BILL NUMBER: AB 2387 CHAPTERED 09/28/06 CHAPTER 590 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 28, 2006 APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 28, 2006 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 21, 2006 PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 17, 2006 AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 27, 2006 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 3, 2006 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 19, 2006 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Vargas FEBRUARY 23, 2006 An act to amend Section 1749 of the Insurance Code, relating to agents. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 2387, Vargas Insurance agents: education. Existing law provides for the licensing of fire and casualty broker-agent, personal lines broker-agents, and life agents. An applicant for a fire and casualty broker-agent license who is licensed as a personal lines agent is required, among other things, to complete a minimum of 20 hours of prelicensing classroom study as a prerequisite. This bill would delete the requirement that the 20 hours of prelicensing study be conducted in a classroom. This bill would also provide that prelicensing courses not conducted in the classroom are subject to review and approval, as specified. The bill would further provide that prelicensing certificates of completion expire 3 years from completion of the course, whether or not a license is issued. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 1749 of the Insurance Code is amended to read: 1749. The department shall require all new applicants for license as a fire and casualty broker-agent, personal lines broker-agent, or as a life agent to meet prelicensing education standards as follows: (a) Require a minimum of 40 hours of prelicensing study as a prerequisite to qualification for a fire and casualty broker-agent license. The curriculum for satisfying this requirement shall be approved by the curriculum board and submitted to the commissioner for final approval. Any additions to the minimum requirements provided by this section shall be approved by the curriculum board pursuant to Section 1749.1 and certified by the department. (b) Require a minimum of 20 hours of prelicensing study as a prerequisite for qualification for a personal lines broker-agent license. The curriculum for satisfying this requirement shall be approved by the curriculum board and submitted to the commissioner for final approval. Any additions to the minimum requirements provided by this section shall be approved by the curriculum board pursuant to Section 1749.1 and certified by the department. (c) Require a minimum of 40 hours of prelicensing study as a prerequisite for qualification for a life agent license. The curriculum for satisfying this requirement shall be approved by the curriculum board and submitted to the commissioner for final approval. Any additions to the minimum requirements provided by this section shall be approved by the curriculum board pursuant to Section 1749.1 and certified by the department. This curriculum shall also include instruction in workers' compensation and general principles of employers' liability. (d) In addition to the 40 hours prelicensing education required to qualify for a license as a fire and casualty broker-agent or life agent, or the 20 hours prelicensing education required to qualify for a license as a personal lines broker-agent, the department shall require 12 hours of study on ethics and this code. Where an applicant seeks a license for both the fire and casualty broker-agent license and the life license, the applicant shall only be required to complete one 12-hour course on ethics and this code. The curriculum for satisfying this requirement shall be approved by the curriculum board and submitted to the commissioner for final approval. (e) An applicant for a life agent license, a fire and casualty broker-agent license, or a personal lines broker-agent license who is currently licensed as such in another state and who has completed 40 hours of prelicensing education as a requirement for licensing in that state shall be required to complete only the course of study on ethics and the Insurance Code, as required by Section 1749. Additionally, any applicant for such a license holding one or more of the designations specified in subdivisions (a) to (e), inclusive, of Section 1749.4 shall be exempted from any requirement for courses in general insurance that would otherwise be a condition of issuance of the license. (f) An applicant for a fire and casualty broker-agent license who is licensed as a personal lines agent shall complete a minimum of 20 hours prelicensing study as a prerequisite. The curriculum for satisfying this requirement shall be approved by the curriculum board and submitted to the commissioner for final approval. The applicant shall not be required to repeat any prelicensing requirements completed as a prerequisite to being licensed as a personal lines agent. (g) Review and approval of prelicensing courses not conducted in a classroom, as referenced in subdivisions (a), (b), (c), and (f) shall include an evaluation of the safeguards in place to ensure that the student completing the course is the person enrolled in the course, methods used to monitor the students' attendance are adequate, methods for the student to interact with the entity providing the training exist, and methods used to record the times spent completing the course are adequate. (h) Prelicensing certificates of completion expire three years from completion date of the course, whether or not a license is issued.