STATE OF NEW YORK
INSURANCE DEPARTMENT
25 BEAVER STREET
NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10004

The Office of General Counsel issued the following informal opinion on November 10, 2004, representing the position of the New York State Insurance Department.

Must an applicant for an original insurance agent’s license have on file with the Insurance Department an insurer’s certificate of appointment before the Insurance Department issues such original license to the applicant?

No. The New York Insurance Law no longer requires an insurer to file a certificate of appointment before the Insurance Department issues an original insurance agent’s license to an applicant. But after receiving such original license, the applicant must have a notice of appointment on file with the Insurance Department within fifteen days from the date the agency contract between the applicant and the insurer is executed, or within fifteen days from the date that the applicant submits his or her first insurance application to the insurer, whichever is first. Such applicant may solicit insurance contracts upon receipt of an agent’s license as long as he or she complies with the requirement stated in the prior sentence.

There are no presented facts.

Analysis:

The Producer Licensing Model Act (the "Act")¹ amended, inter alia, Sections 2103(e) and 2112(b) of the New York Insurance Law², and eliminated the requirement that an applicant for an original insurance agent’s license have an insurer’s certificate of appointment on file with the Insurance Department before the issuance of such original license. Section 2103(e) now provides:

Before any original insurance agent’s license is issued there shall be on file in the office of the superintendent an application by the prospective licensee in such form or forms and supplements, and containing information the superintendent prescribes and for each business entity, the sub-licensee or sub-licensees named in the application shall be designated responsible for the business entity’s compliance with the insurance laws, rules and regulations of this state.³

Section 2112(b) now provides that: "[t]o appoint a producer, the appointing insurer shall file, in a format approved by the superintendent, a notice of appointment within fifteen days from the date the agency contract is executed or the first insurance application is submitted."⁴ Please note that insurance agents are recognized as "insurance producers" under Section 2101(k) of the Insurance Law.⁵

Accordingly, the New York Insurance Law no longer requires an insurer to file a certificate of appointment before the Insurance Department issues an original insurance agent’s license to an applicant. But the applicant must have a notice of appointment on file with the Insurance Department within fifteen days from the date the agency contract between the applicant and its insurer is executed, or within fifteen days from the date that the applicant submits his or her first insurance application to the insurer, whichever is first. Such applicant may solicit insurance contracts upon receipt of an agent’s license as long as he or she complies with the requirement stated in the prior sentence.

²  2003 N.Y. Laws Ch. 687, §§ 13, 37.

³  2003 N.Y. Laws Ch. 687, § 13.

⁴  2003 N.Y. Laws Ch. 687, § 37.

⁵  2003 N.Y. Laws Ch. 687, § 8.