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Vol. 3, No. 2, September 2006 Life Settlement News
Life Settlements and Electronic Nonresident Producer Licensing
by Tom Offutt, J.D. Compliance officer Since the adoption of the 2004 Viatical Settlement Model Regulation that included “Producer Authority” as part of its enactment, seventeen (17) states now offer some aspect of producer authority based on the model regulation to facilitate a life agent’s ability to conduct a life settlement for their client. Agent’s that choose to operate regionally in neighboring states can often take advantage of producer authority to conduct life settlements by first obtaining the requisite non-resident life license (NRL) for that state. The days of paper license applications are narrowing with the advent of electronic resident and nonresident licensing now available in most states. Producer authority states typically require a life license, completion of a state registration form (if required) and payment of a fee to the state as required by each respective state’s specific licensing requirements. However, some states may only require evidence of a life license. If the state is regulated for life settlements it is highly recommended that a life agent or registered representative first check on the state license requirements prior to engaging in a transaction. Among the various producer licensing vendors, there are two major players in the electronic producer licensing field today. Both of these licensing vendors offer a quick and easy process that will enable an agent to become licensed on an expedited basis much faster than a paper processed application. The National Insurance Producer Registry (NIPR) which is a public-private partnership supporting the work of the states and the NAIC offers electronic licensing in forty states and the District of Columbia and can be found on the web at www.licenseregistry.com . The list of participating NRL states appears on the website and the applicant simply clicks on the electronic nonresident license page after checking the available state and clicks “Begin” to start. The license application is completed online and paid for with a credit card. Notification of completion of the license process is issued to the applicant instantly and mail receipt of the license usually follows within two weeks. The other main life producer licensing vendor is Sircon Corporation. Sircon offers many other insurance related products and industry services and claims that “more state departments of insurance utilize Sircon for producer licensing and regulatory management than any other single solution available today”. Sircon’s website is fairly easy to navigate to apply for a license. It can be found on the web at www.sircon.com . It offers a similar electronic license process to NIPR and an applicant follows the same steps by simply clicking on Apply for a License and paying with a credit card. Some states such as Pennsylvania now offer viatical settlement broker licensing, in addition to nonresident licensing, online at Sircon. In conclusion, the licensing process in most states regulating life settlements is now much easier and faster for the agent or financial services representative to enter the life settlements field. An experienced and sophisticated life settlements broker can help direct an agent where to locate the necessary licensing information from state insurance agencies. This information is important in order to navigate this emerging and growing industry. _____________________________________________________________
Tom Offutt has more than 19 years experience in the insurance compliance and regulatory field. He began his career with a major personal lines carrier and prior to his joining Advanced Settlements, served as regulatory manager for a U.S. aviation and health insurer. Tom brings considerable corporate legal and regulatory experience to the firm, and is a member of the Association of Insurance Compliance Professionals. He received his law degree from the University of Baltimore Law School.
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