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How to Become Licensed as a Resident Agency

How to Become Licensed as a Resident Agency

Complete the following prior to submitting an application with DIFS:

  • Obtain a Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN).
     
  • Register with the Michigan Corporations Division of the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs. In the case of a co-partnership, you must file your name with the county clerk in the county in which the business entity is located and in any county in which the business entity transacts business.

Section 500.1205(2)(b) of the Michigan Insurance Code, MCL 500.1205(2)(b), requires a business entity to identify a Designated Responsible Licensed Producer (DRLP) in order to obtain a license. The DRLP is responsible for the Business Entity's compliance with the state insurance laws, rules and regulations. A business entity may have more than one DRLP. The DRLP does not have to hold all the same lines of authority as the agency; however, the DRLP is responsible for ensuring agency compliance with all laws and regulations. DRLPs are initially designated during the electronic application process.

To view the DRLP for a licensed business entity, use the Insurance Agency Locator. Enter the business entity's 7-digit Michigan System ID Number; click on the entity name then click on the Individual Associations link. Effective December 1, 2016, business entities (agencies) must use the DIFS Insurance Licensing Online Services (ILOS) web page to add or inactivate affiliate information.

Background checks are conducted on all individuals listed on the application including DRLPs, owners, partners, officers and directors. DIFS will contact the business entity to obtain the date of birth for all persons listed on the application unless a list is submitted via email to DIFS-Licensing@michigan.gov or via fax to 517-284-8836.

Submit the following:

  • File an Electronic Resident Licensing (ERL) application, through the National Insurance Producer Registry (NIPR) website. The application/license fee is $10.00 plus a $5.00 transaction fee. An application is valid for 180 days from entry into our database. For questions relating to electronic application submission, contact NIPR Customer Service at 855-674-6477.
     
  • Applicants structured as a co-partnership are required to upload their county clerk filing to the NIPR Attachments Warehouse. DIFS will confirm organizational filings for a corporation or an LLC with the Corporations Division.
     
  • Any "yes" answer to a background question will need to have supporting documentation uploaded to the NIPR Attachments Warehouse.

Note: Attorney General Opinion 7242 supersedes Attorney General Opinion 5756. The updated opinion, released February 10, 2010, states that section 213(1) of the Business Corporation Act, 1972 PA 284, MCL 450.1213(1), does not require a corporate insurance agency that includes the word "insurance" in its name to also include the word "agency," and a corporate agency is free to use the word "insurance" in its name so long as the name, taken as a whole, does not imply that the agency is an insurance or surety company.