Skip to main content Skip to office menu Skip to footer
Capital IconMinnesota Legislature

Office of the Revisor of Statutes

60K.56 CONTINUING INSURANCE EDUCATION.
    Subdivision 1. Definition. For the purposes of this section, "course" means a course,
program of instruction, or seminar of continuing insurance education. A "professional designation
examination" means a written, proctored, and graded examination the passage of which leads to a
bona fide insurance or financial planning professional designation used by insurance producers.
    Subd. 2. Applicability. This section applies to all natural persons licensed by this state to sell
lines of insurance for which licensing examinations are required.
    Subd. 3. Exemptions. This section does not apply to persons soliciting or selling solely on
behalf of companies organized and operating according to chapter 67A.
    Subd. 4. Powers of the commissioner. (a) The commissioner shall make the final
determination as to accreditation and assignment of credit hours for courses.
(b) The commissioner shall adopt procedures for reporting compliance with the minimum
education requirement.
(c) The commissioner shall adopt rules according to chapter 14 to carry out the purposes
of this section.
    Subd. 5. Criteria for course accreditation. (a) The commissioner may accredit a course
only to the extent it is designed to impart substantive and procedural knowledge of the insurance
field. The burden of demonstrating that the course satisfies this requirement is on the individual or
organization seeking accreditation. The commissioner shall approve any educational program
approved by Minnesota Continuing Legal Education relating to the insurance field. The
commissioner is authorized to establish a procedure for renewal of course accreditation.
(b) The commissioner shall approve or disapprove professional designation examinations
that are recommended for approval by the advisory task force. In order for an insurance producer
to receive full continuing education credit for a professional designation examination, the
producer must pass the examination. A producer may not receive credit for classroom instruction
preparing for the professional designation examination and also receive continuing education
credit for passing the professional designation examination.
(c) The commissioner may not accredit a course:
(1) that is designed to prepare students for a license examination;
(2) in sales promotion; or
(3) in motivation, the art of selling, or psychology.
    Subd. 6. Minimum education requirement. Each person subject to this section shall
complete a minimum of 30 credit hours of courses accredited by the commissioner during each
24-month licensing period. Any person whose initial licensing period extends more than six
months shall complete 15 hours of courses accredited by the commissioner during the initial
license period. Any person teaching or lecturing at an accredited course qualifies for three times
the number of credit hours that would be granted to a person completing the accredited course. No
more than one-half of the credit hours per licensing period required under this section may be
credited to a person for attending any combination of courses either sponsored by, offered by,
or affiliated with an insurance company or its agents; or offered using new delivery technology,
including computer, interactive technology, and the Internet. A licensee may obtain up to five
hours of the credit hours per licensing period from classes in the area of professional development
including, but not limited to, best practices, ethics, privacy protection, customer/client, personal
and safety awareness, software applications, agency management, claims settlement, business
perpetuation, and disaster planning. Courses sponsored by, offered by, or affiliated with an
insurance company or agent may restrict its students to agents of the company or agency.
    Subd. 7. Waiver of requirements. (a) The commissioner may grant a waiver or an extension
of time up to 90 days to complete the minimum education requirement to an individual upon a
showing of good cause. It is the licensed person's responsibility to request a waiver or extension
on a form prescribed by the commissioner. As of the day the licensed person properly files a
request for a waiver or extension, the license remains in effect until the commissioner notifies
the licensed person of the commissioner's decision. The commissioner may approve a waiver or
extension subject to any reasonable conditions. The person's license remains in effect during the
compliance period determined by the commissioner. If the licensed person fails to comply with
any reasonable conditions imposed by the commissioner, the commissioner shall terminate the
license. If the request for a waiver or extension is denied by the commissioner, the licensed person
shall have 30 days within which to satisfy the minimum education requirement involved in the
request for a waiver or extension. If the minimum education requirement is not satisfied within
the compliance period, the commissioner shall terminate the person's license.
(b) Upon application on a form prescribed by the commissioner, the commissioner may
grant a waiver of the minimum education requirement to a licensee who is no longer actively
engaged in the solicitation and sale of insurance. A licensed person seeking a waiver from the
requirements of this section may be required to submit information to the commissioner that
substantiates the person's retirement or inactive status. A licensed person receiving a waiver from
the commissioner may maintain and renew a license but may not solicit or sell new insurance
business while this waiver is in effect. A licensee may, for a fee, continue to service an insurance
policy for which the licensee is the producer of record, if the policy is in force at the time the
waiver is granted. An insurer may not terminate a service contract or refuse to pay compensation
because the waiver does not allow the licensee to solicit or sell new insurance.
For the purposes of receiving renewal commissions and other benefits or compensation from
insurers, an agent receiving a waiver under this paragraph is considered to be the holder of a
valid insurance producer license in this state.
    Subd. 8. Reporting. (a) After completing the minimum education requirement, each person
subject to this section shall file or cause to be filed a compliance report in accordance with the
procedures adopted by the commissioner. A producer must not claim credit for continuing
education not actually completed at the date of filing the report.
(b) An institution offering an accredited course shall comply with the procedure for reporting
compliance adopted by the commissioner.
(c) If a person subject to this section completes a nonaccredited course, that person may
submit an application of the commissioner for approval of the course accompanied by a fee of
not more than $10 payable to the state of Minnesota for deposit in the general fund. Upon a
determination that the course satisfies the criteria for course accreditation, the commissioner may
approve the nonaccredited course and shall so inform the person.
    Subd. 9. Enforcement. If a person subject to this section fails to complete the minimum
education or reporting requirement or to pay the prescribed fees for any licensing period, no
license may be renewed or continued in force for that person for any class of insurance beginning
November 1 of the year due and that person may not act as an insurance producer until the person
has demonstrated to the satisfaction of the commissioner that all requirements of this section have
been complied with or that a waiver or extension has been obtained.
History: 2001 c 117 art 1 s 27; 2002 c 330 s 4-6; 2006 c 204 s 7,8

Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes