North Dakota Code 26.1-34.2-03.1 – Producer training
1. A producer may not solicit the sale of an annuity product unless the producer has adequate knowledge of the product to recommend the annuity and the producer is in compliance with the insurer’s standards for product training. A producer may rely on insurer-provided product-specific training standards and materials to comply with this subsection.
Terms Used In North Dakota Code 26.1-34.2-03.1
- Annuity: A periodic (usually annual) payment of a fixed sum of money for either the life of the recipient or for a fixed number of years. A series of payments under a contract from an insurance company, a trust company, or an individual. Annuity payments are made at regular intervals over a period of more than one full year.
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- following: when used by way of reference to a chapter or other part of a statute means the next preceding or next following chapter or other part. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
2. a. A producer who engages in the sale of annuity products shall complete a one-time, four-hour training course.
b. The training required under this subsection must 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 fixed, variable, and indexed annuity contract provisions affect consumers; (4) The application of income taxation of qualified and nonqualified annuities; (5) The primary uses of annuities; and
(6) Appropriate standards of conduct, sales practices, replacement, and disclosure requirements.
c. Providers of courses intended to comply with this subsection shall cover all topics listed in the prescribed outline and may 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.
d. A producer who has completed an annuity training course approved by the insurance department before January 1, 2022, within six months after such date, shall complete either:
(1) A new four-credit training course approved by the insurance department after January 1, 2022; or
(2) An additional one-time, one-credit training course approved by the insurance department and provided by an insurance department-approved education provider on appropriate sales practices, replacement, and disclosure requirements under this chapter.
e. Providers of annuity training shall issue certificates of completion.
f. The satisfaction of the training requirements of another state which are substantially similar to the provisions of this subsection are deemed to satisfy the training requirements of this subsection in this state.
g. The satisfaction of the components of the training requirements of a course with components substantially similar to the provisions of this subsection is deemed to satisfy the training requirements of this subsection in this state.
h. An insurer shall verify that the producer has completed the annuity training course required under this subsection before allowing the producer to sell an annuity product for that insurer. An insurer may satisfy the insurer’s responsibility under this subsection by obtaining certificates of completion of the training course or obtaining reports from a reasonably reliable commercial database vendor that has a reporting arrangement with insurance education providers.