DEPARTMENT OF REGULATORY AGENCIES
DIVISION OF INSURANCE
3 ccr 702-1
ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES
Amended Regulation 1-2-4
CONTINUING EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS FOR LICENSED INSURANCE PRODUCERS
Section 1	Authority
Section 2	Scope and Purpose
Section 3	Applicability
Section 4	Definitions
Section 5	Rules
Section 6	Severability 
Section 7	Enforcement
Section 8	Effective Date
Section 9	History
Section 1	Authority
This amended regulation is promulgated under the authority of  §§10-1-109, 10-2-104, and 10-2-301(6)(a), Colorado Revised Statutes (C.R.S.).
Section 2	Scope And Purpose
This regulation establishes continuing education requirements for persons licensed to sell certain types of insurance.  Additionally, this regulation establishes the procedures for filing course completion information by the course providers.  
This regulation sets forth:
A.	The basic requirements for such training and the standards for the courses and programs that qualify for approval by the Commissioner;
B.	The procedures and standards that the Commissioner will use in approving the courses;
C.	The required record keeping and procedures for certification of satisfactory completion of the continuing education requirement; and
D.	The sanctions for noncompliance with this regulation. 
Section 3	Applicability
This regulation shall apply to all individuals licensed to act as insurance producers in Colorado, with the exception of those individuals licensed to write only one or more of the following lines: travel ticket selling, bail bonding, title, limited lines credit insurance, and crop hail.  This regulation shall also apply to all providers of continuing insurance education in Colorado.
The requirements of this regulation apply to any Colorado resident licensed to solicit and sell insurance in this state.  Pursuant to §10-2-301(3)(b), C.R.S., this section shall not apply to any person holding a limited or restricted license if that license is in good standing with the Division and no complaints have been filed against the licensee.  
Section 4	Definitions
A.	"Approved course" is a course offered for continuing education credit that is approved by the Colorado Division of Insurance. 
B.	"Credit hour" is a value assigned to a course approved by the Division of Insurance.
C.	"Carryover credit hour" is a credit hour earned over and above the 24 hours of continuing education requirements during the one hundred twenty (120) days before the licensing continuation date, which may be applied to the next continuing education period.  If a producer chooses to complete continuing education courses in the period prior to their first continuation, these credits are not eligible for carry over.
D.	"Classroom course" is at least sixty minutes of participation in an approved course in a classroom.  Not more than ten minutes of any sixty-minute period may be used for breaks, roll taking, or administrative instructions.
E.	“Competency Examination” is a closed book examination taken and passed by a producer without assistance and personally monitored by a disinterested third party, who is not a minor, not related to the producer, his immediate supervisor, or his/her employee.  A score of 70% or above is required for the examinee to pass the examination.
F.	"Qualified instructor" means a person who has demonstrated competency in the subject matter of an approved course through one of the following means: 
1.	A college degree from an accredited institution of higher learning with a major in insurance; 
2.	A professional designation of CLU or CPCU or similar designation from an industry association; or 
3.	Three or more years practical experience in the subject matter being taught or monitored.  
Qualified instructors shall not have been subject to any order of revocation, suspension or other formal disciplinary action in any state.
G.	"Sponsoring institution/instructor/organization" means the person or entity primarily responsible for conducting the course and maintaining records of successful course completion.
Section 5	Rules
A.	Required Hours/Certification
After the first continuation cycle, every producer who is licensed in Colorado and not otherwise specifically exempted in this regulation shall complete 24 credit hours of approved courses biennially.  At least 18 of the 24 credit hours shall be in approved courses in the authorities for which the producer is licensed.  At least three (3) of the 24 hours of continuing education shall be for courses in ethics.  A maximum of six (6) of the 24 credit hours shall be in approved courses on subjects designated by the Commissioner whenever the Commissioner determines that continuing education in such subjects is needed to protect insurance consumers.  Those individuals licensed as reinsurance intermediary brokers must complete the required continuing education through professional seminars or curriculum within the reinsurance field.  Producers may accumulate no more than twelve (12) carryover credit hours during the one hundred twenty (120) days before the licensing continuation date, which may be applied to the next continuing education period. 
In meeting the requirements, producers must comply with the following:
1.	In determining the number of credit hours to be counted toward meeting the required hours, the instructor shall qualify for the same number of hours of continuing education as the person attending and successfully completing the course or program.  A qualified instructor may not count instruction hours for the same course more than once during a twenty-four month period.
2.	A producer who successfully completes an approved course may not repeat the course within a 2 year period and count it toward the required hours, except for courses dealing with statutory updates.
3.	If a non-resident producer has satisfied the continuing education requirements of his or her home state, this will constitute satisfaction of Colorado’s continuing education requirements provided the non-resident producer’s home state recognizes the satisfaction of its continuing education requirements imposed upon producers from Colorado on the same basis.  Nonresident producers, whose home state does not recognize satisfaction of Colorado’s continuing education requirement, must comply with the Colorado continuing insurance education requirements.
