Insurance agents: prelicensing education.

Assembly Member Michelle Rodriguez's insurance licensing reform measure eliminates the 20-hour prelicensing study requirement for new insurance agent applicants while maintaining the mandatory 12-hour ethics course, which includes instruction on insurance fraud. The bill establishes a new fee structure for ethics course certification and introduces enhanced oversight of course providers.

The legislation modifies curriculum requirements by tasking the Insurance Commissioner's curriculum board with developing specialized coursework on commercial earthquake risk management, covering risk zones, coverage options, mitigation strategies, and post-event recovery. Course providers must meet new standards that prohibit sales training, motivational training, and product-specific instruction from ethics and continuing education curricula.

Under the measure's enforcement provisions, the Insurance Commissioner may rescind course approvals and levy monetary penalties for non-compliance with educational standards. The bill sets certification fees at $75 for initial and renewal applications by course providers, $37 for ethics course certification renewals, and $14 for continuing education course renewals. All certifications remain valid for 24 months, while prelicensing certificates expire after three years regardless of licensure status.