A.R.S. tit. 20 ch. 18 — Arizona Revised Statutes Title 20 Chapter 18 — Continuing Education

20-2901. Definitions In this article, unless the context otherwise requires: 1. "Applicant" means a provider organization that submits an application to the contractor to provide continuing education courses. 2. "Approved continuing education course" means any course that has been approved by at least five other states or that is approved by a contractor or automatically approved pursuant to section 20-2904. 3. "Approved provider" means an organization or individual that offers an approved continuing education course and that is authorized by the contractor to offer the course to a licensee for credit toward the licensee's continuing education requirements. 4. "Continuously licensed" means that a licensee's license has not terminated for any reason. For the purposes of this paragraph, a license that expires under section 20-289, subsection E is not considered to have terminated if the late fee is timely paid and the license is renewed or the license is placed on inactive status pursuant to section 20-289.01. 5. "Contractor" means the person who has a contract with the department to approve continuing education providers and courses and to administer the continuing education program and who is paid through fees collected from approved providers when the approved providers apply for continuing education course approval. 6. "Credit hour" means the value assigned to an hour of instruction in an approved continuing education course. 7. "Ethics training" means continuing education course content regarding the ethical responsibilities insurance producers owe to insurers, applicants, policyholders, regulators, insurance professionals and the public. 8. "License period" means the period between the date an Arizona insurance license is issued or last renewed and the expiration date of the Arizona insurance license. 9. "Licensee" means an individual insurance producer licensed for major line insurance as defined in section 20-281. Licensee does not include any business entity. 10. "Nonresident licensee" means a licensee who is applying to renew a nonresident license in this state. 11. "Provider organization" means a person that provides continuing education courses but that has not yet been accepted as an approved provider pursuant to section 20-2904. 20-2902. Continuing education requirements; nonresident license in another state; nonresident license in this state A. To qualify for renewal of a resident license: 1. If the license period immediately preceding the renewal commenced before January 1, 2014 and the licensee held a nonresident license in another state to transact insurance at any time during the license period, the licensee shall have completed during that license period at least forty credit hours of approved insurance continuing education courses offered by an approved provider. 2. If the license period immediately preceding the renewal commenced on or after January 1, 2014, the licensee shall have completed during that license period at least forty-eight credit hours, including at least six credit hours of ethics training, of approved insurance continuing education courses offered by an approved provider. B. Subsection A of this section does not apply to a licensee who, as of January 1, 2014, meets and continues to meet the following criteria: 1. Has been continuously licensed as an insurance agent, broker or producer in this state since January 1, 1995. 2. Has not at any time since January 1, 1995, held a nonresident insurance producer license in another state. 3. Has never been the subject of an order issued by the director finding that the licensee has violated any provision of this title in which the director ordered any of the following: (a) The suspension, revocation or denial or renewal of the licensee's agent, broker or producer license. (b) The licensee to cease and desist from the conduct constituting the violation. (c) The licensee to pay restitution or a civil penalty. C. A licensee who instructs an approved course on behalf of an approved provider shall receive two times the credit hours assigned to the approved course. D. A licensee may receive credit for a particular approved course only once during a single license period. E. After the licensee completes an approved continuing education course, the approved provider shall furnish the licensee with a certificate of compliance that certifies that the licensee has taken and completed the course. The licensee and a person authorized to sign on behalf of the approved provider shall sign the certificate. The director may require that the licensee include the signed certificate of compliance with the application for renewal of the resident license. F. The certificate of compliance shall be in a form approved by the director and shall set forth at least the following information: 1. The licensee's name and license number. 2. The name of the approved provider. 3. The subjects and titles of the approved continuing education courses that the licensee completed. 4. The dates that the licensee completed the approved continuing education courses. 5. The number of credit hours in ethics training that the licensee earned by completing the approved continuing education course. 6. The total number of credit hours that the licensee earned by completing the approved continuing education course. G. The director shall not renew a licensee's resident license unless the licensee has provided evidence that the licensee has completed the credit hours prescribed in subsection A of this section. H. Except as provided in subsections I and J of this section, a nonresident licensee shall submit proof to the director of having earned the continuing education credit requirements that are needed to satisfy the requirements of the nonresident licensee's home state to comply with the continuing education requirements prescribed in this section. I. If the nonresident licensee's home state does not recognize credits earned by residents of this state, the nonresident licensee shall satisfy the continuing education prescribed in this section only by earning continuing education credits from an approved provider. J. If the home state of a nonresident licensee does not have a continuing education requirement, the nonresident licensee is subject to the same continuing education requirements as a resident licensee. K. The department may not require a proctor to administer any required post-course examination for a self-study continuing education course that a licensee completes online. 20-2903. Record keeping A. Licensees shall maintain their own continuing education records described in section 20-2902, subsection F and shall keep the records until the second renewal date after the period for which the continuing education credits were earned. B. In order to verify the attendance and successful course completion of all licensees enrolled in an approved course, approved providers shall maintain records for five years in a manner acceptable to the director. The records are subject to audit by the department. Each approved provider shall maintain records that include at least the following information for each approved continuing education course provided by the approved provider: 1. The title and subject. 2. A list of attendees. 3. The name of the instructor. 4. A copy of the continuing education course outline. 5. Other information deemed necessary by the director. C. Based on an audit prescribed in subsection B of this section, if the director discovers that an approved provider has failed to maintain records in the manner prescribed in subsection B of this section, the director shall immediately notify the contractor described in section 20-2904 of the approved provider's noncompliance and the contractor shall remove the approved provider from the contractor's list of approved providers. The contractor shall not accept that provider organization as an approved provider for at least one year. The approved provider's noncompliance does not affect the licensee's ability to obtain a renewal of a nonresident license if the licensee complies with section 20-2902 and subsection A of this section. 20-2904. Continuing education; contractor requirements; automatic approval A. Pursuant to title 41, chapter 23, the director shall enter into a contract with a person for the approval of approved providers and courses and administration of the continuing education program. B. The contractor shall: 1. Accept or reject provider organizations as approved providers. 2. Except as provided in subsection C of this section, review course content for approval or disapproval as an approved continuing education course. 3. Charge an applicant an application fee for acceptance as an approved provider and a fee for approval of a continuing education course. C. A continuing education course is automatically approved if either: 1. Thirty days after the contractor receives an application, the contractor does not disapprove the course described in the application or does not request supplemental information from the applicant. 2. The course is approved by the insurance regulatory authority in at least five other states and the approved provider provides the contractor with a certificate or letter from the regulatory authority in the five other states that confirms the approval of the course. D. The contractor's decision pursuant to subsection B, paragraph 2 of this section is an appealable agency action as defined in section 41-1092 and the approved provider is entitled to a hearing pursuant to title 41, chapter 6, article 10 and, except as provided in section 41-1092.08, subsection H, is entitled to judicial review pursuant to title 12, chapter 7, article 6. E. Except as provided in section 20-2903, the acceptance of an approved provider is valid for five years. At the end of the five years, the approved provider may submit an application for renewal to the contractor and the contractor shall charge the approved provider the fee prescribed in subsection B of this section. The approval of a continuing education course is valid for two years or until the course content or outline changes. At the end of the two years or when the course content or outline changes, the approved provider may submit an application for renewal to the contractor and the contractor shall charge the approved provider the fee prescribed in subsection B of this section.