The temporary policy was outlined in Bulletin 2020-14 issued on April 29, 2020
The Massachusetts Division of Insurance has issued a new Bulletin this week offering interested individuals the ability to become temporarily licensed as an individual insurance producer during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Bulletin 2020-14 entitled, “Temporary Individual Insurance Producer Licenses during the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Health Crisis,” outlines provisions the DOI has taken in order to address “the current inability of new applicants to obtain an insurance producer license in Massachusetts.”
The procedures and requirements for obtaining a temporary license
The Division is permitted to issue these Temporary Individual Insurance Producer Licenses without requiring examination pursuant to M.G.L. c. 175 162Q.
The following is a reprint of the qualifications and limitations with respect to obtaining a temporary insurance license. An official copy of the Bulletin may be accessed here as well.
Qualifications of Applicants for a Temporary Insurance Producer License
- Must be a resident of Massachusetts.
- Must be appointed by a sponsoring insurer who assumes responsibilities for all acts of the temporary licensee pursuant to M.G.L. c. 175 sec. 162Q(b). This temporary appointment will coincide with the duration of the temporary license.
Limitation of Temporary Insurance Producer License
- Temporary insurance producer licenses will automatically expire on the earlier of 90 days after the State of Emergency is terminated or 180 days from the date of issue (no exceptions). A Temporary Insurance Producer License is not renewable.
- Temporary insurance producer licenses are subject to cancellation or revocation if the temporary licenses violates the insurance laws of the Commonwealth or if the interests of insureds or the public are endangered.
- A temporary insurance producer license allows the producer to operate in Massachusetts as a resident temporary producer. Temporary producers are not eligible for non-resident licenses in other states.
- A temporary insurance producer license is convertible to an equivalent traditional insurance producer license by the completion of all prerequisites of a license for the desired line or lines of insurance, including meeting all examination and background qualification requirements prior to the expiration of the temporary insurance producer license. No additional fee shall be required in association with the issue of the regular producer license.
How to Apply for a Temporary Insurance Producer License
- Until further notice, applicants for a temporary producer license must submit the following:
- A hard-copy Uniform Application for Individual Producer License/Registration with a check via United States mail for $225 (applicants applying for casualty, property, and/or personal lines of authority must submit an additional fee of $75 for the lead paint surcharge).
- A hard-copy appointment/sponsor form completed by the sponsoring insurer with the appropriate fee of $75 per applicant.
- The producer application and insurer appointment/sponsor form may be found on our website here.
- The application will not be automatically approved. to expedite the temporary licensing process, sponsoring insurers should mail the completed producer application, appointment/sponsor form, and required fees in one package. This will enable the Division to timely process temporary insurance producer license applications.
The Division is currently working with the National Insurance Producer Registry (“NIPR”) to enable electronic applications via their website at www.nipr.com New applicants should continue to check our website for updates regarding the availability of online applications.
Sponsoring Insurer Responsibilities
The sponsoring insurer must maintain a record of all producers operating under a temporary license and business transacted by them. Sponsoring insurers should assist producers with moving through the examination and background check process more quickly once the current State of Emergency has been lifted. The sponsoring insurer must assure that the temporarily licensed producers’ sales activities and training are coordinated by a licensed insurance producer in good standing with the Division or where applicable, a FINRA-licensed registered principal.
Remote Testing
Remote testing for Massachusetts license examinations is not currently available. However, as part of our ongoing efforts to respond to the COVID-19 public health crisis, we are working to make remote testing available as soon as possible.
If you have any questions regarding licensing matters, please contact the Division’s Producer Licensing Unit or at (617)521-7794. Our Producer Licensing Unit is available to support all licensing needs during the state of emergency.
