Last October, the New York State Department of Financial Services announced that it changed the continuing-education requirements for insurance producers who do business in New York.
The new requirements include additional education that insurance agents and brokers must complete in Insurance Law; ethics and professionalism; and diversity, inclusion and elimination of bias.
The regulation for these changes went into effect on Nov. 12, 2021, and it applies to insurance agents and brokers whose licenses renew on or after Friday, April 1, 2022. Agents and brokers whose licenses renew before that date are not required to comply with the new regulation until their next renewal period.
A request for more time
Recently, PIA sent a letter to the DFS to request an extension on the date on which agents and brokers must meet the new CE requirements to Jan. 1, 2023. This extension would afford CE providers more time to establish quality CE courses that agents and brokers can take to satisfy the new requirements.
Unless the DFS extends the deadline, agents and brokers still are required to comply with the regulation. Currently, PIA is offering several classes that can help agents and brokers meet the DFS’ new requirements. They are available online or in private on-site sessions.
To provide agents and brokers in New York with the most up-to-date information, PIAhas compiled a list of frequently asked questions to help its members prepare for these changes:
Q. What is changing?
A. The DFS has added a new section to the CE regulation that requires insurance producers to take up to seven hours of CE instruction on specific topics (more below). Before the amendments were made, producers were required to take at least 15 hours of CE, but there was no requirement to complete courses on specific topics. (Updated Oct. 28, 2021)
A. All licensees (i.e., insurance agents and insurance brokers) will be required to complete education in each of the following areas per licensing period:
- one hour of Insurance Law;
- one hour of ethics and professionalism; and
- one hour of diversity, inclusion and elimination of bias.
All property/casualty licensees must complete additional education in each of the following areas per licensing period:
- At least one hour of flood insurance
- Three hours of enhanced flood insurance training.*
*This requirement applies only to insurance producers who sell flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program, including Write-Your-Own carriers. (Updated Oct. 28, 2021)
Q. What sort of course would satisfy the diversity, inclusion and elimination of bias requirement?
A. Courses that address implicit and explicit bias; equal access to justice; serving a diverse population; diversity and inclusion initiatives in the insurance industry; and sensitivity to cultural and other differences when interacting with clients, potential clients or members of the public all have been identified by the DFS to meet this requirement. Currently, PIA is offering some classes this year that satisfy these requirements. (Updated March 23, 2022)
Q. I took a flood training course through the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Would that satisfy the flood education requirements?
A. Probably. Courses related to the sale of flood insurance through the NFIP—including the minimum training requirements of Section 207 of the Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2004 and basic flood education, as outlined or published by FEMA—would meet the requirements for basic flood-insurance education. (Updated Oct. 28, 2021)
Q. What is enhanced flood insurance education?
A. Enhanced flood insurance courses include instruction on NFIP coverage, limits and rates—including coverage for dwellings in urban environments; on annual updates to the NFIP; on measures to improve flood insurance affordability; on the impact of climate change on flood risk and the NFIP; and on the NFIP claims process. (Updated Oct. 28, 2021)
Q. Recently, I took a course on rules of policy cancellations in New York. Would that satisfy the Insurance Law requirement?
A. Yes. The definition of Insurance Law instruction found in the amendments is broad. Any course that addresses areas of the Insurance Law relevant to insurance producers would satisfy this requirement. (Updated Oct. 28, 2021)
Q. Is the amount of CE I need to earn increasing?
A. No. While the amendment adds additional educational requirements, it does not increase the total number of CE credits a producer must receive. That number remains at 15 hours per licensing period. (Updated Oct. 28, 2021)
Q. When does the regulation go into effect?
A. The regulation went into effect Nov. 12, 2021. However, the regulation applies only to producers whose licenses renew on or after Friday, April 1, 2022. Producers with licenses with a renewal date before Friday, April 1, 2022, will not be required to comply with the new requirements until their next license renewal. (Updated Oct. 28, 2021)
Q: If producers whose licenses expire on or after Friday, April 1, 2022, renew their licenses before Friday, April 1, 2022, do they need to meet the new requirements?
A. No. The DFS has informed PIA that licensees who renew their licenses before Friday, April 1, 2022, may continue to renew their licenses without showing compliance with the new CE requirements. Beginning on Friday, April 1, 2022, licensees who are required to take CE will not be able to submit renewal applications without having completed the CE courses mandated by the amendment. (Updated Dec. 27, 2021)
Q. Does this requirement apply to nonresident licensees?
A. No. The amendment does not apply to nonresident insurance producers, as long as they have met the CE requirements of their home state. (Updated Oct. 28, 2021)
Q. How do I know if classes I already have taken satisfy the amendments?
A. PIA is awaiting direction from the DFS on the answer to this question. (Updated Oct. 28, 2021)
Q. How will I know if a course meets the new requirements?
A. PIA is awaiting direction from the DFS on the answer to this question. (Updated Oct. 28, 2021)
For updates about the DFS’ new CE regulation, watch your PIA Northeast publications.
Bradford J. Lachut, Esq.
Bradford J. Lachut, Esq., joined PIA as government affairs counsel for the Government & Industry Affairs Department in 2012 and then, after a four-month leave, he returned to the association in 2018 as director of government & industry affairs responsible for all legal, government relations and insurance industry liaison programs for the five state associations. Prior to PIA, Brad worked as an attorney for Steven J. Baum PC, in Amherst, and as an associate attorney for the law office of James Morris in Buffalo. He also spent time serving as senior manager of government affairs as the Buffalo Niagara Partnership, a chamber of commerce serving the Buffalo, N.Y., region, his hometown. He received his juris doctorate from Buffalo Law School and his Bachelor of Science degree in Government and Politics from Utica College, Utica, N.Y. Brad is an active Mason and Shriner.
