Section 80. Agents

Article VIII. Qualification and Examination of Agents

A.1. No agent shall be eligible to sell or offer for sale a contract on a variable basis unless prior to making solicitation or sale of such a contract, he also be licensed as a variable contract agent.

2. Any agent who participates only in the sale or offering for sale of variable contracts that are not registered under the federal Securities Act of 1933 (15 USC § 77a et seq.) need not be licensed as a variable contract agent.

B. Any agent applying for a license as a variable contract agent shall do so by filing with the Commission the required application.

C. The licensing as a variable contract agent of any agent complying with subsection B shall not become effective until such agent shall have satisfactorily passed a written examination upon securities and variable contracts. Such examination shall be divided into two parts. Part I shall be on securities generally. Part II shall deal with variable contracts, and shall be composed of at least 15 questions, but not more than 50 questions, concerning the history, purpose, regulation, and sale of contracts on a variable basis.

D. The examination will be given in such places and at such times as the Commission shall from time to time designate. Upon application for license as a variable contract agent, the applicant shall be notified of the date of the next examination.

E. The examination recommended for the testing of variable contract agents by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) is hereby adopted for use in this State in its present form, or as it may be amended, and it shall be used in all tests given pursuant to this regulation.

F. Any applicant for license as a variable contract agent shall not be required to take Part I of the NAIC examination if, at the time of application, evidence is presented that the applicant (i) has previously passed a satisfactory alternative examination as that term is defined in 14VAC5-20-10, or (ii) is currently registered with the federal Securities and Exchange Commission as a broker-dealer, or is currently associated with a broker-dealer and has met qualification requirements with respect to such association.

G. Every applicant applying for license as a variable contract agent shall satisfactorily complete Part II of the examination required by subsection C with a grade of at least 70%, or shall present evidence of successful completion of either a variable contract examination given under the supervision of an insurance department of any State or Territory of the United States which has adopted Part II of the examination recommended for the testing of variable contract agents by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners or has been examined and licensed by any such department prior to its adoption of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners Model Regulation.

H.1. Any applicant who fails to pass Part I of the examination required by this subsection may not take Part I of the examination again until 30 days after initially taking it. After a second such failure, such applicant may not take the examination again until 60 days after taking the second examination. After a third and any subsequent such failure, such applicant may not take the examination again until 90 days after the third and any subsequent examinations.

2. Any applicant failing to pass Part II of the examination may take Part II again 30 days after the first and any subsequent examinations.

I. Every application for a license as a variable contract agent shall be accompanied by an examination fee of $5.00. A fee of $5.00 will be charged for each re-examination administered to an applicant.

J. Report of the results of any examination given pursuant to this regulation shall be made by the Bureau of Insurance on "Commissioner's Report of Examination".

K. Except as modified by this chapter, the regulations of the Bureau of Insurance governing the licensing of life insurance agents including examinations therefor shall apply hereto.

Historical Notes

Derived from Regulation 3, Case No. 18623; December 19, 1968, eff. March 1, 1969.

Statutory Authority

§ 38.2-3113 of the Code of Virginia.