HB0241ham001 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Rep. Thaddeus Jones

Filed: 3/17/2021

10200HB0241ham001 LRB102 10112 BMS 23337 a

AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 241

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 241 by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the following:

"Section 5. The Illinois Insurance Code is amended by changing Sections 500-30, 1510, and 1565 as follows:

(215 ILCS 5/500-30)

(Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2027)

Sec. 500-30. Application for license.

(a) An individual applying for a resident insurance producer license must make application on a form specified by the Director and declare under penalty of refusal, suspension, or revocation of the license that the statements made in the application are true, correct, and complete to the best of the individual's knowledge and belief. Before approving the application, the Director must find that the individual:

(1) is at least 18 years of age;

(2) is sufficiently rehabilitated in cases in which the applicant has committed any act that is a ground for denial, suspension, or revocation set forth in Section 500-70, other than convictions set forth in paragraph (6) of subsection (a) of Section 500-70; with respect to applicants with convictions set forth in paragraph (6) of subsection (a) of Section 500-70, the Director shall determine in accordance with Section 500-76 that the conviction will not impair the ability of the applicant to engage in the position for which a license is sought;

(3) has completed, if required by the Director, a pre-licensing course of study before the insurance exam for the lines of authority for which the individual has applied (an individual who successfully completes the Fire and Casualty pre-licensing courses also meets the requirements for Personal Lines-Property and Casualty);

(4) has paid the fees set forth in Section 500-135; and

(5) has successfully passed the examinations for the lines of authority for which the person has applied.

(b) A pre-licensing course of study for each class of insurance for which an insurance producer license is requested must be established in accordance with rules prescribed by the Director and must consist of the following minimum hours:

7.5 hours of each pre-licensing course must be completed in a classroom or webinar setting, except Motor Vehicle, which would require 5 hours in a classroom or webinar setting.

(c) A business entity acting as an insurance producer must obtain an insurance producer license. Application must be made using the Uniform Business Entity Application. Before approving the application, the Director must find that:

(1) the business entity has paid the fees set forth in Section 500-135; and

(2) the business entity has designated a licensed producer responsible for the business entity's compliance with the insurance laws and rules of this State.

(d) The Director may require any documents reasonably necessary to verify the information contained in an application.

(Source: P.A. 100-286, eff. 1-1-18.)

(215 ILCS 5/1510)

Sec. 1510. Definitions. In this Article:

"Adjusting a claim for loss or damage covered by an insurance contract" means negotiating values, damages, or depreciation or applying the loss circumstances to insurance policy provisions.

"Business entity" means a corporation, association, partnership, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, or other legal entity.

"Department" means the Department of Insurance.

"Director" means the Director of Insurance.

"Fingerprints" means an impression of the lines on the finger taken for the purpose of identification. The impression may be electronic or in ink converted to electronic format.

"Home state" means the District of Columbia and any state or territory of the United States where the public adjuster's principal place of residence or principal place of business is located. If neither the state in which the public adjuster maintains the principal place of residence nor the state in which the public adjuster maintains the principal place of business has a substantially similar law governing public adjusters, the public adjuster may declare another state in which it becomes licensed and acts as a public adjuster to be the home state.

"Individual" means a natural person.

"Person" means an individual or a business entity.

"Public adjuster" means any person who, for compensation or any other thing of value on behalf of the insured:

(i) acts or aids, solely in relation to first party claims arising under insurance contracts that insure the real or personal property of the insured, on behalf of an insured in adjusting a claim for loss or damage covered by an insurance contract;

(ii) advertises for employment as a public adjuster of insurance claims or solicits business or represents himself or herself to the public as a public adjuster of first party insurance claims for losses or damages arising out of policies of insurance that insure real or personal property; or

(iii) directly or indirectly solicits business, investigates or adjusts losses, or advises an insured about first party claims for losses or damages arising out of policies of insurance that insure real or personal property for another person engaged in the business of adjusting losses or damages covered by an insurance policy for the insured.

"Uniform individual application" means the current version of the National Association of Directors (NAIC) Uniform Individual Application for resident and nonresident individuals.

"Uniform business entity application" means the current version of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) Uniform Business Entity Application for resident and nonresident business entities.

"Webinar" means an online educational presentation during which a live and participating instructor and participating viewers, whose attendance is periodically verified throughout the presentation, actively engage in discussion and in the submission and answering of questions.

(Source: P.A. 96-1332, eff. 1-1-11.)

(215 ILCS 5/1565)

Sec. 1565. Continuing education.

(a) An individual who holds a public adjuster license and who is not exempt under subsection (b) of this Section shall satisfactorily complete a minimum of 24 hours of continuing education courses, including 3 hours of classroom or webinar ethics instruction, reported on a biennial basis in conjunction with the license renewal cycle.

The Director may not approve a course of study unless the course provides for classroom, seminar, or self-study instruction methods. A course given in a combination instruction method of classroom or seminar and self-study shall be deemed to be a self-study course unless the classroom or seminar certified hours meets or exceeds two-thirds of the total hours certified for the course. The self-study material used in the combination course must be directly related to and complement the classroom portion of the course in order to be considered for credit. An instruction method other than classroom or seminar shall be considered as self-study methodology. Self-study credit hours require the successful completion of an examination covering the self-study material. The examination may not be self-evaluated. However, if the self-study material is completed through the use of an approved computerized interactive format whereby the computer validates the successful completion of the self-study material, no additional examination is required. The self-study credit hours contained in a certified course shall be considered classroom hours when at least two-thirds of the hours are given as classroom or seminar instruction.

The public adjuster must complete the course in advance of the renewal date to allow the education provider time to report the credit to the Department.

(b) This Section shall not apply to:

(1) licensees not licensed for one full year prior to the end of the applicable continuing education biennium; or

(2) licensees holding nonresident public adjuster licenses who have met the continuing education requirements of their home state and whose home state gives credit to residents of this State on the same basis.

(c) Only continuing education courses approved by the Director shall be used to satisfy the continuing education requirement of subsection (a) of this Section.

(Source: P.A. 96-1332, eff. 1-1-11.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.".