4.	If a producer works for a company with a qualified home office located in Colorado and that company provides a course of study for their producers, this will satisfy the continuing education requirement.  The company must produce a certification letter attesting to successful completion of the company’s course of study.  This certification letter must be signed by the producer and endorsed by the company’s licensing official.
B.	Implementation of Health Maintenance Organization and Nonprofit Hospital Medical-Surgical and Health Service Corporation Producers Continuing Education Requirement
There will be no new licenses issued for these lines on or after January 1, 2002.   All producers who currently hold the health maintenance organization and/or nonprofit hospital medical-surgical and health service producer licenses will not be required to complete 24 hours of continuing education for compliance periods beginning after January 1, 2002.
C.	Approved Courses
1.	Guidelines for Course Approval
In determining which insurance courses qualify for approval, the Commissioner will consider such factors as:
a.	Course Content: Approved courses may include information on specific insurance products approved for sale in Colorado, relevant state or national laws, insurance taxation, insurance practices, ethics, and claims/underwriting procedures.  Approved courses must be insurance related and will not include courses or portions of courses on personal enrichment, sales training or sales information.
b.	Qualifications of the Instructor:  A qualified instructor must teach the approved courses and/or examinations.
c.	Location:  Both "in-classroom" and "self-study" including computer-based courses will be considered for approval:
(i)	‘in-classroom’ courses, including live ‘webcast/video conference’ courses, and
(ii)	‘self-study’ including computer-based courses, which are subject to the requirement for monitored competency examinations.  Self study hours may include test book study, video study, and other electronic means of communication where a qualified instructor is not present.
d.	Competency Examinations.  A self-study or computer-based course must be an approved course followed by a monitored competency examination administered by a disinterested third party.  For the purposes of this subparagraph, a disinterested third party is someone who is not:
(i)	a minor:
(ii)	a relative of the producer;
(iii)	the immediate supervisor of the producer, or
(iv)	a person with an economic or other interest in assuring the successful outcome of the examination;  Note:  Being employed by the same company or working for the same employer does not mean a person has ‘an economic or other direct interest in assuring the successful outcome of the examination.’  For example, co-employees or co-workers of the producer taking the competency examinations may administer the examination so long as the other requirements of this subparagraph are met and such co-employee or co-worker does not work on a regular basis with the producer in a marketing or sales capacity.
e.	Designation of this third party is the responsibility of the course provider.  The disinterested third-party must provide an affidavit attesting under oath or affirmation that the paper or electronic course examination was proctored, that the examination was provided in a manner specified by the Sponsoring institution/instructor/organization, and that they are not part of or aware of any efforts to circumvent the requirements of the examination and no attendee was permitted to use study materials or have assistance during the exam.  Affidavit’s must be submitted the date of the examination and should be received by the sponsoring organization within 15 business days.  Sponsoring organizations must clearly identify the time frame and provide the affidavit form, prior to testing.  The test completion date is the date the individual took and successfully passed the examination, providing the affidavit is received by sponsoring organization within 15 business days and the sponsoring organization was paid.  Self-study hours may include textbook study, video study, and other electronic means of communication.
f.	Accreditation:  Courses which are provided by accredited institutions of higher education or which lead to nationally recognized professional insurance and insurance related designations shall be considered for automatic qualification based upon relevancy of content.  But, an application must be filed with the Division of Insurance and a course number assigned.  A qualified instructor must also be established.
2.	Application for Course Approval by Institutions/Instructors/ Organizations
a.	Courses shall be presented to the Commissioner for approval at least sixty (60) days in advance of the date on which the course is to be held.  Any program of continuing education that is operated by a company with a qualified home office located in Colorado is not subject to course review and approval by the Commissioner as long as it does not contain information related to personal enrichment, sales training or sales information and the company will be required to obtain a course number and number of credit hours for the course.
b.	Applications shall be filed on a form prescribed by the Commissioner and shall include the following:
(i)	An outline of the course;
(ii)	A copy of the table of contents of textbooks used;
(iii)	A sample competency examination, for self study/computer-based courses;
(iv)	A non-refundable filing fee in the amount of $20.00 for each course, except for insurers paying one or more of the fees prescribed under §10-3-207, C.R.S.;
(v)	The number of hours proposed for the course;
(vi)	The qualifications of the instructor(s); 
(vii)	The date of course initiation if known; 
(viii)	A postage paid, self-addressed envelope:
(ix)	Self study courses must include a certification report of the number of pages in the book.  Online courses must include a screen count, with extra minutes given if video(s) are included. Applications for self-study courses must include the number of pages in the book, excluding glossaries, indexes, tables of contents, and appendices. For Internet courses, a screen count is also required. If the required materials or information is not included, the course may be disapproved.
