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 | What are the specific CE requirements in the state of Michigan? |
 | Resident producers and solicitors must earn 24 credits of
State-approved education credit every two years. Of the 24 credits, a minimum of 3 credits must be in ethics. The "other" 21 credits may be in accident & health, life, property, casualty, etc. If a licensee completes more than 3 credits in Ethics, any additional credits beyond the 3 required ethics credits will count toward the "other" 21 credits needed.
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| Are there any exceptions? |
| Yes. There are five (5) exceptions: (1) Limited Life, (2) Turkey, Crop and Hail, (3) Travel, Accident and Baggage, (4) Title, and (5) Credit products. |
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| Does the state grant waivers from CE requirements? |
| Yes. Our office, with input from the Agent Education Advisory Council, has defined "severe hardship" as - The licensee has a terminal illness – the disability must impact the licensee’s ability to function as a producer
- Illness of self or spouse that required an inordinate amount of time for care by the licensee, or
- Military duty – active duty or deployment
In order to apply for a continuing education waiver or extension, a licensee must submit to OFIR a letter of request prior to the expiration of their license and should be sent or faxed to: Office of Financial and Insurance Regulation
Continuing Education Waiver Request
PO Box 30220
Lansing, MI 48909
Fax: 517-241-3953 The request must include the following information: - Current doctor's statement supporting the disability/illness or copies of the deployment orders.
- Description, in producer’s own words, of the situation that has prevented licensee from completing CE requirements.
- Explanation of what functions the producer performs.
- Impact the disability/illness has had on ability to function as an active producer.
- Reason producer believes the disability/illness prevented them from attending a classroom course or completing a on-line/self-study course.
Specify the length of the waiver or extension being requested. |
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| Does the state grant extensions to complete CE requirements? |
| Yes, see above. |
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| How do I know when my 24 credit hours are due? |
| Your continuing education review date is assigned according to your month and date of birth at least 12 months after the issuance of your initial license. The first scheduled review date must permit a producer at least 12 months before the first CE review date. See the samples below.
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| | Date of Initial License | Date of Birth | 1st CE Review Date | 9/6/09 | 9/10/71 | 9/1/11 | 6/22/09 | 6/14/88 | 6/1/12 | 1/13/10 | 3/16/84 | 3/1/12 | 5/9/10 | 6/23/69 | 6/1/11 | 3/24/11 | 12/15/87 | 12/1/13 | 7/16/11 | 1/26/90 | 1/1/14 |
Successive Review Dates are every two years thereafter.
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| | Your first CE review date is printed on your license document in the lower right hand corner. Check the online Insurance Agent Locator to verify your review date. |
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| Can a new licensee begin to accumulate CE credits as soon as he or she passes the licensing exam? |
| No. The effective date of the permanent license must first be established. As soon as you receive your license, you may begin to sign up for CE classes using your 7-digit License/System ID number. |
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| How does a nonresident producer meet the CE requirements? |
| Michigan is reciprocal with all other states. By meeting your home state CE requirements you will automatically comply with Michigan's requirements. You are not required to submit proof of CE compliance to our office. |
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| Will changing my name or social security number change my review period dates? |
| No. The CE review date (month, day, year) is established when you are first licensed. |
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| Is there a listing of approved providers and courses for CE? |
| Access the listing online |
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| Will this list give dates and locations of course offerings? |
| No. Contact the individual providers to determine when the specific course will be held and/or the registration procedures. |
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| Is a classroom course required to attain the necessary CE credits? |
| No. Course work has been approved for either classroom or self-study formats (Continuing Education Providers and Courses). Computer based training (CBT) and Internet courses are considered self-study formats. |
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| To complete a self-study course does the exam need to be monitored by the provider? |
| Yes. It is the provider's responsibility to assure licensees complete exams without assistance. Providers must use a disinterested third party to certify this action or schedule separate testing sessions at a specified location. |
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| What is the definition of a disinterested third party? |
| A person who has no financial interest in the success or failure of a licensee maintaining an insurance license. The disinterested third party must also certify the exam was closed book and no other assistance was used to obtain a passing score on the exam. |
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| How is it determined whether a course is credited to one review period or the next? |
