EREG 2015 UPDATE
BRI AN GAUDI OSE- CHAI R OF THE PLWG
VI RGI NIA DEPUTY COMMI SSI ONER OF I NSURANCE AGENT REGULATI ON
OBJECTIVES
1. Recognize the Producer Licensing (EX) Working
Group 2015 Charges
2. Changes to the State Licensing Handbook
Chapter 8 – Testing Programs
3. Producer Licensing (EX) Working Group’s work on
Adjuster Licensing
CHARGE
• 1. Monitor the implementation of the Uniform
Licensing Standards for best practices in
examination development and delivery of
education materials for pre-licensing education to
ensure the timely review and updates of exam
materials to test the qualifications for an entry-level
position as a producer.—Essential
ACTIVITY-CHANGES TO THE HANDBOOK
CHAPTER 8 TESTING PROGRAM-PAGES
38&44
• Pass Rates are to be published for 2014 and this should
be on ongoing function for the PLWG.
• • At least annually, reports regarding exam pass rates,
candidate demographics when collected and number
of exams administered should be made available to the
public. Reports should include first-time pass rates and
average scoring by subject area. Whenever possible,
the reports should be available by education provider
and provided to them.
• • A state advisory committee consisting of regulators,
subject matter experts and the industry, including,
recently licensed producers, should annually work with
the testing vendor to review the questions on each
examination form for substantive and psychometric
requirements..
ACTIVITY-CHANGES TO THE HANDBOOK
CHAPTER 8 TESTING PROGRAM-PAGES
38&44
• Generally, items should be reviewed to see if they
are inaccurate or unclear, test subject matter that is
beyond entry-level, are up-to-date with current law
and are properly constructed. In conducting exam
reviews, committees should prioritize reviewing
those items that exhibit unsatisfactory psychometric
properties, such as very high or low p-values,
disparities by demographic or items that are
frequently missed due to their difficulty. If, during
any other time of the year, any examination results
exhibit significant unexplained deviations, the
examination should be reviewed
CHARGE
• 2. Continue to provide oversight and ongoing
updates, as needed, to the State Licensing
Handbook.—Essential
• Activity- A lot. The handbook is our focus for the
second year in a row. We are in the process of
reviewing all the chapters to make sure it is relevant
and update that is due beack by May 15, 2015
CHARGE
• 3. Provide updated reciprocity guidelines and
ongoing maintenance and review of uniform
application forms for continuing education
providers and the state review and approval of
courses.—Important
ACTIVITY-CHANGES TO THE
HANDBOOK
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Course Guidelines for Classroom Webinar/Webcast Delivery
Adopted by the Producer Licensing (EX) Working Group Apr. 27, 2014
These guidelines are intended to apply to courses conducted and
viewed in real time (live) in all locations and are not
intended to apply when courses have been recorded and are
viewed at a later time or to other online courses.
Each student will be required to log in to the webinar using a
distinct username, password and/or email. Students that
view webinars in group settings which is two or more individuals
should alternatively verify their participation in the
form of sign-in and sign-out sheets submitted by a monitor with an
attestation or verification code.
The provider will verify the identity and license number, or National
Producer Number (NPN), of all students.
A provider representative, using computer-based attendancemonitoring technology, must monitor attendance throughout
the course.
ACTIVITY-CHANGES TO THE
HANDBOOK
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The provider must have a process to determine when a participant is
inactive or not fully participating, such as when the
screen is minimized, or the participant does not answer the polling
questions and/or verification codes.
For webinars not given in a group setting, no less than two polling
questions and/or attendance verification codes must
be asked, with appropriate response provided, at unannounced intervals
during each one-hour webinar session to
determine participant attentiveness.
The provider will maintain an electronic roster to include records for
each participant’s log-in/log-out times. If required
by states chat history and polling responses should be captured as part
of the electronic record.
When a student is deemed inactive or not fully participating in the
course by the course monitor of failure to enter
appropriate polling question response or verification codes, continuing
education (CE) credit is denied.
ACTIVITY-CHANGES TO THE
HANDBOOK
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All students and the instructor do not need to be in the same location.