The following subjects/topics may not qualify: • Any course used to prepare for taking an insurance license exam; • Computer science and automation courses; • Motivational, sales training, or psychology courses; • Communication, relationship building; • Prospecting, marketing, planning; • Courses which are primarily intended to impart knowledge of office procedures, administrative matters, personnel issues; • Service standards; • Investment and other courses which do not show a direct connection to insurance; • Time management; • Courses on compliance (NASD/SEC); • Service vendors;
(x)	In addition to our standard approval requirements, webcast/video conferences must have a qualified instructor present to answer questions and take attendance.
c.	No course shall be offered or advertised as approved until the sponsoring institution has received written notification of its approval.  The Division of Insurance shall approve or disapprove the course within 30 days of receipt of the application.  Notification of the approval or disapproval will be sent to the sponsoring institution, instructor or organization and will be returned in the envelope provided.
d.	Once approved, a course may be offered until the expiration date without additional notice to the Division or the continuing education administrator, providing the course content is materially unchanged.  All courses approved during January through June shall expire on March 31 of the third year after the approval date.  All courses approved during July through December shall expire on September 30 of the third year after the approval date.  The course approval must be renewed in the manner prescribed by the Commissioner and payment of a $20.00 renewal fee.
D.	Record Keeping
1.	Sponsoring Institutions/Instructors/Organizations
a.	Sponsoring institutions/instructors/organizations must maintain adequate records to verify the attendance and successful course completion for all producers enrolled in a course.
b.	Attendance and completion records must be retained for a five-year period following the date of completion of the course.  These records must be available for audit by the Division of Insurance and/or the continuing education administrator.
The sponsoring institution/instructor/organization shall file attendance and completion records with Promissor (formerly CAT*ASI) on at least a monthly basis.   This includes companies with a qualified home office in Colorado that provides a course of study for their licensed producers.
c.	The institution/instructor/organization responsible for the approved course must provide documentation of course completion to each producer who successfully completed the course within fifteen (15) working days after the course is completed or the competency examination is scored.  This includes companies with a qualified home office in Colorado that provides a course of study for their licensed producers.
d.	Failure to comply as required in 1 through 3 above shall result in immediate termination of course approval.
2.	Producers
a.	It is the responsibility of the producer to maintain records sufficient to document successful completion of 24 credit hours on a biennial basis. 
b.	Supporting documentation must be: 
(i)	Maintained by the producer for five years following license continuation; and 
(ii)	Available for audit by the Division of Insurance or the continuing education administrator.
c.	In no instance, may a producer count as part of the 24 hours, a course taught by an immediate supervisor or employee of the producer acting in the capacity of supervisor or employee.
d.	Accuracy of the documentation of the course taken from the sponsoring organization remains the responsibility of the producer.
E.	Advertisement Of Qualified Courses	
No course may be advertised or described as an approved course until written confirmation of course approval has been received from the Division of Insurance.  Announcements, advertisements, and information about courses designated as approved courses by the Division of Insurance, shall contain the statement, "This course is approved by the Colorado Division of Insurance for Continuing Insurance Education Credit," followed by a statement of the number of credit hours.  If the course offered contains material that is not approved, the announcement, advertisement or information must clearly state the amount of course time which is not approved for continuing insurance education credits.  Announcements, advertisements or information about approved courses shall contain clear and concise statements about the cost of the course, cancellation procedures, and tuition refund policies.
Section 6	Severability
If any provision of this regulation or its application to any person or circumstance is for any reason held to be invalid, the remainder of this regulation shall not be affected.
Section 7	Enforcement
Noncompliance with the Regulation may result, after proper notice and hearing, in the imposition of any of the sanctions made available in the Colorado statutes pertaining to the business of insurance or other laws which include the imposition of fines, issuance of cease and desist orders, and/or suspensions or revocation of license.  Among others, the penalties provided for in §10-3-1108, C.R.S. may be applied.
Section 8	Effective Date
This regulation is effective January 1, 2007.
Section 9	History
New November 2, 1992; Effective January 1, 1993.
Amended October 15, 1994; Effective January 1, 1995: Sections amended 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12.
Amended April 3, 1998; Effective June 2, 1998. Sections added: 6.  Sections amended: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, and 13.
Amended November 1, 2000.  Effective January 1, 2001.  Sections amended 2, 5, and 7.  Section 10 deleted.  Subsequent sections renumbered.
Emergency Regulation effective January 1, 2002.  Sections amended 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, and 13.
Amended Regulation effective April 1, 2002.  Sections amended 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, and 13.
Amended Regulation effective February 1, 2003.  Sections Amended 1, 3, 5, 8, 12 and 13.
Amended Regulation effective September 30, 2004.  Sections Amended 2 and 5.
Amended Regulation effective February 1, 2005.  Sections 5, 7,10 and 12.
Amended Regulation effective January 1, 2006.  Sections 5.b., 7.B., 12, and 13.
Amended Regulation effective January 1, 2007.  Sections 4E, 5A(2), 5C1(c), 5C1(d), 5C1(e), 5C1(e), 5C2(b)(iii), 5C2(b)(iiiv), 5C2(b)(ix), 8.