§ 40-4903 — Insurance agent license; lines of authority; license requirements; renewal requirements, penalties; fees

(a) Unless denied licensure pursuant to K.S.A. 40-4909, and amendments thereto, any person who meets the requirements of K.S.A. 40-4905, and amendments thereto, shall be issued an insurance agent license. An insurance agent may receive qualifications for a license in one or more of the following lines of authority:
(1) Life: Insurance coverage on human lives including benefits of endowment and annuities, and may include benefits in the event of death or dismemberment by accident and benefits for disability income.
(2) Accident and health or sickness: Insurance coverage for sickness, bodily injury or accidental death and may include benefits for disability income.
(3) Property: Insurance coverage for the direct or consequential loss or damage to property of every kind.
(4) Casualty: Insurance coverage against legal liability, including that for death, injury or disability or damage to real or personal property.
(5) Variable life and variable annuity products: Insurance coverage provided under variable life insurance contracts, variable annuities or any other life insurance or annuity product that reflects the investment experience of a separate account.
(6) Personal lines: Property and casualty insurance coverage sold primarily to an individual or family for noncommercial purposes.
(7) Credit: Limited line credit insurance.
(8) Crop insurance: Limited line insurance for damage to crops from unfavorable weather conditions, fire, lightning, flood, hail, insect infestation, disease or other yield-reducing conditions or any other peril subsidized by the federal crop insurance corporation, including multi-peril crop insurance.
(9) Title insurance: Limited line insurance that insures titles to property against loss by reason of defective titles or encumbrances.
(10) (A) Travel insurance: Limited line insurance for personal risks incidental to planned travel, including, but not limited to:
(i) Interruption or cancellation of trip or event;
(ii) loss of baggage or personal effects;
(iii) damages to accommodations or rental vehicles;
(iv) sickness, accident, disability or death occurring during travel.*
(v) emergency evacuation;
(vi) repatriation of remains; or
(vii) any other contractual obligations to indemnify or pay a specified amount to the traveler upon determinable contingencies related to travel as approved by the commissioner.
(B) Travel insurance does not include major medical plans that provide comprehensive medical protection for travelers with trips lasting six months or longer, for example, persons working overseas including military personnel deployed overseas.
(11) Pre-need funeral insurance: Limited line insurance that allows for the purchase of a life insurance or annuity contract by or on behalf of the insured solely to fund a pre-need contract or arrangement with a funeral home for specific services.
(12) Bail bond insurance: Limited line insurance that provides surety for a monetary guarantee that an individual released from jail will be present in court at an appointed time.
(13) Self-service storage unit insurance: Limited line insurance relating to the rental of self-service storage units, including:
(A) Personal effects insurance that provides coverage to renters of storage units at the same facility for the loss of, or damage to, personal effects that occurs at the same facility during the rental period; and
(B) any other coverage that the commissioner may approve as meaningful and appropriate in connection with the rental of storage units. Such insurance may only be issued in accordance with K.S.A. 40-241, and amendments thereto.
(14) Any other line of insurance permitted under the provisions of chapter 40 of the Kansas Statutes Annotated, and amendments thereto, and any rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.
(b) Unless suspended, revoked or refused renewal pursuant to K.S.A. 40-4909, and amendments thereto, an insurance agent license shall remain in effect as long as:
(1) Education requirements for resident individual agents are met by such insurance agent's biennial due date;
(2) such insurance agent submits an application for renewal on a form prescribed by the commissioner; and
(3) such insurance agent pays a biennial renewal application fee of $4.
(c) Except as provided in paragraphs (1) through (4), each licensed insurance agent shall biennially obtain a minimum of 18 C.E.C.s that include at least three hours of instruction in insurance ethics that also may include regulatory compliance.
(1) Each licensed insurance agent who is an individual and holds only a crop qualification shall biennially obtain a minimum of two C.E.C.s in courses certified as crop C.E.C.s under the property and casualty category.
