SECTION 3.1723. Course and Training Requirements for Brokers

(a) Individual continuing education requirement. A life settlement broker must complete at least 15 hours of department-certified life settlement continuing education during each two-year license period.

(b) Entity continuing education requirement. A partnership, corporation, or other entity must have each owner, partner, director, member, officer, and designated employee named in the license application or in any supplement to the application that performs the acts of a life settlement broker under Insurance Code §1111A.002(2), and is not exempt under subsection (c) of this section, complete at least 15 hours of department-certified life settlement continuing education during the two-year license period.

(c) Exempt persons. A life settlement broker is not subject to the requirements of this section if:

(1) the life settlement broker or the owner, partner, director, member, officer, or designated employee of the life settlement broker has been associated with the licensed entity for less than two years; or

(2) the life settlement broker holds a life insurance agent license or acts solely as a life expectancy estimator. A life insurance agent must continue to meet all applicable license and continuing education requirements for the life insurance agent license.

(d) Continuing education subject requirements. The 15 hours of continuing education that a broker must complete during each two-year license period must include:

(1) at least six hours on the duties of life settlement brokers under Insurance Code Chapter 1111A, the requirements of this subchapter, and additional topics addressing statutes enacted and rules adopted subsequent to the effective date of this section, provided that the statutes or rules relate specifically to life settlement contracts;

(2) at least three hours on ethics and consumer protection; and

(3) at least six hours on life insurance.

(e) Credit for other licenses. Licensees may count a life settlement course toward completion of the non-ethics or consumer protection-related continuing education requirements prescribed in Insurance Code Chapter 4004, and §19.1003 of this title (relating to Licensee Requirements). If a licensee uses a life settlement course to satisfy a portion of the continuing education requirements prescribed in §19.1003 of this title, the licensee must comply with §19.1013 of this title (relating to Licensee Record Maintenance).

(f) Out-of-state continuing education. For license holders determining equivalent course hours, the licensee must maintain a list of all course approved times and states in which the course is approved and provide the list to the department on request. The equivalent hours are determined by using the average of approved times in other states.

(g) Proof of course completion. A licensee must maintain proof of completion of a life settlement continuing education course for a period of four years from the date of completion of the course. On request, the licensee must provide proof of completion of the life settlement continuing education course to the department. A licensee must immediately report to the department any discrepancy the licensee discovers between a course taken by the licensee and the credit hours certified to the licensee by the continuing education provider.

(h) Automatic fine. A broker's failure to comply with the provisions of this section is subject to automatic penalties of $50 per credit hour. Paying the automatic fine does not preclude other administrative action.

(i) Administrative action. Filing a properly completed renewal application constitutes a licensee's certification that all required continuing education hours for the reporting period have been completed. The department's renewal of a license does not relieve a licensee or any individual from compliance with the continuing education requirements for any reporting period, and the failure to obtain required continuing education hours subjects the licensee to administrative action.

Source Note: The provisions of this §3.1723 adopted to be effective August 1, 2013, 38 TexReg 4357