The Indiana House Committee on Insurance has unanimously approved House Bill 1674, which repeals the current requirements and creates a new statute for producer licensing.
The bill is supported by the Indiana Department of Insurance and is based on the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ producer licensing model act.
The National Association of Independent Insurers expressed its concerns regarding the lack of a limited license exemption for customer service representatives during committee hearings.
“NAII opposes the bill as it is currently drafted,” said Robert Hurns, counsel for NAII. “The requirement that virtually every employee that comes in contact with a client be licensed adds extra costs to insurance without providing any additional benefits to consumers. The exemption we are seeking would allow trained CSRs to provide routine service – such as adding a car or driver to an insurance policy – to existing customers. This exemption takes into account the way business is conducted today and allows insurers and agents to have well-qualified employees service existing policyholders in an efficient manner.”
As drafted, the bill would prohibit trained customer service representatives from responding to customer requests regarding their existing policies and force many routine tasks to be handled by a licensed agent. In addition to the unnecessary service delays, the cost of insurance would be increased due to the licensing and continuing education requirements imposed on insurers and agencies.
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