Editor's Notes

The focus may be on Washington D.C. and the threat of a debt default this month, but in the world of carrier-validated training for annuities and long-term care insurance all of the action has been at the state level. Meanwhile, ClearCert has launched new tools that make tracking all of these changes - and producer compliance with training requirements - easier than ever. ClearCert's Web Service Application allows participating carriers and distributors to build ClearCert Certification right into licensing and contracting systems.

This month ClearCert is pleased to announce the availability of our new Web Service Application for automated validation of producer compliance in any state, for any product, on any date, past, present or future! Such data tools would be worthless, of course, without data pouring into the system, and this month ClearCert is proud to announce that the ClearCert Provider Network now boasts more than 1,000 training providers operating in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Powered by carrier-authorized regulations, the 300,000 training records validated by ClearCert represent the industry's most valuable resource available for making training compliance accurate and easy participating for carriers, distributors, and their valuable producers.

46 States Now Have LTCI Training Requirements

Two more states - Nevada and Alaska - are implementing mandatory LTCI training requirements based on the 2006 NAIC Long-Term Care Insurance Model Act. As with many other states, both Nevada and Alaska have made a number of important changes to the NAIC boilerplate. Requirements are being reviewed now by ClearCert's Member Carriers and will be published soon.

Hawaii, New Mexico, Mississippi, Delaware and the District of Columbia are now the only states with no LTCI training requirement. (Michigan, Massachusetts and the four original partnership states of California, Connecticut, Indiana and New York have state-specific requirements in place.)

Mandatory training is now a fact of life for nearly every LTCI producer in the country - and those who are multi-state-licensed face a particularly difficult challenge obtaining and maintaining qualified status in every represented state. ClearCert remains dedicated to providing clear, carrier-authorized training statements to demystify the requirements for every producer.

 

ClearCert Launches Web Service Application for Automated Training Validation

Mandatory training requirements for LTCI and annuity producers have dramatically changed the workflow for most licensing and contracting reps. And of course, while broker dealers and MGAs are not technically responsible for validating that their producers are in compliance with mandatory training, unless training status is vetted during the application and contract scrubbing processes, paperwork may be returned, causing delays and even contract redating. So, staff must painstakingly review training documentation and mentally sort through state training requirements, especially reciprocity, to determine producer compliance.

Now an automated data solution is available to eliminate this time-consuming and frustrating task! The ClearCert Web Service Application provides carriers and distributors with an online application that can be easily integrated into contracting and licensing systems. Status for any producer, in any state, on any date, for any producer can now be automatically validated by the system instead of the rep. Batch processing allows you to validate the status of your entire producer population at once for every licensed state on any date - useful for identifying producers whose status is about to lapse or for responding to state inquiries.
 

14 States Now Have Suitability in Annuity Training Requirements

With Indiana's announcement in June, 14 states now have training requirements in place. Many others are in the final stages of developing their regulations. Several training providers and trade associations are working to provide training validation solutions, but only ClearCert offers an independent platform through which all training providers can submit data to the ClearCert database.

Thanks to this growing data repository - and the ClearCert system that calculates producer status based on carrier-authorized, standardized rules - producer status in any state, on any state, for any product is automated for use by participating carriers and distributors. Gone are the days of scrutinizing certificates, checking state course listings and manually calculating reciprocity.
 

ClearCert Provider Network Exceeds 1,000 Members

More than 100 training firms operating over 1,000 state-approved training providerships have joined the ClearCert Provider Network. Recent additions include Cape Schools, Inc;  The Agent's Choice Insurance School; Community Educators; FIRE Solutions; JEMMS; and the Rendelman Company.

Why have so many providers made the decision to participate in ClearCert? It's a great way to add value to their students' training courses! Participating carriers instantly accept completions of ClearCert Certified courses as proof of compliance, and training completions are "banked" forever, so there's no need to worry about losing a certificate or forgetting where a course was taken.
 

Membership Opportunities

Is your firm taking full advantage of the industry's proven, independent resource for managing compliance with mandatory training? ClearCert's information resources for producers are made available thanks to the participation of carriers, training firms and distributors. Find out what other industry leaders have discovered about the many benefits of ClearCert Membership! To learn more, visit us at www.ClearCert.com, e-mail info@clearcert.com or call 1-800-653-3122 x3 to reach our Membership Center.