KANSAS
INSURANCE DEPARTMENT
K.A.R. 40-7-20a. Agents; continuing education; approval of
courses; requirements. (a)
Definitions. For the purposes of this regulation, the following
definitions shall apply:
(1) “Coordinator”
means an individual who is responsible for monitoring continuing education
offerings.
(2) “Course” means a series of lectures or
lessons that deals with a particular subject following a prearranged agenda or
study plan and that may culminate in a written examination;.
(3) “Instructor” means an individual lecturing
in a continuing education offering.
(4) “Licensee,” “licensed agent” and “agent” mean
a natural person licensed by this state as an agent.
(5) “Person” means a natural person, firm,
institution, partnership, corporation, or association.
(6) “Provider” and “providing organization” mean
a person or firm offering or providing insurance education.
(7) “Self-study
courses” means courses that are primarily delivered or conducted in other than
a classroom setting or with on-site instruction and are designed to be
completed independently by the student.
(b) General
requirements.
(1) Only
courses that
impart substantive and procedural knowledge relating to insurance and are
beneficial to the insuring public after initial licensing shall be approved for
credit. Approved courses shall be classified as life, health, and variable
contracts courses,; property and casualty courses; general courses;
ethics courses; or general management courses. Credit earned from general courses,
ethics courses, or general management courses shall be acceptable in meeting
the requirements for the property and casualty insurance or the life and health
insurance license classifications.
(2) Courses
of the following types shall not meet the basic criteria for approvable courses
described in paragraph (1) of this subsection:
(A) Courses
designed to prepare students for a license examination;
(B) courses
in office or business skills, including typing, speed reading, and the use of
calculators or other machines or equipment; and
(C) courses
in sales promotion, including meetings held in conjunction with the general
business of the licensee.
(3)(A) Each licensee shall attend a course in its
entirety in order to receive full credit.
(B) Upon
completion of each approved course, the student shall receive credit for the
number of hours approved for the course, which shall be equivalent to one hour
of credit for each hour of instruction.
(C) If
the number of credit hours for which a course is approved is fewer than the
total number of hours of the course presentation, the student shall attend the
entire course in order to receive credit for the number of approved hours.
(D) The
number of approved hours shall not include time spent on introductions, breaks,
or other activities not directly related to approved educational information or
material.
(E) Neither
a student nor an instructor shall earn full credit for attending or instructing
any subsequent offering of the same course in the current biennial license
period after attending or teaching the course.
(4) Course
examinations shall not be required for approval of continuing education courses
except self-study courses.
(5) Each
provider shall submit proposed courses to the commissioner or the
commissioner's designee for preapproval at least 30 days before the date
on which the course is to be held.
(6) An
advertisement shall not state or imply that a course has been approved by the
commissioner or the commissioner's designee unless written confirmation of this
approval has been received by the provider.
(7) If
approval has been granted for the initial offering of a course, approval for
subsequent offerings not disclosed in the initial submission may be obtained by
providing written notification to the commissioner or the commissioner's
designee at least 30 days before the date the program is to be held,
indicating that no change has been made in the course and specifying the
additional times and places the course will be presented.
(8) The
provider shall submit all fees required for individual course approval with the
course submission. If the provider elects to pay the prescribed fee for all
courses, the provider shall pay the fee annually and shall submit the fee with
the first course submission each year. (9) Each
course of study, except self-study courses, shall be conducted in a classroom
or other facility that
comfortably accommodates the faculty and the number of students enrolled. The
provider may limit the number of students enrolled in a course.
(10)(A) Each successfully completed course
leading to a nationally or regionally recognized designation shall receive
credit as approved by the commissioner or the commissioner's designee.
(B) Any
agent attending at least 80 but less than 100 percent of regularly scheduled
classroom sessions for any single course may receive full educational credit if
the course is filed as a formal classroom course. This credit may be earned to
the extent that adequate records are maintained and appropriate certification
of such attendance is provided by the course instructor.
(11)(A)
The amount of credit received by an agent for a self-study course shall
be based upon successful completion of the course and an independently
monitored examination subject to the number of hours assigned by the commissioner
or the commissioner's designee.
(B) Examination
monitors shall not be affiliated in any way with the providing organization or
the licensee and shall be subject to approval by the commissioner or the
commissioner's designee. Each examination utilized or to be utilized shall be
included in the material submitted for course approval. No examination shall be
approved unless the commissioner is satisfied that security procedures
protecting the integrity of the examination can be maintained. If security is
compromised, no credit shall be granted.
(C) Each
provider of self-study courses shall clearly disclose to any agent wishing to
receive credit in
(c) Each
licensee or provider found to have falsified a continuing education report to
the commissioner shall be subject to suspension or revocation of the licensee's
or provider's insurance license in accordance with K.S.A. 40-4909 and
amendments thereto, a penalty as prescribed in K.S.A. 40-254 and amendments
thereto, or termination of approval as a provider.
(d) Course
requirements.
(1) Each
course of study shall have a coordinator who is responsible for supervising the
course and ensuring compliance with the statutes and regulations governing the
offering of insurance continuing education courses.
(2)(A) Each
provider and each providing organization shall maintain accurate records
relating to course offerings, instructors, and student attendance. If
the coordinator leaves the employ of the provider or otherwise ceases to
monitor continuing education offerings, the records shall be transferred to the
replacement coordinator or an officer of the provider. If a provider ceases
operations, the coordinator shall maintain the records or provide a custodian
of the records acceptable to the commissioner. In order to be acceptable, a
custodian shall agree to make copies of student records available to students
free of charge or at a reasonable fee. The custodian of the records shall not
be the commissioner, under any circumstances.
(B) Each provider shall provide students with course completion certificates, on a form prescribed or approved by the commissioner, within 30 days after completion of the course. A provider may require payment of the course tuition as a condition for receiving the course completion certificate.
(3) Each
instructor shall possess at least one of the following qualifications:
(A) Recent
experience in the subject area being taught;
(B) a
college degree related to the subject area being taught; or
(C) an
appropriate professional designation in the area being taught.
(4) Each
instructor shall perform the following:
(A) Comply
with all laws and regulations pertaining to insurance continuing education;
(B) provide
the students with current and accurate information;
(C) maintain
an atmosphere conducive to learning in a classroom; and
(D) provide
assistance to the students and respond to questions relating to course
material.
(5) Each
provider, coordinator, and instructor shall notify the commissioner
within 10 days after the occurrence of any of the following:
(A) A
felony or misdemeanor conviction or disciplinary action taken against a
provider or against an insurance or other occupational license held by the
coordinator or instructor; and
(B) any
change of information contained in an application for course approval.
(e) Licensee
reporting requirement.
(1) Each licensee shall report continuing
education credit on forms and in a manner prescribed by the commissioner. Each
course shall be completed or attended during the reporting period for which the
credit hours are to be applied.
(2) Each
request for an extension permitted by K.S.A. 40-4903(j) and amendments thereto
shall be submitted in writing not later than the reporting deadline and shall
include an explanation and independent verification of the hardship. (Authorized by K.S.A. 40-103 and K.S.A. 2005 Supp. 40-4916; implementing K.S.A. 2005
Supp. 40-4903; effective May 15, 1989; amended, T-40-8-28-90, Aug. 30, 1990;
amended Oct. 15, 1990; amended Feb. 8, 1993; amended April 11, 1997; amended effective
February 9, 2007.)