N.M. Admin. Code § 13.9.20.10 - INSURANCE PRODUCER TRAINING

An insurance producer shall not solicit the sale of an annuity product unless the insurance producer has adequate knowledge of the product to recommend the annuity and the insurance producer is in compliance with the insurer's standards for product training. An insurance producer may rely on insurer-provided product-specific training standards and materials to comply with this rule.

A. An insurance producer who engages in the sale of annuity products shall complete a one-time four-credit training course approved by OSI and provided by an OSI-approved education provider.

B. An insurance producer who holds a life insurance line of authority on the effective date of this rule and who desires to sell annuities shall complete the requirements of this section within six months of the effective date of this rule. An insurance producer who obtains a life insurance line of authority on or after the effective date of this rule may not engage in the sale of annuities until the required annuity training course has been completed.

C. The minimum length of the training required under this rule shall be sufficient to qualify for at least four CE credits but may be longer.

D. The training required under this rule shall include information on the following topics:

(1) the types of annuities and various classifications of annuities;

(2) identification of the parties to an annuity;

(3) how product-specific annuity contract features affect consumers;

(4) the application of income taxation of qualified and non-qualified annuities;

(5) the primary uses of annuities; and

(6) appropriate standards of conduct, sales practices, replacement and disclosure requirements.

E. A provider of courses intended to comply with this Section shall cover all topics listed in the prescribed outline and shall not present any marketing information or provide training on sales techniques or provide specific information about a particular insurer's products. Additional topics may be offered in conjunction with and in addition to the required outline.

F. A provider of an annuity training course intended to comply with this rule shall register as a CE provider in this state and shall comply with the rules and guidelines applicable to insurance producer continuing education courses as set forth in Section 59A-12-26 NMSA 1978 and 13.4.7 NMAC.

G. An insurance producer who has completed an annuity training course approved by OSI prior to the effective date of this rule shall, within six months of the effective date of this rule, complete either:

(1) a new four-credit training course approved by OSI after the effective date of this rule; or

(2) An additional one-time, one-credit training course approved by OSI and provided by an OSI-approved education provider on appropriate sales practices, replacement and disclosure requirements under this rule.

H. Annuity training courses may be conducted and completed by classroom or self-study methods in accordance with Section 59A-12-26 NMSA 1978 and 13.4.7 NMAC.

I. A provider of annuity training shall comply with the reporting requirements and shall issue certificates of completion in accordance with Section 59A-12-26 NMSA 1978 and 13.4.7 NMAC.

J. Satisfaction of the training requirements of another state that are substantially similar to the provisions of this rule shall be deemed to satisfy the training requirements of this rule.

K. Satisfaction of the components of the training requirements of any course or courses with components substantially similar to the provisions of this rule shall be deemed to satisfy the training requirements of this rule.

L. An insurer shall verify that an insurance producer has completed the annuity training course required by this rule before allowing the insurance producer to sell an annuity product for that insurer. An insurer may satisfy its responsibility under this rule by obtaining certificates of completion of the training course or obtaining reports provided by OSI-sponsored database systems or vendors or from a reasonably reliable commercial database vendor that has a reporting arrangement with approved insurance education providers.

Notes

N.M. Admin. Code § 13.9.20.10

Adopted by New Mexico Register, Volume XXXIII, Issue 05, March 8, 2022, eff. 10/1/2022