Courses

Agents & Advisors Key to Annuities & Ethical Conduct

The course will provide the reader with the following components:
This course is designed to enhance the knowledge, understanding, and professional competence of the student as to insurance principles and coverages, applicable laws and rules, recent changes in coverages, technical policy provisions, underwriting guidelines and standards, law and the duties and responsibilities of the licensee, consumer protection, and insurance ethics.

The course will provide the reader with the following components regarding annuities:
Every type of annuity that is in the market today, their innerworkings, laws regulating annuities, qualified contracts and nonqualified contracts, immediate annuities and deferred annuities, fixed annuities and variable annuities, taxation consequences and benefits, who is a good candidate for each type of annuity, recent changes in law, structured settlements, disadvantages and advantages of annuity investing, the differences in each annuity, suitability regulations, contract replacement regulations, various indexing methods, nonforfeiture regulations, annuity riders and waivers, living and death benefit riders, special circumstances involving seniors, and more.

The course will provide the reader with the following components regarding ethics in the insurance industry:
Detailed description of unfair trade practices and the Unfair Trade Practices Act, the agent’s ethical and fiduciary responsibilities, conflicts of interest, regulatory ethical principles and rules (including integrity, objectivity, competence, fairness, confidentiality, professionalism, and diligence), regulations surround ethical conduct, ethical issues dealing with policy replacements, consumer protection and fraud regulation (including prohibited activities, civil penalties and injunctions, insurer responsibilities to identify prohibited persons, regulations according to the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud, National Insurance Crime Bureau, National Association of Insurance Commissioners, and published codes of ethics for insurance professionals, and more.

Course Description:

The Live CE presentation is designed to educate the agents in regard to the overall benefits of proper retirement planning for consumers. The knowledge contained within the insurance continuing education course material will assist the agent in helping their clients understand what is needed for their financial future and how to custom tailor services and products to provide their overall protection and peace of mind. Instructor-led will explain in the presentation other income sources such as government program benefits, personal savings and investments, reverse mortgages and alternative investments.

Course Description:

This classroom continuing education course will help you to become knowledgeable in the many strategies involved in savvy retirement planning. The Instructor-led will introduce the Live presentation by explaining the benefits that are available not only for the worker, but the program has been expanded to include spousal benefits, divorced spouse benefits, and dependent benefits, all within the arena of retirement, disability and survivors benefits.

Course Description:

The specific Insurance CE course learning objectives are regarding various long-term care settings and facilities as well as the services typically delivered in each, the principal types of long-term care insurance benefits and insurance, the differences between tax-qualified and non-qualified long-term care policies, an agent’s responsibilities related to determining the suitability of a recommendation to purchase a long-term care insurance product and required marketing practices and disclosure requirements in the sale of long-term care insurance in California.

Course Description:

The Insurance CE course will provide the reader with the following components.An understanding of current U.S. insurance regulation and its purpose by reviewing the historical details of federally enacted legislation affecting insurance. The numerous duties and responsibilities facing insurance agents and producers today, including state and federal responsibilities and contractual responsibilities. The concepts of due diligence and the duty to disclose, along with providing pertinent examples and court cases depicting appropriate and inappropriate agent behavior. An understanding of ethical philosophies and the basics of ethics, how to apply various ethical philosophies to the insurance industry, and the numerous unfair and illegal trade practices that are prohibited—and why they are prohibited. An exploration and explanation of a number of issues within the Property & Casualty lines of insurance that present challenges to agents today. An exploration and explanation of a number of issues within the Life & Health lines of insurance that present challenges to agents today. A detailed discussion of the Internet, its history, and how it affects agents in the conduct of their business and in their relationships with consumers. An understanding of the importance of insurance company financial stability; explain risk-based capital, reinsurance, and insurance company rating services. An in-depth discussion of market conduct and market conduct examinations and how insurance companies are expected to exhibit market conduct—complete with a review of recent market conduct exams and recommendations. An understanding of current E&O statistics, trends, and issues that may lead to E&O claims, along with a detailed review of actual E&O claims scenarios

Modern Annuity Subjects

The overall objectives of this course are to educate the insurance agent about annuity structure and the various types of annuities and how and when they are applied to a client’s wealth accumulation and distribution plan. Considerable emphasis is placed on suitability and agent ethics.

• Understand the three main types of annuities and how they are similar and dissimilar in contract structure, features, risks, benefits, and suitability for a particular financial goal.
• Explore the various tax issues relating to annuities including taxation during accumulation and how taxation differs depending on how the funds leave the annuity on the back-end. Taxation at the death of the annuitant is also discussed to round out the tax-related issues.
• Discuss how annuities can be used in qualified retirement plans such as: IRA, ROTH, SEP, SIMPLE, 401(k), 403(b), 457, and Defined Benefit Plans. Discussions include how taxation differs in these qualified annuities versus a non-tax qualified annuity.
• Explore the required minimum distribution rules that many retirement plans fall under as well as methods to stretch the income stream through a judicious use of the distribution requirements.
• Understand when an annuity is suitable for a client and what information needs to be gathered from a client to make the determination. This discussion includes coverage of FINRA Rules 2821 and 2310.
• Explain the structure of annuities used in specialized situations such as structured settlements and impaired risk annuities, when they are appropriate, and how they differ from the traditional annuity.
• Explore the ethical environment in which these products are offered and illuminate the agent’s ethical responsibilities to the consumer and the insurance companies. Examples are used to reinforce principal concepts.

