Producer Licensing: Who Must Be Licensed, Appointments, Discipline, Renewal and Continuing Education (Outline X.C)

Outline: section X.C Licensing (1. persons required to be licensed; 2. appointments and terminations; 3. penalties for noncompliance; 4. maintenance and duration of license). Section X carries 15 of the 115 scored items, shared with Chapters 10, 11, 13, 14 and 15.

The licensing article of Title 83 (83-17-51 and following) is the heart of the state-law section. Most questions turn on a number: an age, a deadline in days, a count of hours. Each figure below is the Mississippi figure from the digest of the section named.

12.1 Persons Required to Be Licensed (Outline X.C.1.a)

Rule. A person may not sell, solicit or negotiate insurance in Mississippi for any class of insurance unless licensed for that line of authority (Miss. Code Ann. 83-17-55(1)). The three verbs are defined in Chapter 11 (83-17-53(l), (n), (o)).

Who is a "person." An individual or a business entity (a corporation, association, partnership, LLC, LLP or other legal entity) (83-17-53(a), (m)). A partnership can be licensed only if every partner meets the requirements that apply to an individual (83-17-55(2)). A business entity needs its own license, applied for on the uniform business entity application, and must designate a licensed producer responsible for the entity's compliance (83-17-61(2)).

License is not authority. The license grants no actual, apparent or inherent authority to commit an insurer (83-17-53(g)); an agent must be appointed (Section 12.6).

Scope. The article does not apply to excess and surplus lines agents and brokers or to domestic title insurers and their agents (83-17-51).

12.2 Lines of Authority and Types of Licenses

A producer qualifies for one or more lines of authority (83-17-63(1)):

This exam is the combined Life, Accident & Health or Sickness producer exam. The Department's rule lists the major lines as Life; Accident and Health; Property; Casualty; Variable Life and Variable Annuity; and Personal Lines, and the limited lines as Industrial Fire; Surety; Title; Trip Accident and Baggage; Industrial Life and Accident & Health; Car Rental; Crop; Travel; and Storage (19 Miss. Admin. Code Pt. 1, Ch. 15, R. 15.06(B), (C)).

Exam classes. The Commissioner may classify applicants for exams as: (a) life insurance; (b) accident and health insurance, other than industrial; (c) industrial accident and health insurance; (d) any combination of two or more; (e) other classes the Commissioner considers appropriate (83-17-39(2)).

Industrial life, health and accident. A Department rule (effective December 1, 1985) sets a special permanent license for agents who sell industrial life, health and accident policies with benefits of $5,000 or less per life policy and disability benefits of $60.00 or less per week. The applicant completes five hours of instruction using an approved study guide, and the examination is administered through the Home Service Life Insurers Council (19 Miss. Admin. Code Pt. 6, Ch. 5, R. 5.04 to 5.06). A 1973 order allowed temporary licenses of not more than 60 days for industrial debit-system agents, on conditions (approved training; supervised sales) (Pt. 6, Ch. 3, LA&H 73-2). This is industrial only; do not confuse the 60 days with the 180-day temporary license below.

Temporary producer license (83-17-69). The Commissioner may issue one, without an exam, for no more than 180 days to: the surviving spouse or court-appointed personal representative of a licensed producer who dies or becomes disabled; a member or employee of a business entity when a named individual dies or becomes disabled; the designee of a licensed producer who enters active service in the Armed Forces; or in other cases where the public interest is best served. The Commissioner may limit the authority, require a sponsor responsible for the temporary licensee's acts, and revoke the license if interests are endangered.

12.3 Insurance Adjusters (Outline X.C.1.b)

The outline lists "Insurance Adjuster, Ref. 83-17-401." The definition excludes the persons this exam covers.

