June 8, 2009
Oklahoma:
Effective November 2009: Licensees shall inform the Insurance Commissioner by any means acceptable of a change of legal name or address within thirty (30) days of the change. Acceptable legal name change documentation includes: Marriage Certificate, Divorce Decree and/or Court Issued Legal Name Change Document. Failure to inform the Insurance Commissioner of a change in legal name or address within thirty (30) days of the change shall result in an administrative fee of Fifty Dollars ($50.00).
Kansas:
Pearson VUE, in cooperation with the Kansas Insurance Department, has announced extensive changes to their insurance pre-licensing education curriculum outline. The announced revisions will be reflected on licensing examinations offered on and after September 2, 2009. Individuals preparing for an insurance licensing exam that will be administered on or after the announced implementation date are urged to ensure that their study materials reflect the most recent curriculum revisions. The new Licensing Information Bulletins will be available from Pearson VUE online at www.pearsonvue.com.
New Jersey:
The long standing contract between PearsonVue and the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance will expire on June 30, 2009. Department representatives are working with their new vendor, PSI Services LLC, to engineer a seamless transition with no anticipated service disruption. However, there will be procedural changes and you will be advised of these changes as the transition progresses. Candidates who anticipate an examination date on or before June 30, 2009 may schedule the examination with PearsonVue provided space remains available. The State specific test questions have been transferred from PearsonVue to PSI Services LLC. Questions from the general portion of the current examination are not considered the property of this Department and have been replaced with general line of authority questions used by PSI Services LLC in other states. This change is not considered to be significant. Candidates who anticipate an examination date on or after July 1, 2009 should periodically check the Department’s website at www.njdobi.org for updated information relating to the new contract vendor. PSI Services LLC will begin accepting reservations on or about June 16, 2009. The examination format will change from a 2 part single examination to one all inclusive examination. The Life, Health, Property, Casualty, and Title examinations will consist of 100 scored questions and 5 to 10 questions that will not impact the final score. The Public Adjuster, Surplus Lines, Personal Lines, and LL-Bail Bond exams will consist of 50 scored questions and 5 to 10 questions that will not impact the final score. The maximum time for completing the examinations has been increased to 3.5 hours regardless of whether it is a 100 or 50 question examination.
Washington:
The state of Washington has adopted the NAIC Producer model legislation, which will go into effect on July 1st, 2009. Resident and non-resident licensees are highly encouraged to read the new laws and rules as there are many changes. Among these changes are fingerprint requirements for non-residents, elimination of certain license types and lines of authority, addition of personal lines and variable lines of authority, and changes to pre-licensing education requirements, exam fees, and exam types. For further information, please use these links to access the Revised Code of Washington (http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=48.17), Session Law 1568 (http://apps.leg.wa.gov/documents/billdocs/2009-10/Pdf/Bills/Session%20Law%202009/1568.SL.pdf) , and the Washington Administrative Code (http://www.insurance.wa.gov/agents_brokers/licensing/documents/284-17WAC.pdf).
Nevada:
Nevada Insurance Commissioner Scott Kipper warns Nevada licensed insurance agents and brokers to beware of a scam targeting them. The Nevada Division of Insurance has received reports that individuals have been calling licensed insurance agencies and representing themselves as employees of the Nevada Division of Insurance. These individuals, pretending to be Nevada Division of Insurance employees, have requested payment for a penalty fee. The same individuals also requested that the insurance agencies provide credit card and social security information over the telephone to make the penalty payment and to avoid cancellation of their license. Commissioner Kipper warns all agents and brokers that these individuals are NOT employees of the Nevada Division of Insurance and are attempting to scam insurance agencies for financial gain. It is not the policy, practice or procedure for the Nevada Division of Insurance to request credit card or social security information over the telephone, with regards to a payment.
Iowa:
Effective July 1, 2009, the Iowa Department of Insurance will begin collecting retaliatory fees through NIPR for appointments. These fees will be collected and remitted to IA via Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT). Retaliatory fees are based upon the appointer’s state of domicile.