Students in all locations must be able to interact in real time with the
instructor. Students should be able to submit
questions or comments at any point during the webinar session.
The course pace must be set by the instructor and does not allow for
independent completion.
Instruction time is considered the amount of time devoted to the
actual course instruction and does not include breaks,
lunch, dinner or introductions of speakers.
One credit will be awarded for each 50 minutes of webinar/webcast
instruction, and the minimum number of credits that
will be awarded for webinar/webcast courses is one credit
The provider must have a procedure that informs each student in
advance of course participation requirements and
consequences for failing to actively participate in the course.
A comprehensive final examination is not required.
ACTIVITY-CHANGES TO THE
HANDBOOK
• Continuing Education Recommendation for online
course – passed by the PLWG and PLTF on March 29
2015
CHARGE
• 4. Coordinate through NAIC staff and provide
guidance to NIPR on producer licensing related
electronic initiatives, such as email address and
phone number changes.—Essential.
• Well we continue to work closely with NIPR to solve
issues as they come up
CHARGE
• 5. Coordinate with NAIC parent committees and
working groups to review and provide
recommendations on any new producer training
requirements or continuing education requirements
that are included in NAIC model acts, regulations
and/or standards.—Essential
• Last year we looked at contingent annuities and
found no real need to add any new training
CHARGE
• 6. Monitor state implementation of adjuster
licensing reciprocity and develop minimum adjuster
licensing standards to ensure appropriate consumer
protections are in place with the implementation of
the use of “Designated Home State.”—Essential
ACTIVITY-CHANGES TO THE
HANDBOOK
• NAIC EMERGENCY INDEPENDENT ADJUSTER
• RECOMMENDED GUIDELINES AND BEST PRACTICES FOR REGULATORS
• 1. Adopt Section 5 and other provisions in the Independent Adjuster Guidelines to
ensure
• consistency with standards and requirements.
• 2. License/Registration Qualification – requiring the individual to be licensed in their
home state
• or a designated home state that has testing, fingerprinting and continuing
education
• requirements.
• 3. Create an electronic filing process for emergency/catastrophic adjusters.(A
state may consider
• utilizing NIPR by updating state business rules to allow for these types/classes of
licenses or
• registrations or by contract with a third party vendor.
• 4. Submit Emergency Adjuster information to the NAIC Producer Database (PDB).
This may
• occur by reviewing and updating your state specific business rules on file with the
National
• Insurance Producer Registry (NIPR).
ACTIVITY-CHANGES TO THE
HANDBOOK
• 5. Ensure that the automated notification process is off site and preferably out of
state so if the
• emergency occurs locally, adequate resources are available to respond and issue
approval to the
• adjusters.
• 6. Develop NAIC Uniform Emergency Adjuster applications/registrations consistent
with the
• adopted Guidelines. Until such time the application/registration is developed, use
the NAIC
• Uniform Adjuster Application for individuals and business entities.
• 7. Work with state officials responsible for oversight of emergency situations to
coordinate its
• activities to determine if any other credentials (such as photo ID or badge) are
required.
• 8. If fingerprinting is not required in your state, inquire of the company represented
whether a
• background check was performed or an alternative method for meaningful
background check
• occurred.
ACTIVITY-CHANGES TO THE
HANDBOOK
• 9. Individuals wishing to access an emergency area must determine who
the “incident
• commander” is in order to request and obtain permission to enter the
scene. This person will
• determine who can access an area for purposes of adjusting no matter
what part of the country
• you are in, including federal or tribal lands and across state borders or
countries (i.e. Canada).
• The incident commander is responsible for the safety of all concerned
and for the integrity of
• the scene so is the ultimate authority for access to an emergency area.
• 10. Coordinate with other states or jurisdictions when the catastrophe
involves multiple
• states/jurisdictions. 2
• 11.9. Establish a one-time fee (if applicable) for a specified time period
and not per disaster.
CHARGE
• 7. Monitor and assess the state implementation of
the Uniform Producer Licensing Standards and
report to the Task Force regarding the state
implementation.—Essential
• Appointment discussion