| The course completion date reported by the provider will determine where the credit hours will apply. NOTE: Credits for the next period cannot be earned until you are past the current review period. In other words, if you complete your CE hours two months in advance of your CE review date, any other credits you earn in that two months will also be credited to that period. Wait until after the review date to earn credits for the next period. |
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| Can a course be taken twice during the same review period? |
| No. Duplicate completions will not be counted and will appear on your record with zero (0) credit. A duplicated course is one with the same course name or one that contains the same course material as a course already completed. |
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| Does the state accept partial credits for partially completing a course? |
| No. |
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| How does the state know what credits a licensee has earned? |
| CE providers (schools) are required to electronically report all licensees who complete a course and earn CE credit, along with paying the required $1.00 per hour credit fee. The providers must transmit this information to the insurance continuing education contractor within 30 days of the completion date. The contractor enters the credit information into their CE system. The CE system checks each entry to assure the provider and course are approved and that the licensee is contained in the master file supplied to the contractor by our office. Once everything has cleared, the data is sent electronically to our system. A licensee is NOT in compliance until all necessary credit hours are posted and the appropriate fees have been paid to the insurance continuing education contractor. Failure to supply correct license information to the CE provider may cause licensee to not receive credit. NOTE: Many national designation program providers do not report your hours automatically. Many require a nominal fee to report the hours on your behalf. Check the provider's reporting procedure at the time of registration. It is your responsibility to determine how the provider will collect this fee and report the hours and the $1.00 per credit fee. |
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| Does every credit submitted immediately show up in the state's computer system? |
| No. Records entered in the system will appear in our computer system the following day. |
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| Will I receive any documentation upon completion of a course? |
| Yes. Providers are required to issue a Certificate of Completion within 30 days of completing a course. This Certificate of Completion is for your own records. Do not send fees or certificates to our office. |
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| How can a licensee find out what credits are on file for him/her? |
| Check the online Insurance Agent Locator.
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| How does a licensee resolve discrepancies between the insurance continuing education contractor's record of credits earned and the licensee's own records? |
| The licensee must resolve discrepancies directly with the provider of the course in question. After you have unsuccessfully attempted to resolve these discrepancies with the provider, contact our office. Have your certificate of completion from the provider before you contact our office.
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| What will happen to my license if I do not complete all 24 credit hours by my CE review date? |
| Your license will be suspended for a period of 90 days or until your 24-hour requirement is met. During suspension the law allows you to service your existing book of business BUT you may NOT transact any new insurance business. All carriers for which you are appointed will be notified that you are suspended and that they may NOT accept any new business from you as of the date they are notified. Note: The Insurance Licensee Locator will display Suspended for Education, if the license is suspended. |
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| What happens to any business that I have written before I was notified I was suspended? |
| The licensee suspensions are effective as of the first of the month of the CE review. The licensee is notified by mail of the suspension. We notify the companies that have appointed the licensee, but we allow a grace period before these are mailed. The companies are then instructed to accept any business you submit up until the date they are notified. This allows adequate time to clear up any errors on your credit posting, as well as getting any business produced by you in to the company before the notice arrives. |
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| What happens if I do not complete my required 24 credit hours before the 90 days are over? |
| Your license and all appointments will be terminated/inactive. All companies for which you are appointed will be notified of your termination/inactivation. To reinstate your license within one year of your review date, you must still earn the 24 credit hours and then reapply to the state for licensure and pay all appropriate fees.
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My sponsoring entity received notification of my license suspension and/or termination. Why did I not receive this information? |
| Each licensee must maintain a current mailing address on file with our office. Access online Address Change information. Failure to maintain a current address with our office will result in fines and/or action against your license.
Note: Our office will be going paperless by December 31, 2011, and will require that all licensees maintain an active email address in our records.
The answers provided are not meant to be a substitute for legal advice.
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