Active Retirement Lifestyle

• Special concerns in the retirement arena, including senior impairments, elder financial abuse, and the use of senior-related professional designations.
• Licensee responsibilities in serving the retirement arena, including ethical practices in business, applying integrity and how license revocation can apply, serving senior consumers responsibly, and government and state regulation guidelines.
• Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices and the laws governing consumer protection, including the pertinent sections of the NAIC Unfair Trade Practices Act, the NAIC Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Act, the NAIC Life Insurance Illustration Model Regulation, the NAIC Life Insurance and Annuities Replacement Model Regulation, the NAIC Unfair Discrimination Against Abuse Act, the NAIC LTC Model Regulation, the new NAIC Best Interest Standard, the new SEC Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI), and the ways in which FINRA Rule 2111 has adopted the new BI standard.
• Life insurance protection for the retirement arena, including all types of available policies, provisions, and riders; annuities/annuitization, insurance and estate protection, health insurance protection, long-term care, underwriting concerns, life insurance as an investment; and special retirement planning issues, including Social Security, qualified retirement plans, the use of Trusts, using home equity as a resource, and the IRS estate and gift tax reform made by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA).

FL Law and Ethics

This course, Florida Law and Ethics Update 2-14, is designed to keep insurance professionals abreast of current legislative rules and updates, which have a direct impact on the insurance industry. By the end of the course, readers will be familiar with the following subject matters, and much more.

• Florida’s regulatory authorities in regard to the insurance industry.
• Licensing requirements and violations for operating without proper licensure, appointment procedures, and eAppoint.
• The various informational vehicles that are available through the Department’s website.
• Licensee responsibilities to the Department, and responsibilities for license transfer and surrender; grounds for compulsory and discretionary licensure; disciplinary action for both agents and agencies; and duties of licensed and unlicensed personnel, including limited lines licenses.
• Ethical guidelines and adherence to the DFS Code of Ethics, including fiduciary responsibilities, policyholders’ Bill of Rights required disclosures, twisting, churning, rebating, defamation, misrepresentation, unearned professional designations, and unlicensed insurance activity.
• The latest updates in federal suitability regulations, including the “best interest” standard (Reg BI), the updated NAIC Annuity Suitability Model Act (MDL #275), policy replacement regulations, FINRA Rule 2330, Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), CARES Act, and NAIC Alerts identifying and avoiding COVID-19 scams.
• Advertising guidelines, restrictive phrases, and unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts in regard to advertising.
• Requirements for reporting suspected unlicensed insurance activities.
• The latest state laws that affect Florida insurance professionals as well as recent enforcement actions with regard to Florida licensees.

Regulation Best Interest – Annuities

This course, Regulation Best Interest, is designed to educate insurance professionals in regard to the latest regulatory changes governing suitability standards in the industry. The new regulation includes a “best interest” standard, both at the federal level through the NAIC Suitability in Annuity Transactions Model Regulation, SEC Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI), and FINRA Rule 2111; and at the state level through the first state implementation (NY Regulation 187). Upon completion of the course, readers will have a comprehensive understanding of the following.

• NAIC Suitability in Annuity Transactions Model Regulation – A detailed description of the regulatory changes that have been made to the model law to implement a best interest standard, including the changes made to Appendices A (Insurance Agent/Producer Disclosure for Annuities), B (Consumer Refusal to Provide Information), and C (Consumer Decision to Purchase an Annuity Not Based on a Recommendation).
• SEC Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI) – A detailed description of the new law and what is required of insurers and insurance producers, including the new Form CRS Relationship Summary, the Disclosure Obligation, Care Obligation, Conflict of Interest Obligation, Compliance Obligation, and recordkeeping requirements.
• FINRA Rule 2111 – A detailed description of the changes made to the rule to adapt to the best interest standard, as well as the latest wave of fraudulent phishing emails aimed at exploiting the new regulation.
• New York Suitability and Best Interest Standard (Reg 187) – NY is the first state to implement regulation to include the BI standard and is presented as a sample that most states are expected to follow in the short-term.

New York Law, Ethics, & Diversity

This course is designed to educate insurance professionals about new trends and developments in the workplace through a discussion of the current industry refocus on diversity and inclusion initiatives that affect the insurance industry.

• The importance of fostering a culture of diversity.
• Understanding the regulations governing diversity, inclusion and bias, including the Equality Act, the Age Discrimination Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Immigration Reform and Control Act, the Workforce Investment Act, and NAIC committee charges regarding diversity and inclusion within the insurance sector.
• How to advance workplace diversity, including internal diversity programs, Lloyd’s “Dive In Festival,” talent management strategies, the advantages and challenges of creating a diverse workforce, and internal internship programs.
• What is unconscious bias, including age-based bias, physical-based bias, affinity-based bias, gender-based bias, LGBTQ discrimination, attribution bias, name-based bias, race-based bias, sexual harassment, cultural/nationality-based bias, retaliation, employment discrimination, real-world examples, and how to wage a fight against unconscious bias.
• Discrimination and insurance protection, including general liability (GL) insurance, employment practices liability (EPL) insurance, directors and officers (D&O) insurance, and crisis management/reputation risk insurance.

Description Coming Soon …

Description Coming Soon …

Course Description:

After completing this classroom insurance continuing education course, participants will understand exactly what long-term care is and why addressing it is so important. They will also understand the need for long-term care insurance and their responsibilities. The Live CE courses will be taught by an instructor that will cover risk factors associated with long-term care, LTC Partnership LTC Programs, and the many types of long-term care insurance products that are available (including LTC hybrids).

**Does not meet the Initial or Follow-up LTC Requirement**