In response to the new Producer Licensing Law, the Alabama Insurance Department has issued new procedures for becoming a licensed insurance agent.  Applicants will no longer be required to have a carrier sponsor to take the exam.  The new procedures took effect January 1st and should streamline the licensing process. 

Applicants may now take their 40 hour pre-qualification course and test the following week, if they desire.  The state no longer requires a 1020 form to be set up for testing.  Troy State University has been awarded the contract for agent’s licensing examinations and all applicants must now travel to Troy to take the new computer based exam.  While not available at this time, we are told that additional test sites will be made available in the future.
The new exam fee is $48 and is paid on arrival to the test site which is Bibb Graves Hall on the Troy State University Campus. Credit cards are also accepted as a payment method and can be used at the campus or on the secure website registration page. You may register through the Alabama Department of Insurance Website at www.aldoi.org  which has a link to the Troy State test registration center.

All exams will now be administered at any time from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. If you cannot test during those hours you may ask for an extended hours appointment which requires an additional fee of $25.00 for the proctor.  You do not have to have any computer skills to take the exam.  Simply point the mouse at the answer and click.  Applicants for the exam will need to present a photo identification and a completion certificate for their 40 hour pre-qualification course.  Exams will be graded within 2 seconds of completion and a pass/fail certificate will be issued immediately.  Should an applicant fail the exam on the first attempt, they can retake the exam immediately, even on the same day.  A $48 fee will be required for the second exam as well. Should the second attempt fail, the applicant must wait 90 days to retake the exam.

On successful completion of the exam, a pass certificate will be issued to the applicant.  The applicant will complete a new licensing form, AL-1 (1/2002), also available on the Alabama Department of Insurance Website, attach their pass certificate, the license fee and their new license will be issued by the Insurance Department.  Please consult the Alabama Insurance Department website www.aldoi.org if you have any questions. 

Once each year we make the opportunity available to our CISR hopefuls to get the course or two they need to finish up their designation work.  We also present the first ALS of the year for our CISR veterans to update their designation credentials.  This month we present “Marathon Week” March 4th - 8th, 2002.  These courses will be held at the association office training center in Birmingham. You can take one or all of the CISR courses during this special offering. We start with Agency Operations on February 28th, and continue with the remainder of the annual schedule with Insuring Personal Automobile Exposures on March 4th, Insuring Commercial Casualty Exposures on March 5th, Insuring Personal Residential Property on March 6th, Insuring Commercial Property Exposures on March 7th and we finish out the series for those of you who already have the CISR designation, the Advanced Lecture Series. This year’s ALS topics are Commercial Casualty Questions and Answers, Crime Insurance and Insuring Home-based businesses.  Each course is approved for 8 hours of continuing education regardless of whether you sit for the examination or not. We’ll even let you attend these courses if you don’t want to get the CISR designation, however, as long as you’re here, you might as well make the best of it and take the exam.  Make plans now to attend this once-a-year event. Space is limited.

This year marks the beginning of a new 8 hour E&O course, “Best Practices of Errors and Omissions Loss Control”. This month the E&O course is being presented in Mobile at the Ramada Plaza Hotel on March 27th, and in Birmingham on March 28th at the AIIA training facility.  The new course was developed by the Loss Control Task Force and Westport Insurance Company.  This course was also developed with input from each state association to assist the attendee in meeting the loss control requirements.  “Best Practices of Errors and Omissions Loss Control” is approved by Westport for the 10% loss control credit for policyholders who send the appropriate personnel as outlined in the course brochure.    “Best Practices of Errors and Omissions Loss Control” is designed to offer our members a comprehensive loss control seminar to improve upon their business practices while reducing losses to maintain the long-term stability of the IIAA Professional Liability Program.  Please note that the time for the new course has changed.  In order to meet the new 8 hour continuing education credit format the course time will now be from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Please be aware that we had to turn dozens of applicants for the February Commercial Casualty Institute as the space filled before the end of December.  If you are updating your CIC, you cannot wait to register for the institute and expect space to be available.  We make every opportunity to register as many attendees as possible, but our waiting list attendees rarely make it into the Institute.  Register early so you won’t miss your update!!  If you need CC, we will offer it again August 7-9, 2002.