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Committee opens hearing on Senate Bill 28 to align public adjuster and insurance agent licensing standards
Summary
Senate Bill 28 would amend Kansas insurance licensing statutes to apply the same standards for denying, suspending or revoking public adjuster licenses as for insurance agents; the Department of Insurance supported the bill and the committee closed the hearing with no opposition testimony.
The Kansas Senate committee opened and closed a hearing on Senate Bill 28, a bill that would amend state licensing statutes to make the public adjuster statute consistent with the insurance agent (producer) statute on grounds for denial, suspension or revocation of licenses.
Eileen, the reviser, briefed the committee on the bill text and said the measure would amend KSA 40-55-10 (public adjuster licensing) to mirror language already in KSA 40-49-09 (insurance agent/producer licensing). She said the change would add criteria for the commissioner to consider — including the applicant's age when an offense occurred, the recency and severity of the offense — and would make other language across the two statutes consistent. The reviser also noted a technical correction: language on page 5 should read "15 business days" rather than "15 days."
Eric Turek of the Kansas Department of Insurance told the committee the department supports Senate Bill 28. "We are just copying the statutes that are already in the producer licensing statute and mirroring them and applying them to the public adjuster statute," Eric Turek said, adding that the change would create parity and allow the commissioner to factor in prior revocations or suspensions of related licenses or registrations (for example, securities registrations) when deciding on an insurance or adjuster license.
The bill brief explained that the proposed amendments would permit the commissioner to consider a licensee's or applicant's other licenses or registrations issued by the department — including securities registrations — when making licensing decisions. The department said those provisions would give the commissioner additional flexibility consistent with existing securities statutes. The reviser told the committee she could make the technical amendment if the committee acted favorably.
Committee members asked clarifying questions about current practice and scope. Eric Turek said the commissioner already applies similar standards for producer licenses and that the bill would simply make the public adjuster statute consistent with that practice. Senator Gossage asked for a plain-language definition of a public adjuster; Turek described public adjusters as professionals who can assist businesses with claims settlement in commercial settings.
Proponent written testimony included a submission from Craig Sepich, director of strategy, policy and government affairs at the National Insurance Crime Bureau. No opponent or neutral testimony was offered. The committee closed the hearing on Senate Bill 28 with no recorded vote and no amendments announced at the hearing stage.
The bill will remain available for future committee action; committee staff noted a minor technical amendment flagged by the reviser.
