| (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.
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