(1) Unless exempt pursuant to
section 10-2-403, a resident individual applying for an insurance producer license
shall pass a written examination. The examination shall reasonably test the
individual applicant's minimum acceptable level of competence as to the particular
line or lines of authority for which the individual applicant seeks qualification,
unless an individual applicant has been licensed as an insurance producer for the
same line or lines of authority in another state within the twelve months
immediately preceding the date of receipt of application and files with the
commissioner a letter of clearance, issued by the public official having supervision
of insurance in the applicant's former state of residence, stating the individual held
a license for the same line or lines of authority during such twelve-month period
and that the license was in good standing.
(2) Examination for licensing shall be held at such reasonable times and
places as are designated by the commissioner, and such times and places shall be
made public.
(3) (a) Each individual applying for an examination shall remit a
nonrefundable fee as prescribed by the commissioner in accordance with section
10-2-413.
(b) The application for examination shall request the applicant to provide the
following information:
(I) The applicant's name, age, residence address, business address, and
mailing address;
(II) The name of any required prelicensing course he or she has completed or
is in the process of completing;
(III) The method by which the applicant intends to qualify for the license if
other than completing a prelicensing course;
(IV) The highest level of education achieved by the applicant; and
(V) The applicant's gender, native language, and race or ethnicity; except
that the application shall contain a statement that an applicant is not required to
disclose his or her gender, native language, or race or ethnicity, that he or she will
not be penalized for not doing so, and that the department will use this information
exclusively for research and statistical purposes and to improve the quality and
fairness of the examinations.
(c) No later than six months after August 5, 2008, and annually thereafter,
the commissioner shall prepare and publish a report that summarizes statistical
information relating to insurance producer examinations administered during the
preceding calendar year. The report shall include the following information for all
examinees combined and separately by race or ethnicity, gender, race or ethnicity
within gender, education level, and native language:
(I) The total number of examinees;
(II) The percentage and number of examinees who passed the examination;
(III) The mean scaled scores on the examination; and
(IV) Standard deviation of scaled scores on the examination.
(d) If the commissioner arranges to have the examinations for licensure
administered by an independent testing service pursuant to section 10-2-402 (5),
the commissioner may provide demographic information to the testing service if the
commissioner requires the independent examiner to review and analyze
examination results in conjunction with the gender, native language, education
level, and race or ethnicity of the examinees.
(4) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2001, p. 1195, � 9, effective January 1, 2002.)
(5) The commissioner shall give, conduct, and grade all examinations, or the
commissioner may arrange to have examinations administered and graded by an
independent testing service, as specified by contract, in a fair and impartial manner
and without discrimination as to individuals examined. The commissioner may
arrange for such testing service to recover the cost of the examination from the
applicant.
(6) There shall be a separate portion of the examination required for each
line of insurance which the applicant proposes to transact under the license.
(7) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2001, p. 1195, � 9, effective January 1, 2002.)
(8) An individual who fails to pass an examination shall remit the required
fee and any forms required to retake the failed examination.
(9) An individual who fails to appear for a scheduled examination shall remit
the required fee and any forms required to reapply to take the examination.
(10) Applicants for life, health coverages, property, or casualty examinations
shall comply with prelicensure education requirements as prescribed in section 10-2-201 prior to taking the written examination.
(11) An insurance producer license issued on or before January 1, 2002, for
health maintenance organizations (HMO) or nonprofits may be renewed or
continued until the licensee fails to meet the requirements of this part 4.