A. An insurance continuing education board, hereinafter called the Board, appointed by the Commission, shall approve all continuing education instructors, programs of instruction, and courses, including technical courses or agency management and operations courses, and shall evaluate credit hours for all programs or courses offered. The Board shall establish and monitor standards for the education of insurance agents and public adjusters and set minimum requirements for course instructors. The Board shall have the authority to disapprove or withdraw approval of course sponsors, courses, or course instructors when the established standards are not satisfied, or where such standards have been violated.
B. The number of credits for each self-study course, correspondence course, or program of classroom instruction shall be determined in a manner prescribed by the Board. However, for an approved classroom course, a credit hour shall be equivalent to a classroom hour providing at least 50 minutes of continuous instruction or participation. No credits shall be granted for approved classroom courses unless notice to the Board is accompanied by proof of attendance by the course provider. No credits shall be granted for any correspondence or self-study course that does not include a test of the subject matter which shall be successfully completed by each agent requesting credit. The Board shall have the right to review and approve or disapprove the proposed test as part of the course approval process.
C. An instructor of an approved continuing education course shall be eligible to receive the same number of credits as a person enrolled in the course for the purpose of meeting the continuing education course requirements of this article. However, agents, public adjusters, and instructors may apply credits for attending or teaching the same course only once during the two-year period set forth in subsection B of § 38.2-1868.1.
D. Any agent with excess credit hours accumulated during the two-year period set forth in subsection B of § 38.2-1868.1 may carry such hours forward to the next biennium only.
E. Members of the Board shall be appointed by the Commission as follows:
1. One active member of the Independent Insurance Agents of Virginia, as recommended by the Independent Insurance Agents of Virginia;
2. One active member of the Professional Insurance Agents of Virginia and the District of Columbia, as recommended by the Professional Insurance Agents of Virginia and the District of Columbia;
3. One active member of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors of Virginia, as recommended by the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors of Virginia;
4. One active member of the Virginia Land Title Association, as recommended by the Virginia Land Title Association;
5. One active member of the Virginia Association of Health Underwriters, as recommended by the Virginia Association of Health Underwriters;
6. Three representatives of the property and casualty insurance industry;
7. Three representatives of the life and health insurance industry; and
8. One representative of the adult education or higher education field.
F. No person shall serve as a member of the Board if, in the opinion of the Commission, such person (i) prepares, submits for approval, or teaches insurance continuing education courses in Virginia or in any other jurisdiction, other than as an incidental part of such person's employment, or (ii) no longer meets the criteria on which the original appointment to the Board was based pursuant to subsection E.
G. No meeting of the Board or any subcommittee of the Board shall be held unless timely notice of such meeting has been provided to the Commission's Bureau of Insurance. At any such meeting of the Board or any subcommittee of the Board, one or more representatives from the Bureau of Insurance shall be permitted to attend and to participate in such meeting, except that such Bureau of Insurance representative or representatives shall not have the right to vote on any matters before the Board.
H. Actions of the Board shall be exempt from the application of the Administrative Process Act (§ 2.2-4000 et seq.).
1992, c. 570; 1996, c. 159; 2001, cc. 350, 706; 2004, c. 765; 2019, c. 675; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 441.