§ 34-13-199 — Preneed Sales Agent

Alabama § 34-13-199

• Jurisdiction: Alabama
• Title 34: Professions and Businesses
• Ch. 13: Funeral Services
• Art. 5: Alabama Preneed Funeral and Cemetery Act of 2023
• Div. 2: Certificate of Authority

Text

(a) All individuals who offer preneed contracts to the public, or who execute preneed contracts on behalf of a certificate holder, shall be registered with the board as preneed sales agents, pursuant to this chapter.
(b) All preneed sales agents and funeral directors acting as preneed sales agents shall be affiliated with the certificate holder that they are representing.
(c) A certificate holder shall be responsible for the activities of all preneed sales agents and all funeral directors acting as preneed sales agents who are affiliated with the certificate holder and who perform any type of preneed-related activity on behalf of the certificate holder. In addition to the preneed sales agents and funeral directors acting as preneed sales agents, each certificate holder shall also be subject to discipline if its preneed sales agents or funeral directors acting as preneed sales agents violate
this
chapter
.
(d) A preneed sales agent and a funeral director acting as a preneed sales agent
may
sell, offer, and execute preneed contracts on behalf of all
properly licensed
entities owned or operated by the sponsoring certificate holder.
(e) An individual may begin
operating
as a preneed sales agent as soon as a completed application for registration, as set forth in subsection (g), is
approved by the board
.
(f)
(1)
The qualifications for a preneed sales agent are as follows:
a.
The applicant must be at least 18 years of age.
b.
The applicant must be in good standing with the
board
.
c.
The applicant
may
not have any felony or misdemeanor convictions that relate to any activity regulated by this chapter
or a crime involving moral turpitude, as defined by this chapter
.
d. The applicant shall be of good moral character and submit to a criminal history background check pursuant to subdivision (2).
(2) An applicant for licensure as a preneed sales agent shall submit to the board, on a form sworn to by the applicant, his or her name, date of birth, Social Security number, and two complete sets of fingerprints for completion of a criminal history background check. The board shall submit the fingerprints to the Alabama State Law Enforcement Agency for a state criminal history background check. The fingerprints shall be forwarded by the agency to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a national criminal history background check. Costs associated with conducting a criminal history background check shall be paid by the applicant. The board shall keep information received pursuant to this subdivision confidential, except that information received and relied upon in denying the issuance of a certificate of authority may be disclosed if necessary to support the denial. All character information, including the information obtained through the criminal history background checks, shall be considered in licensure decisions to the extent permissible by all applicable laws.
(g) An application for registration as a preneed sales agent shall be submitted to the
board
with an application fee determined by the
board
, but not to exceed
thirty-three dollars ($33)
, by the certificate holder in a form that has been prescribed by
board
rule
. The application shall contain, at a minimum, all of the following:
(1) The name, address, Social Security number, and date of birth of the applicant and any other information as the
board
may reasonably require of the applicant.
(2) The name, address, and license number of the sponsoring certificate holder.
(3) A representation, signed by the applicant, that the applicant meets the requirements set forth in subsection (f).
(4) A representation, signed by the certificate holder, that the applicant is authorized to offer, sell, and sign preneed contracts on behalf of the certificate holder and that the certificate holder has trained the applicant in
this
chapter
relating to preneed sales, the provisions of the certificate holder’s preneed contract, and the nature of the merchandise, services, or burial rights sold by the certificate holder.
(5) A statement indicating whether the applicant has any type of working or agency relationship with any other certificate holder or insurance company.
(h) An individual may be registered as a preneed sales agent on behalf of more than one certificate holder, provided that the individual has received the written consent of all certificate holders.
(i) A certificate holder who has registered a preneed sales agent shall notify the
board
within 30 days after the individual’s status as a preneed sales agent has been terminated.
(j) Upon
approval
of an application that complies with all of the requirements of subsection (g), the
board
shall register the applicant. The
board, in accordance with this chapter, shall
provide for annual renewal of registration
upon receipt of a renewal application
and a renewal fee not to exceed
thirty-three dollars ($33)
as set by the
board
.

Legislative History

(Act 2002-74, p. 221, §1; Act 2014-216, p. 653, §3; §27-17A-18; Act 2023-94, §5.)