
this section as to the line or lines which are otherwise subject to the
provisions of this section.
(I) All information received by the advisory committee in the course
and scope of its duties must be treated as confidential and proprietary and
not used or disclosed outside the requirements of the duties imposed on it
by law."
Applicability of provisions
SECTION 3. Certification of licensed agents pursuant to the provisions
of Section 38-43-106 of the 1976 Code, as contained in Section 2 of this
act, may not commence until one hundred twenty days prior to the annual
agents' license renewal of the year 1994.
Time effective
SECTION 4. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
Approved the 12th day of June, 1991. |