§1573. Continuing education requirements

A. The continuing education requirements for renewal of license under R.S. 22:1547(C)(3) and 1808.4(C)(3) are set forth in this Section. The continuing education requirement shall be fulfilled by satisfactory completion of the required hours of instruction in continuing education programs approved by the commissioner.

B. The commissioner shall promulgate rules and regulations setting forth guidelines and requirements for the content and conduct of continuing education programs and for the procedure for approval of a continuing education program. The commissioner shall also promulgate rules and regulations specifying the qualifications which each instructor in an approved continuing education program shall possess. All such rules and regulations promulgated by the commissioner shall be promulgated pursuant to the provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act. The continuing education program shall be conducted by one of the entities set forth in R.S. 22:1571(C).

C. Life insurance producers and consultants and health insurance producers and consultants shall complete twenty-four hours of approved instruction or verifiable approved self-study prior to each renewal of license, with at least three hours dedicated to the subject of ethics. A person who holds a combination of life or health insurance producer licenses and life or health consultant licenses shall complete a total of twenty-four hours of approved instruction or verifiable approved self-study, with at least three hours dedicated to the subject of ethics.

D. Insurance producers authorized to write property, casualty, or property and casualty or personal lines insurance business and property, casualty, or property and casualty insurance consultants shall complete twenty-four hours of approved instruction or verifiable approved self-study before each renewal of license with at least three hours of approved instruction dedicated to the subject of ethics and three hours dedicated to the subject of flood insurance. A person who holds a combination of property, casualty, or property and casualty insurance producer licenses and property, casualty, or property and casualty consultant licenses, shall complete a total of twenty-four hours of approved instruction or verifiable approved self-study, with at least three hours dedicated to the subject flood insurance.

E. For producers authorized to write life, health and accident insurance and also authorized to write property, casualty, or property and casualty or personal lines insurance business, and consultants authorized to consult on life, health and accident insurance and also authorized to consult on property, casualty, or property and casualty or personal lines insurance business, the continuing education requirement for renewal of license shall be twenty-four hours of approved instruction or verifiable approved self-study with at least three hours of approved instruction or verifiable approved self-study dedicated to the subject of ethics and three hours dedicated to the subject of flood insurance. Persons who hold a combination of life, health and accident, property, casualty, or property and casualty insurance producer licenses and life, health and accident, property, casualty, or property and casualty consultant licenses shall complete a total of twenty-four hours of approved instruction or verifiable approved self-study, with at least three hours dedicated to the subject of ethics and three hours dedicated to the subject of flood insurance.

F. For bail bond producers, the continuing education requirement for renewal of license shall be twelve hours of approved bail underwriting instruction.

G. Producers and consultants licensed for life, health and accident, property, casualty or personal lines may carry over no more than ten excess hours of approved insurance instruction accumulated during one renewal period to be applied to the continuing education requirement for the next renewal period.

H. A person teaching an approved continuing education program shall qualify for the same number of hours of approved instruction as would be granted to a person taking and successfully completing the program.

I.(1) The provisions of this Section, imposing continuing education requirements for renewal of a license, shall not apply to any person sixty-five years of age or older who has at least fifteen years of experience as a licensed producer and who either:

(a) Is no longer actively engaged in the insurance business as a producer and who is receiving social security benefits, if eligible.

(b) Is actively engaged in the insurance business as a producer and who represents or operates through a licensed Louisiana insurer or insurance agency.

(2) Every applicant for the exemption provided in this Subsection shall attest to, on forms to be provided by the commissioner, his eligibility for the exemption under this Subsection.

(3) The provisions of Subparagraph (1)(a) of this Subsection shall apply only to a person who retires on or after January 1, 1994.

J. The commissioner may grant continuing education credits to any of the following:

(1) A licensed producer who participates in a qualified graduate-level national designation program, passes the test required of such program, and earns a certificate of completion. Qualified graduate-level national designation programs include programs in which a person may be designated as a Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU), Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU), Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC), and other such national professional designations.

(2) A licensed producer who is a member of, and actively participates in, a state or national insurance association. The continuing education credits shall not exceed four hours.

K. The commissioner shall grant twenty-four continuing education credits to a licensed producer who is a member of the legislature while that person is serving a term in the legislature.

L. Beginning with license renewals effective in 2015, title insurance producers licensed pursuant to Subpart R of Part 1 of Chapter 2 of this Title, R.S. 22:511 et seq., shall complete twelve hours of approved instruction or verifiable approved self-study prior to the renewal of the license with at least two hours dedicated to matters related to state and federal consumer finance protection laws.

M. Any property and casualty insurance producer, upon receiving his initial license, shall complete three hours of approved instruction dedicated to flood insurance on his first license renewal when continuing education is required.

N. The continuing education requirements for renewal of a license shall not apply to a nonresident licensee who satisfies the continuing education requirements for his home state and whose home state gives continuing education credit to resident licensees of this state on a reciprocal basis.

Acts 1989, No. 428, §1; Acts 1990, No. 646, §1; Acts 1992, No. 465, §1; Acts 1992, No. 1000, §1; Acts 1992, No. 1039, §1; Acts 1993, No. 213, §1; Acts 1993, No. 952, §4, eff. Jan. 1, 1994; Acts 1996, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 71, §1, eff. May 10, 1996; Acts 1997, No. 1412, §1, eff. July 15, 1997; Acts 2001, No. 290, §1; H.C.R. No. 4. 2002 1st Ex. Sess; Acts 2003, No. 65, §1; Acts 2004, No. 512, §1; Acts 2005, No. 379, §1; Acts 2006, No. 522, §1; Redesignated from R.S. 22:1193 by Acts 2008, No. 415, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2009; Acts 2009, No. 485, §§1, 3, eff. Jan. 1, 2010; Acts 2010, No. 967, §1; Acts 2011, No. 94, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2012; Acts 2013, No. 21, §1; Acts 2014, No. 83, §1; Acts 2016, No. 72, §1, eff. May 10, 2016; Acts 2016, No. 312, §1; Acts 2018, No. 15, §1.