• An "adjuster" investigates or adjusts losses for an insurer or self-insured, or supervises claim handling. The definition excludes (among others) an attorney who occasionally adjusts as part of a law practice, a salaried insurer employee regularly engaged in adjusting, a licensed agent who processes undisputed or uncontested losses under policies that agent issued, a clerical worker with no negotiations on disputed claims, and a person handling claims under life, accident and health insurance policies (83-17-401(a)(vi)).
• A person may not act as an adjuster without a license; an individual may act for up to 12 months while in training under a licensed adjuster's direction, with the trainee's name registered at the start (83-17-403(1)). Acting without a license is a misdemeanor: fine up to $250, county jail up to 6 months, or both (83-17-403(2)).
• Qualifications: at least 18, a bona fide Mississippi resident (or from a state that lets Mississippi residents adjust), trustworthy, experienced or trained, and must pass the exam unless exempt (83-17-413, 83-17-417). CE: 12 hours if the license has been in effect 18 months or less, 24 hours (3 on ethics) if longer (83-17-415).
• Emergency adjuster license after a catastrophe: not more than 90 days, one extension of 90 days, fee not more than $50, and the employer certifies within 5 days (83-17-409).
• Discipline: after notice and hearing, with the hearing at least 20 days after notice is mailed (83-17-421).

Exam point. A life and health producer does not need an adjuster license to handle life, accident and health claims.

12.4 Qualifications, Resident and Nonresident Producers (Outline X.C.1.c)

The outline lists "Resident/non-resident, Ref. 83-17-65, 67." 83-17-65 is the nonresident license; resident licensing is 83-17-59 and 83-17-61; 83-17-67 exempts previously licensed persons.

Resident individual producer (83-17-61(1)). On the uniform application, the individual must be found by the Commissioner to:

1. be at least 18 years old;
2. have committed no act that is a ground for denial, suspension or revocation under 83-17-71;
3. where the Commissioner requires it, have completed a prelicensing course for the lines applied for;
4. have paid the fees set in 27-15-87 (not read for this book); and
5. have passed the exams for the lines applied for.

Prelicensing. An original license requires a certification on the Commissioner's form that the applicant completed an approved prelicensing course for the line. It is 20 hours per line of authority (83-17-251(2)). The combined life and health line therefore needs 40 hours (20 per line), consistent with the handbook. Exempt from prelicensing: persons exempt from the exam under 83-17-39(1) and 83-17-67; holders of an insurance-major bachelor's degree; holders of specified designations (life: CEBS, CHFC, CIC, CFP, CLU, FLMI or LUTCF; accident and health: RHU, CEBS, REBC or HIA); limited lines producers; and variable-only applicants. Life-line-only applicants are exempt (83-17-251(2)(h), added by House Bill 819, effective July 1, 2024; official bill text), so a life-only license needs no prelicensing course; the exemption does not reach an applicant who also applies for the accident and health line, and the July 2025 handbook chart still lists 40 hours for the combined exam.

Exam (83-17-59, 83-17-39). A resident individual takes a written exam on the lines applied for, producer duties and responsibilities, and Mississippi insurance law. The exam fee is nonrefundable (the handbook states $50). A person who misses an exam or fails must reapply and pay all fees again. The exam is waived for: renewal applicants (unless the Commissioner finds an exam necessary, or the license lapsed more than one year before the application); common-carrier ticket agents; applicants licensed only for credit life, health and accident, or credit property, insurance; applicants whose license was suspended less than one year before; agents of a fraternal benefit society only; and applicants exempt under 83-17-67.

Previously licensed elsewhere (83-17-67). A person who held a license for the same lines in another state need not complete prelicensing or pass an exam if the applicant holds the license there currently, applies within 90 days of cancellation with the prior state certifying good standing, or the NAIC database shows good standing for that line. A producer who moves to Mississippi must apply within 90 days of establishing legal residence to become a resident licensee; no prelicensing or exam is required for lines held before.

Nonresident producer (83-17-65). A nonresident gets a Mississippi license if holding a resident license in good standing at home, filing the request and fees, and the home state issues nonresident licenses to Mississippi residents on the same basis. Further rules:

• A nonresident who moves to another state, or a resident producer who moves out of Mississippi, must file a change of address and certification from the new state within 30 days of the change in legal residence; no fee or new application.
• If the home-state license is denied, suspended or revoked, the Mississippi nonresident license is likewise denied, suspended or revoked without prior notice or hearing. The Commissioner notifies the producer by regular U.S. mail; within 10 days of the letter's date the producer may request a hearing in writing to contest the reasonableness of the action, and the hearing must be held within 30 days of the request (83-17-65(6), 83-17-71(7)).
• A nonresident who meets the home state's CE requirements satisfies Mississippi's CE if the home state gives Mississippi producers the same recognition (83-17-79(2)).

