Course approval

(a) Each course shall be approved by the commissioner prior to the initial course offering, and before any advertisement of, or solicitation for, the course is effected. It is the sponsor's responsibility to provide an acceptable application on a form approved by the commissioner for a course to be approved. The application shall include a detailed course content outline and the sponsor's tuition and fee refund policy. The department shall not be liable to the sponsor for any action taken or any expense incurred by the sponsor, such as advertising costs, in anticipation of course approval. The department will approve a course as an acceptable continuing education program if it: (1) Is a formal program of learning which contributes directly to the professional competence of a producer; (2) is not defined under this section as a "not approved" course; (3) has significant intellectual or practical content to enhance and improve the knowledge of the participants with regard to subjects of insurance; (4) includes evaluation and assessment methods; (5) is classified based on the level of ability required to benefit from the course as basic, intermediate, or advanced; (6) includes a bibliography or reference sources, if any; and (7) includes a list and sample of supplemental teaching aids, if any. (b) The following are "not approved" courses: (1) Courses approved for prelicense training; (2) Courses in: (A) mechanical, office or business skills (including typing, speed reading, etc.); (B) the use of calculators, computers or other machines or equipment; (C) the use of computer software or equipment except in computer-based needs analysis or computer solutions to risk management that relate to insurance customers; or (D) accounting or tax preparation in connection with the business of the producer; (3) Courses that relate only to the organizational procedures and internal policies of an individual insurer; (4) Courses in (A) motivation; or (B) salesmanship or sales promotion, including meetings held in conjunction with the general business of the producer; (5) Courses primarily intended to impart knowledge of specific products of specific insurers, if the use of the products relates to sales promotion or marketing of one or more of the products discussed. (c) If approval has been granted for the initial offering of a course, recertification may be granted without requiring a new application. Recertification will require only information concerning course content submitted on a form acceptable to the commissioner. (d) Materials and course content used in subsequent offerings of approved courses shall be updated to maintain currency of the information. (e) Classroom courses which have not been used for a period of five years shall be purged from the department's database file of approved courses. Future use of purged courses shall require a new application. (f) The department reserves the right to audit courses and administrative records with or without notice to the sponsor. Audits shall result in notice to the sponsor of any deficiencies found and of corrective action required by the sponsor where warranted. The department may reduce the number of approved credit hours for the course, or disapprove the course entirely if the sponsor fails to correct the deficiencies. (g) The department or its designee shall approve or disapprove a course within sixty days of receipt of application for approval. Any rejection shall be in writing and shall include the reasons for disapproval.