Iowa Admin. Code r. 191-15.76

Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 11, December 11, 2024

Rule 191-15.76 - Producer training

(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 subrule.

(2) Training required.

a. One-time course.

(1) A producer who engages in the sale of annuity products shall complete a one-time, four-credit training course approved by the commissioner and provided by an education provider approved by the commissioner.

(2) Producers may not engage in the sale of annuities until the annuity training course required under this rule has been completed.

b. The minimum length of the training required under this rule shall be sufficient to qualify for at least four CE credits, but may be longer.

c. The training required under this rule shall include information on the following topics:

(1) The types of annuities and various classifications of annuities;

(2) Identification of the parties to an annuity;

(3) How fixed, variable, indexed, and other product-specific annuity contract provisions affect consumers;

(4) The application of income taxation of qualified and nonqualified annuities;

(5) The primary uses of annuities;

(6) Appropriate standard of conduct sales practices; and

(7) Replacement and disclosure requirements.

d. Providers of courses intended to comply with this rule shall cover all topics listed in the prescribed outline and shall not present any marketing information or provide training on sales techniques or provide 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 rule shall register as a CE provider in this state and comply with the rules and guidelines applicable to producer continuing education courses as set forth in 191-Chapter 11.

f. A producer who has completed an annuity training course approved by the commissioner prior to January 1, 2021, shall, before July 1, 2021, complete either:

(1) A new four-credit training course approved by the commissioner after January 1, 2021; or

(2) An additional one-time, one-credit training course approved by the commissioner and provided by the commissioner-approved education provider on appropriate sales practices, replacement and disclosure requirements under this amended regulation.

g. Annuity training courses may be conducted and completed by classroom or self-study methods in accordance with 191-Chapter 11.

h. Providers of annuity training shall comply with the reporting requirements and shall issue certificates of completion in accordance with 191-Chapter 11.

i. Satisfaction of the training requirements of another state that are substantially similar to the provisions of this subrule shall be deemed to satisfy the training requirements of this subrule in this state.

j. The satisfaction of the components of the training requirements of any course or courses with components substantially similar to the provisions of this subrule shall be deemed to satisfy the training requirements of this subrule in this state.

k. An insurer shall verify that a producer has completed the annuity training course required under this subrule before allowing the producer to sell an annuity product for that insurer. An insurer may satisfy its responsibility under this subrule by obtaining certificates of completion of the training course or obtaining reports provided by Iowa insurance commissioner-sponsored database systems or vendors or from a reasonably reliable commercial database vendor that has a reporting arrangement with approved continuing education providers.

Iowa Admin. Code r. 191-15.76

ARC 8934B, lAB 7/14/10, effective 1/1/11; ARC 0035C, lAB 3/7/12, effective 4/11/12

Amended by IAB June 3, 2020/Volume XLII, Number 25, effective 7/8/2020

Adopted by IAB March 20, 2024/Volume XLVI, Number 19, effective 4/24/2024