WAC 284-17-200 through 284-17-312 establish the minimum continuing education requirements that must be met prior to the renewal of an insurance producer or adjuster license, and specify the minimum criteria that continuing education courses must meet to be approved by the commissioner.

(1) Except as provided in WAC 284-17-222 or waived in accordance with WAC 284-17-254, all individual residents licensed to transact life, disability, personal lines, property, casualty or variable life and variable annuity products lines of authority must meet the continuing education requirements of this chapter.

((Resident adjusters and))Individuals holding only limited credit insurance, travel insurance, or surety licenses are exempt from the continuing insurance education requirements of this chapter.

Timely completion of this state's continuing insurance education requirement is a prerequisite for renewal or reinstatement of a license. Before applying for renewal or reinstatement of a license, except as provided in WAC 284-17-222 or waived in accordance with WAC 284-17-254, all resident producers licensed for personal lines, life, disability, property, casualty or variable life and variable annuity product lines of authority and all resident licensed adjusters must complete twenty-four credit hours of approved insurance continuing education. The twenty-four hours of education must include three credit hours of ethics education during every license continuation period.

(1) Courses must be completed within the twenty-four month period prior to the:

(a) Expiration date of the license;

(b) Date of late renewal; or

(c) Date of the request for reinstatement.

(2) ((Producers))Licensees must maintain each continuing education certificate of completion for three years.

(3) For producers required to complete the annuity suitability training, flood training or long-term care training, producers should maintain certificates for as long as the producer transacts business for these products, but not less than three years.

A continuing education provider must use an attendance register in the format required by the commissioner to document attendance for a classroom or webinar course. The attendance register must include the following:

(1) Continuing education provider's name and provider number;

(2) Course title and course number;

(3) Location of the classroom or instructor's location for a webinar;

(4) Signature of the instructor or monitor for a classroom course;

(5) For a classroom course, the attendee's:

(a) Name and phone number;

(b) Washington ((producer)) license number;

(c) Arrival time;

(d) Signature; and

(e) Departure time with the attendee's initials.

An attendance register form for a classroom course is available on the insurance commissioner's web site.

(6) For a webinar course, the attendee's:

(a) Name and phone number;

(b) Washington ((producer)) license number;

(c) Log-in time to join the class;

(d) Chat history and polling responses; and

(e) Log-out time that the attendee exited the class.

(1) An application for approval of a continuing insurance education course or a new instruction method of a previously approved course must be submitted electronically or via email to the commissioner's education mailbox no fewer than twenty days prior to the first date the course is offered for credit.

(a) If the continuing education provider does not know the first date the course will be offered at the time the provider submits the application, then if the commissioner approves the course, the provider cannot offer the course until twenty days after the commissioner receives the course application;

(b) The provider can advertise a course after the approval date, but cannot offer the course until the effective date;

(c) The commissioner will not process a new course application submitted by a provider until after the commissioner has sent the provider's continuing education course renewal notice. The provider must immediately submit the continuing education course renewal request for processing. After the commissioner processes the provider's course renewal request, the commissioner will continue reviewing the provider's new course application.

(2) The request must include all of the following, as applicable:

(a) Classroom courses:

(i) Completed request for course and credit approval form or the National Association of Insurance Commissioners Uniform Continuing Education Reciprocity Course filing form;

(ii) Detailed course outline, including a list of topics that the continuing education provider will cover and an estimate of the amount of time the provider will spend on each topic. The commissioner will not accept video presentation slides in lieu of the detailed course outline;

(iii) Biography or resume of instructor(s); and

(iv) Sample of the attendance register form that the provider will use.

(b) Webinar courses:

(i) Completed request for course and credit approval form or the National Association of Insurance Commissioners Uniform Continuing Education Reciprocity Course filing form;

(ii) Detailed course outline, including a list of topics that the provider will cover and an estimate of the amount of time the provider will spend on each topic. The commissioner will not accept video presentation slides in lieu of the detailed course outline;

(iii) Biography or resume of instructor(s);

(iv) Polling questions or verification codes, including two for each credit hour of the course;

(v) Description of the process for monitoring and verifying attendance; and

(vi) Sample of the document the provider will use to record each attendee's attendance and participation.

(c) Self-study courses:

(i) Completed request for course and credit approval form or the National Association of Insurance Commissioners Uniform Continuing Education Reciprocity Course filing form;

(ii) Detailed course outline with word count for each chapter, section or module;

(iii) If ethics content is included, a separate word count for the ethics content;

(iv) Samples of the course reading material to assist the commissioner in determining course difficulty level;

(v) Sample of video content, if included in the course. If the course includes video exceeding fifty minutes and the information is mandatory for completing the course, one additional credit hour will be added to the course credit total;

(vi) Description of the verification process the provider will use to confirm that the licensee has completed the course study material before accessing the exam;

(vii) Resume of the course content developer showing education and work experience related to the course subject matter; and

(viii) Copy of the examination. All examination questions must be multiple choice.

(A) The provider must include a minimum of ten exam questions for a one credit hour course, with an additional five exam questions for each subsequent credit hour;

(B) To pass the exam, licensees must achieve a score of seventy percent or higher;

(C) If the licensee does not pass the first exam, the licensee must take a second exam that contains no more than fifty percent of the same questions from the first exam. If the licensee does not pass on the second attempt, the provider must alternate the exams until the licensee passes the exam.

(3) To be eligible for approval, a course must have a direct and specific application to insurance. A course about ethics or about laws and regulations specific to insurance is eligible. The subject matter should increase the ((producer's))licensee's technical knowledge of insurance principles, insurance coverage, and insurance laws and regulations. The continuing education provider is responsible for the accuracy of facts and figures used in the course.

(4) The commissioner will not award credit for topics such as personal improvement, general education, sales, marketing, motivation, business management, time management, leadership, supportive office skills, internet use, social media use, automation, and other courses that are not directly and specifically related to insurance.

(5) Insurance prelicensing education courses are not eligible for approval for continuing insurance education credit.

The form of certificate of course completion required by the commissioner is available to continuing education providers by contacting the commissioner's office. The certificate and signature may be in electronic format.

(1) The certificate must indicate that it is a Washington approved insurance continuing education course; and

(2) The certificate must include the following:

(a) Licensee's name and Washington ((producer)) license number;

(b) Course title and number;

(c) Date of course completion;

(d) Total number of credit hours and ethics credit hours if included;

(e) Continuing education provider's name and number; and

(f) Signature of the authorized designee of the provider and date.