Rhode Island Division of Insurance Issues Insurance Bulletin 2011-2 On Annuity and Long-Term Care Producer Training
May 6, 2011
The Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation’s Division of Insurance (“Division”) recently issued Insurance Bulletin Number 2011-2, which advises that the State’s Long-Term Care statute and the Annuity Suitability regulation provide for substantive training of producers prior to the sale, solicitation or negotiation of long-term care insurance or annuity contracts
Effective June 1, 2011, long-term care insurers and producers should follow Rhode Island’s requirements outlined in Insurance Bulletin 2007-10 for compliance with the Long-Term Care training requirements of R.I. Gen. Laws § 27-34.2-21 and the Annuity training requirements of section 7 of Insurance Regulation 12.
The complete Rhode Island Insurance Bulletin 2007-10 can be viewed by clicking on the attachment hyperlink below.
Rhode Island’s long-term care requirements first became effective in 2007 and the State has been following a “good faith compliance” standard as outlined in Insurance Bulletin 2007-10.
Long-Term Care
In order to sell, solicit or negotiate long-term care insurance in Rhode Island, a properly licensed insurance producer must take a one time eight-hour training course. Thereafter, all producers selling, soliciting or negotiating long-term care insurance must take a four-hour ongoing training course every 24 months.
Beginning June 1, 2011, both the eight-hour and the four-hour courses must be pre-approved by the Division. A list of Long-Term Care Approved Training Courses is available on the Division’s Web site and will be updated as additional courses are approved. Courses taken prior to June 1, 2011 are governed by the provisions of Insurance Bulletin 2007-10 and do not have to be pre-approved by the Division. Those producers who previously complied with Insurance Bulletin 2007-10 are deemed compliant until the next 24-month period, whereupon they must comply with the ongoing training requirement.
Annuity Suitability
Beginning June 1, 2011, in order to sell, solicit or negotiate annuities in Rhode Island, a properly licensed insurance producer must take a one time, four-hour training course that has been approved by the Division. A list of Annuity Suitability Training Courses is available on the Division’s Web site and will be updated as additional courses are approved.
Evidence of Compliance with Long-Term Care and Annuity Suitability
Producers are required to maintain records of the completed course. Insurers are required to monitor compliance and assure that all persons selling, soliciting or negotiating long-term care and/or annuity products are in compliance. Compliance with training requirements will be verified through market conduct examinations and random audit of licensees. The Division does not compile information regarding specific courses completed by individual producers. Insurers should therefore confirm this information directly with their contracted producer.
Approval of Courses
Courses approved for Long-Term Care and/or Annuity training are also approved by the Division for continuing education credit. In order to submit a course for review for purposes of R.I. Gen. Laws § 27-34.2-21 or Insurance Regulation 12, section 7, providers should submit the course for continuing education purposes as prescribed in Insurance Regulation 40 and indicate that the submission is also being made for approval as a Long-Term Care or Annuity Training Course.
The provider will receive a separate approval for purposes of continuing education and Long-Term Care or Annuity Approved Training.