Pre-Licensing CE Requirements Changed in Ark.

The Arkansas Insurance Department announced that a portion of the Arkansas Insurance Code addressing education hours for applicants for Arkansas licenses to be an insurance agent, broker or producer has been amended. Arkansas Code §23-64-202(b)(2)(A)(iii) was amended as a result of Act 1948. Changes are effective Aug. 12, 2005.

When the Act is effective, the number of education hours, for a producer license applicant to meet Arkansas’ pre-license education requirements, is reduced from 36 hours to 20 hours per line of authority. The lines of authority per this law are: Life; accident/health/sickness; property/casualty; and personal lines.

The Department in advance must approve those pre-license hours, the course providers, and procedures. This Act will also apply to non-resident producer-applicants whose home state laws do not include the PLMA or whose state of domicile is not reciprocal with the State of Arkansas. Non-resident producers who move to Arkansas to establish residency, and whose home state laws are not reciprocal with Arkansas (as they do not include PLMA provisions similar to Arkansas), will be required to meet the pre-license education hour requirements.

The Act also added that an applicant shall not be required to take the five hours of instruction on Arkansas laws and rules if he/she has taken those particular five hours for a previous line of insurance authority within the last two years. Example – Only 15 pre-license hours for a new line of authority would be required for a resident applicant, who took five hours of insurance law/rules as pre-license hours for a previous license or line of authority six months ago (as it is within the preceding two years).

Act 1948 of 2005 may be viewed on the Internet at www.arkleg.state.ar.us under “ACTS”.

Contact the License Division of the Department for information at (501) 371-2750 or e-mail Insurance.License@Arkansas.gov for information.