(2) Each licensed insurance agent who is an individual and is licensed only for title insurance shall biennially obtain a minimum of four C.E.C.s in courses certified by the board of abstract examiners as title C.E.C.s under the property and casualty category.
(3) Each licensed insurance agent who is an individual and holds a life insurance license solely for the purpose of selling pre-need funeral insurance or annuity products shall file a report on or before such agent's biennial due date affirming that such agent transacted no other insurance business during the period covered by the report and shall provide certification from an officer of each insurance company that has appointed such agent that the agent transacted no other insurance business during the period covered by the report. Agents who have offered to sell or sold only pre-need funeral insurance are exempt from the requirement to obtain C.E.C.s.
(4) Each licensed insurance agent who is an individual and holds only a bail bond, self-service storage unit or travel insurance qualification is exempt from the requirement to obtain C.E.C.s.
(5) (A) A licensed insurance agent who is a member of the national guard or any reserve component of the armed services of the United States who serves on active duty for at least 90 consecutive days shall be exempt from the requirement to obtain C.E.C.s during the time that such insurance agent is on active duty.
(B) The commissioner shall grant an extension to any licensed insurance agent described in subparagraph (A) until the biennial due date that occurs in the year next succeeding the year in which such active duty ceases.
(d) An instructor of an approved subject shall be entitled to the same C.E.C. as a student completing the study.
(e) (1) An individual insurance agent who has been licensed for more than one year, on or before such insurance agent's biennial due date, shall file a report with the commissioner certifying that such insurance agent has met the continuing education requirements for the previous biennium ending on such insurance agent's biennial due date. Each individual insurance agent shall maintain a record of all courses attended together with a certificate of attendance for the remainder of the biennium in which the courses were attended and the entire next succeeding biennium.
(2) If the required report showing proof of continuing education completion is not received by the commissioner by the individual insurance agent's biennial due date, such individual insurance agent's qualification and each and every corresponding license shall be suspended automatically for a period of 90 calendar days or until such time as the producer satisfactorily demonstrates completion of the continuing education requirement whichever is sooner. In addition, the commissioner shall assess a penalty of $100 for each license suspended. If such insurance agent fails to furnish to the commissioner the required proof of continuing education completion and the monetary penalty within 90 calendar days of such insurance agent's biennial due date, such individual insurance agent's qualification and each and every corresponding license shall expire on such insurance agent's biennial due date. If after more than three but less than 12 months from the date the license expired, the insurance agent wants to reinstate such insurance agent's license, such individual shall provide the required proof of continuing education completion and pay a reinstatement fee in the amount of $100 for each license suspended. If after more than 12 months from the date an insurance agent's license has expired, such insurance agent wants to reinstate such insurance agent's license, such individual shall apply for an insurance agent's license, provide the required proof of continuing education completion and pay a reinstatement fee in the amount of $100 for each license suspended. Upon receipt of a written application from such insurance agent claiming extreme hardship, the commissioner may waive any penalty imposed under this subsection.
(3) On and after the effective date of this act, any applicant for an individual insurance agent's license who previously held a license that expires on or after June 30, 2001, because of failure to meet continuing education requirements and who seeks to be relicensed shall provide evidence that appropriate C.E.C.s have been completed for the prior biennium.
(4) Upon receipt of a written application from an individual insurance agent, the commissioner, in cases involving medical hardship or military service, may extend the time within which to fulfill the minimum continuing educational requirements for a period of not to exceed 180 days.
(5) This section shall not apply to any inactive insurance agent during the period of such inactivity. For the purposes of this paragraph, "inactive period" or "period of inactivity" means a continuous period of time of not more than four years starting from the date inactive status is granted by the commissioner. Before returning to active status, such inactive insurance agent shall:
(A) File a report with the commissioner certifying that such agent has met the continuing education requirement; and
(B) pay the renewal fee. If the required proof of continuing education completion and the renewal fee is not furnished at the end of the inactive period, such individual insurance agent's qualification and each and every corresponding license shall expire at the end of the period of inactivity. For issuance of a new license, the individual shall apply for a license and pass the required examination.
