3 AAC 26.825 - Prohibited uses of senior-specific certifications and professional designations

(a) An insurance producer engages in an unfair or deceptive act or practice if the insurance producer uses a senior-specific certification or professional designation in a manner that could mislead a purchaser or prospective purchaser to believe that the insurance producer has special certification or training in advising or servicing seniors in connection with the solicitation, sale, or purchase of a life insurance or annuity product, or in the provision of advice as to the value of or the advisability of purchasing or selling a life insurance or annuity product, either directly or indirectly by

(1) publications or writings;

(2) oral statements or representation; or

(3) issuing analyses or reports related to a life insurance or annuity product.

(b) Uses of a senior-specific certification or professional designation that are prohibited under (a) of this section include use of

(1) a certification or professional designation by an insurance producer who has not actually earned or is otherwise ineligible to use that certification or designation;

(2) a nonexistent or self-conferred certification or professional designation;

(3) a certification or professional designation that indicates or implies a level of occupational qualifications obtained through education, training, or experience that the insurance producer using the certification or professional designation does not have; or

(4) a certification or professional designation that was obtained from a certifying or designating organization that

(A) is primarily engaged in the business of instruction in sales or marketing;

(B) does not have reasonable standards or procedures for assuring the competency of the recipients of the organization's certificates or designations;

(C) does not have reasonable standards or procedures for monitoring and disciplining the holders of the organization's certificates or designations for improper or unethical conduct; or

(D) does not have reasonable continuing education requirements for the holders of the organization's certificates or designations in order to maintain the certificate or designation.

(c) A certifying or designating organization is not disqualified solely for purposes of (b)(4) of this section if the certification or designation issued by the organization does not primarily apply to sales or marketing and if the organization or the certification in question has been accredited by

(1) the American National Standards Institute;

(2) the National Commission for Certifying Agencies; or

(3) an accrediting agency that the United States Secretary of Education recognizes under 34 C.F.R. Part 602.

(d) In determining whether a combination of words or an acronym standing for a combination of words constitutes a certification or professional designation that could mislead a person to believe that an insurance producer has a special certification or training in advising or servicing seniors, the director will, in addition to other factors, consider

(1) whether the insurance producer uses one or more words such as "senior," "retirement," "elder," or similar words combined with one or more words such as "certified," "registered," "chartered," "advisor," "specialist," "consultant," "planner," or similar words, in the name of the certification or professional designation; and

(2) the manner in which those words are combined.

(e) Unless it is used in a manner that would confuse or mislead a reasonable consumer, a job title within an organization that is licensed or registered by a state or federal financial services regulatory agency is allowable and is not considered a certification or professional designation, if the job title indicates

(1) seniority or standing within the organization;

(2) an individual's area of specialization within the organization.

(f) For purposes of this section, "financial services regulatory agency" includes an agency that regulates

(1) insurers;

(2) insurance producers;

(3) broker-dealers;

(4) investment advisers as defined in 15 U.S.C. 80 a - 2(a)(20) (sec. 2(a)(20) of the Investment Company Act of 1940); or

(5) investment companies as defined in 15 U.S.C. 80 a - 3 (sec. 3 of the Investment Company Act of 1940).

Notes

3 AAC 26.825

Eff. 6/28/2009, Register 190

In 2010 the revisor of statutes, acting under AS 01.05.031, renumbered former AS 21.36.150 as AS 21.36.900. As of Register 196 (January 2011), the regulations attorney made a conforming technical revision under AS 44.62.125(b)(6), to the authority citation that follows 3 AAC 26.825, so that the citation to former AS 21.36.150 now refers to the renumbered statute, AS 21.36.900.

Authority:AS 21.06.090

AS 21.36.020

AS 21.36.030

AS 21.36.040

AS 21.36.900