44-8108. Producer; duties.
(1) A producer shall not solicit the sale of an annuity product unless the producer has adequate knowledge of the product to recommend the annuity and the producer is in compliance with the insurer's standards for product training. A producer may rely on insurer-provided product-specific training standards and materials to comply with this subsection.
(2)(a)(i) A producer who engages in the sale of annuity products shall complete a one-time four-credit training course approved by the Department of Insurance and provided by a department-approved education provider.
(ii) Producers who hold a life insurance line of authority on July 1, 2021, and who desire to sell annuities shall complete the requirements of this subsection within six months after July 1, 2021. Individuals who obtain a life insurance line of authority on or after July 1, 2021, shall not engage in the sale of annuities until the annuity training course required under this subsection has been completed.
(b) The minimum length of the training required under this subsection shall be sufficient to qualify for at least four continuing education credits, but may be longer.
(c) The training required under this subsection shall include information on the following topics:
(i) The types of annuities and various classifications of annuities;
(ii) Identification of the parties to an annuity;
(iii) How fixed, variable, and indexed annuity contract provisions affect consumers;
(iv) The application of income taxation of qualified and nonqualified annuities;
(v) The primary uses of annuities; and
(vi) Appropriate sales practices and replacement and disclosure requirements.
(d) Providers of courses intended to comply with this subsection shall cover all topics listed in the prescribed outline and shall not present any marketing information or provide training on sales techniques or specific information about a particular insurer's products. Additional topics may be offered in conjunction with and in addition to the required outline.
(e) A provider of an annuity training course intended to comply with this subsection shall register as a continuing education provider in this state and comply with the requirements applicable to insurance producer continuing education activities as set forth in section 44-3905.
(f) A producer who has completed an annuity training course approved by the Department of Insurance prior to July 1, 2021, shall, within six months after July 1, 2021, complete either:
(i) A new four-credit training course approved by the Department of Insurance after April 8, 2021; or
(ii) An additional one-time, one-credit training course approved by the Department of Insurance and provided by a Department of Insurance approved education provider on appropriate sales practices and replacement and disclosure requirements under the Nebraska Protection in Annuity Transactions Act.
(g) Annuity training courses may be conducted and completed by classroom or self-study methods in accordance with sections 44-3901 to 44-3908.
(h) Providers of annuity training shall comply with the reporting requirements and shall issue certificates of completion in accordance with sections 44-3901 to 44-3908.
(i) The satisfaction of training requirements of another state that are substantially similar to the provisions of this subsection shall be deemed to satisfy the training requirements of this subsection.
(j) The satisfaction of the components of the training requirements of any course or courses with components substantially similar to the provisions of this subsection shall be deemed to satisfy the training requirements of this subsection.
(k) An insurer shall verify that each producer has completed the annuity training course required under this subsection before allowing the producer to sell an annuity product for that insurer. An insurer may satisfy its responsibility under this subsection by obtaining certificates of completion of the training course or obtaining reports provided by National Association of Insurance Commissioners-sponsored database systems or vendors or from a reasonably reliable commercial database vendor that has a reporting arrangement with approved insurance education providers.
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