(6) Any individual who allows such individual's insurance agent license in this state and all other states in which such individual is licensed as an insurance agent to expire for a period of four or more consecutive years, shall apply for a new insurance agent license and pass the required examination.
(f) (1) Each course, program of study, or subject shall be submitted to and certified by the commissioner in order to qualify for purposes of continuing education.
(2) Each request for certification of any course, program of study or subject shall contain the following information:
(A) The name of the provider or provider organization;
(B) the title of such course, program of study or subject;
(C) the date the course, program of study or subject will be offered;
(D) the location where the course, program of study or subject will be offered;
(E) an outline of each course, program of study or subject including a schedule of times when such material will be presented;
(F) the names and qualifications of instructors;
(G) the number of C.E.C.s requested;
(H) a nonrefundable C.E.C. qualification fee in the amount of $50 per course, program of study or subject or $250 per year for all courses, programs of study or subjects submitted by a specific provider or provider organization; and
(I) a nonrefundable annual provider fee of $100.
(3) Upon receipt of such information, the commissioner shall grant or deny certification of any submitted course, program of study or subject as an approved subject, program of study or course and indicate the number of C.E.C.s that will be recognized for each approved course, program of study or subject. Each approved course, program of study or subject shall be assigned by the commissioner to one or both of the following classes:
(A) Property and casualty; or
(B) life insurance, including annuity and variable contracts, and accident and health insurance.
(4) Each course, program of study or subject shall have a value of at least one C.E.C.
(5) (A) Each provider seeking approval of a course, program of study or subject for continuing education credit shall issue or cause to be issued to each person who attends a course, program of study or subject offered by such provider a certificate of attendance. The certificate shall be signed by either the instructor who presents the course, program of study or course or such provider's authorized representative. Each provider shall maintain a list of all individuals who attend courses offered by such provider for continuing education credit for the remainder of the biennium in which the courses are offered and the entire next succeeding biennium.
(B) The commissioner shall accept, without substantive review, any course, program of study or subject submitted by a provider that has been approved by the insurance supervisory authority of any other state or territory accredited by the NAIC. The commissioner may disapprove any individual instructor or provider who has been the subject of disciplinary proceedings or who has otherwise failed to comply with any other state's or territory's laws or regulations.
(6) The commissioner may grant or approve any specific course, program of study or course that has appropriate merit, such as any course, programs of study or course with broad national or regional recognition, without receiving any request for certification. The fee prescribed by subsection (f)(2) shall not apply to any approval granted pursuant to this provision.
(7) The C.E.C. value assigned to any course, program of study or subject, other than a correspondence course, computer based training, interactive internet study training or other course pursued by independent study, shall in no way be contingent upon passage or satisfactory completion of any examination given in connection with such course, program of study or subject. The commissioner shall establish, by rules and regulations criteria for determining acceptability of any method used for verification of the completion of each stage of any computer based or interactive internet study training. Completion of any computer based training or interactive internet study training shall be verified in accordance with a method approved by the commissioner.
(g) Upon request, the commissioner shall provide a list of all approved continuing education courses currently available to the public.
(h) An individual insurance agent who independently studies an insurance course, program of study or subject that is not an agent's examination approved by the commissioner shall receive credit for the C.E.C.s assigned by the commissioner as recognition for the approved subject. No other credit shall be given for independent study.
(i) Any licensed individual insurance agent who is unable to comply with license renewal procedures due to military service or some other extenuating circumstances may request a waiver of those procedures from the commissioner. Such agent may also request from the commissioner a waiver of any examination requirement or any other fine or sanction imposed for failure to comply with renewal procedures.
* The period should have been a semicolon instead.

Legislative History

L. 2001, ch. 91, § 3; L. 2013, ch. 109, § 4; L. 2017, ch. 69, § 2; L. 2021, ch. 23, § 3; L. 2023, ch. 42, § 11; January 1, 2024.