12.5 Exemptions (Outline X.C.1.d)

The outline lists "Exemptions, Ref. 83-17-67." Section 83-17-67 exempts previously licensed persons from the exam and prelicensing. The list of persons who need no license at all is in 83-17-57:

• An insurer is not required to be licensed as a producer (the insurer's officers, directors, employees, subsidiaries and affiliates are not "the insurer" for this purpose).
• An officer, director or employee of an insurer or producer who receives no commission on Mississippi risks and works in executive, administrative, managerial or clerical functions relating only indirectly to selling; handles underwriting, loss control or inspection; or acts as a special agent or agency supervisor giving only technical advice to licensed producers.
• A person who gathers or furnishes information for group life, group property and casualty, group annuity, or group or blanket accident and health insurance, enrolls individuals, issues certificates or helps administer plans.
• An employer, association, or employee trust trustee administering an employee benefit program for its own employees (or those of subsidiaries or affiliates), if it receives no direct or indirect compensation from the issuing company.
• A person whose in-state activity is limited to advertising by mass media not limited to state residents, without intent to solicit and without selling, soliciting or negotiating Mississippi risks.
• A nonresident who sells commercial property and casualty for an insured with risks in more than one state, if licensed in the insured's principal-place-of-business state.
• A salaried, full-time employee who advises the employer on its insurance interests and does not sell, solicit or receive a commission.

The decisive factors are commission, selling activity and who the "customer" is. An employer's benefits clerk who enrolls the employer's own staff and takes no commission is exempt; the same person receiving a commission from the insurer is not.

12.6 Appointments and Terminations of Appointments (Outline X.C.2)

Appointment (83-17-75).

1. A producer cannot act as an insurer's agent unless appointed by that insurer. A producer not acting as an insurer's agent need not be appointed.
2. The insurer files a notice of appointment with the Commissioner, in an approved format, within 15 days after the agency contract is executed or the first insurance application is submitted. An insurer may appoint a producer to all or some insurers in its holding company system or group with a single appointment request.
3. The Commissioner verifies the producer's eligibility within a reasonable time, not exceeding 30 days after receiving the notice. If the producer is ineligible, the Commissioner notifies the insurer within 5 days of that determination.
4. The insurer pays an appointment fee, and a renewal appointment fee, in the amounts set out in 83-5-73. The digest of 83-5-73 lists a $25 fee for an agent's certificate of authority but no separate "appointment fee."
5. Before issuing a license or certificate of authority, the Commissioner requires the company seeking a producer's first appointment to furnish a certificate verified by an executive officer or managing general or special agent that the company investigated the applicant's character and record and is satisfied the applicant is of good moral character and is qualified, fit and trustworthy.

An older provision requires the insurer to notify the agent within 30 days if the agent's authority is nonrenewed or cancelled (83-17-5).

Termination (83-17-77).

1. An insurer (or its authorized representative) that ends its relationship with a producer must notify the Commissioner within 30 days after the termination takes effect, on a commissioner-prescribed form, if the reason falls within 83-17-71 or the insurer knows a court, government body or self-regulatory organization found the producer engaged in an activity listed in 83-17-71. It must provide additional information on written request.
2. If the termination is for a reason not listed in 83-17-71, the insurer must still notify the Commissioner within 30 days after the effective date.
3. If later review reveals reportable information, the insurer must promptly notify the Commissioner.
4. Within 15 days after a notification, the insurer mails a copy to the producer's last known address; if terminated for cause for a reason listed in 83-17-71, the copy goes by certified mail, return receipt requested, or nationally recognized overnight carrier.
5. Within 30 days after receiving the notice, the producer may file written comments with the Commissioner and send a copy to the insurer; the comments become part of the Commissioner's file.
6. Immunity: absent actual malice, insurers, producers, the Commissioner and information organizations are immune from civil liability for statements made under the section. The material the Department holds is confidential and privileged.
7. An insurer that fails to report, or one a court finds reported with actual malice, may have its license or certificate of authority suspended or revoked after notice and hearing, and may be fined.