Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 18, September 16, 2024
(a) Except as
provided in (e) through (g) below, each applicant for a resident insurance
producer's license that is not solely for a limited line product shall pass a
course of prelicensing education offered by a provider approved by the
Department with the appropriate number of hours of instruction described in (b)
and (c) below. All changes in the appropriate number of hours for prelicensing
education shall become effective as of January 1, 2007.
(b) All prelicensing education courses listed
in (c) below shall include content on regulation of the insurance industry in
New Jersey, including the following topics:
1. State regulatory jurisdiction;
2. The powers of the Commissioner and the
methods of regulation;
3. Producer
licensing;
4. Producer trade
practices, standards of conduct and ethics;
5. Doing business as a licensed insurance
producer; and
6. Insurance fraud
detection and prevention.
(c) Prior to being admitted to the State
licensing examination to obtain a particular producer license authority, an
applicant shall complete a course of prelicensing education for the specific
authority or authorities with the minimum course hours as follows:
1. Life and/or variable authorities, for a
total of 20 hours:
i. General life insurance
concepts;
ii. Suitability
iii. Annuities;
iv. Contracts on a variable basis;
and
v. New Jersey law and practice
regarding life insurance.
2. Accident and health or sickness authority,
for a total of 20 hours:
i. General health
insurance concepts; and
ii. New
Jersey law and practice regarding health insurance.
3. Property authority, for a total of 20
hours:
i. General property insurance
concepts;
ii. Flood insurance and
the National Flood Insurance Program;
iii. New Jersey law and practice regarding
property and health insurance.
4. Casualty authority, for a total of 20
hours:
i. General casualty insurance
concepts;
ii. Health insurance
concepts; and
iii. New Jersey law
and practice regarding casualty and health insurance.
5. Title insurance authority, for a total of
20 hours:
i. General principles of real estate
and title insurance; and
ii. New
Jersey law and practice regarding title insurance.
6. Personal Lines authority, for a total of
20 hours:
i. General property/casualty
principles for personal lines;
ii.
General health insurance principles for individual coverages; and
iii. New Jersey law and practice regarding
property/ casualty and health insurance for personal lines products.
(d) Limited line
producers seeking authority for bail bonds shall pass a course of prelicensing
education with the appropriate number of hours of classroom instruction
specified in (d)1 and 2 below:
1. Prior to
being licensed in New Jersey for the first time for bail bonds as a limited
line producer, an applicant shall complete a course on regulation of the
insurance industry in New Jersey for a total of six classroom hours. The course
shall include the following topics:
i. State
regulatory jurisdiction;
ii. The
powers of the Commissioner and the methods of regulation;
iii. Producer licensing; and
iv. Producer trade practices, standards of
conduct, ethics and fraud.
2. In addition, prior to being admitted to
the State licensing examination to obtain a limited line insurance producer
license for bail bond license authority, an applicant shall complete a course
of prelicensing education for the specific authority or authorities as follows:
i. Bail bond authority for a total of 10
classroom hours;
(1) Criminal court system and
criminal code;
(2) Laws relating to
bail bonds; and
(3) Recordkeeping,
fiduciary responsibility and trust accounting.
(e) An individual who applies for
an insurance producer license in this State who was previously licensed for the
same lines of authority in another state shall not be required to complete any
prelicensing education or examination. This exemption is only available if the
person is currently licensed in good standing in that state; or if the
application is received within 90 days of the cancellation of the applicant's
previous license and the prior state issues a certification that, at the time
of cancellation, the applicant was in good standing in that state or the
state's producer database records, maintained by the NAIC, indicate that the
producer is or was licensed in good standing at the time of cancellation for
the lines of authority requested.
(f) A person who previously held a New Jersey
insurance license, which was surrendered as a condition of public employment,
shall not be required to complete the courses of prelicensing education to
reinstate the license provided that the employment was insurance-related and
application for license is made within one year of termination of the public
employment.
(g) Upon application to
the Department, any of the courses in (b), (c) and (d) above may be waived for
any license applicant who can demonstrate that he or she satisfies at least one
of the following conditions:
1. For all
authorities, that he or she holds, or has held, an insurance producer, agent,
broker or solicitor license in a state other than this State, which is current
or expired less than one year preceding the date of application for
waiver;
2. For all authorities,
that he or she is a veteran of the United States armed services, and has
completed a course of veteran's education approved by the Department of
Education and the Commissioner of Banking and Insurance;
3. For all authorities, that he or she has
successfully completed courses in insurance subjects at an accredited college
or university, which are equivalent or comparable to the prelicensing courses
required for the authority requested;
4. For title insurance authority only, that
he or she is an attorney at law admitted to practice in New Jersey;
5. For life authority, that the person holds
the following professional designation(s): Certified Employee Benefits
Specialist (CEBS); Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC); Certified Insurance
Counselor (CIC); Certified Financial Planner (CFP); Chartered Life Underwriter
(CLU); Fellow, Life Management Institute (FLMI); or LUTC Fellow
(LUTCF);
6. For accident and health
or sickness authority, that the person holds the following professional
designation(s): Registered Health Underwriter (RHU); Certified Employee
Benefits Specialist (CEBS); Registered Employee Benefits Consultant (REBC); or
Health Insurance Associate (HIA);
7. For property, casualty, or personal lines
authorities, that the person holds the following professional designation(s):
Accredited Adviser in Insurance (AAI); Associate in Risk Management (ARM);
Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC); or Chartered Property & Casualty
Underwriter (CPCU); and
8. The
Commissioner may grant a waiver based upon additional professional
designation(s) upon finding that the education necessary for the designation(s)
satisfies the program of study required for prelicensing education in the
applicable line of authority.
(h) An application for waiver shall be made
on a form prescribed by the Department and shall be submitted directly to the
Department prior to registering for the State licensing examination or making
application for an insurance producer license. In addition to providing the
information requested by the form:
1.
Applicants seeking a waiver authorized by (g)1 above shall submit a recent
certification of license status or letter of clearance issued by the insurance
licensing authority in the state where they hold or held an insurance license
unless such information shall be available on the Producer Licensing Database
maintained by the NAIC.
2.
Applicants seeking a waiver authorized by (g)2 above shall submit proof of
completion of a course of veteran's education issued by the New Jersey
Department of Education.
3.
Applicants seeking a waiver authorized by (g)3 above shall submit a transcript
issued by the accredited school college or university where the course was
taken and a description of the subject matter covered.
4. Applicants seeking a waiver authorized by
(g)4 above shall submit a certificate of good standing issued by the Clerk of
the New Jersey Supreme Court.
5.
Applicants seeking a waiver authorized by (g)5 through 7 above shall submit
adequate proof of having earned such designation, which shall include an
official document or transcript issued by the organization conferring the
designation.
(i) If a
waiver is approved pursuant to (g) and (h) above, the Department shall issue a
letter of approval waiving the prelicensing education requirement, which the
applicant shall submit when taking the examination for the line of authority
for which the waiver is granted.
(j) Waivers shall expire in 90 days from the
date of issuance and shall thereafter be reissued or renewed for good cause
only, upon presentation of evidence satisfactory to the Department.
(k) Each insurer that sells, solicits or
negotiates limited line credit insurance shall provide a program of instruction
on credit insurance to all limited line credit insurance producers appointed by
the insurer. The program of instruction shall be submitted for approval in a
format prescribed by the Department. The program of instruction shall be deemed
approved if not disapproved within 30 days of receipt by the Department of the
submission.
