Committee considers change to insurance producer licensing cycle; regulator seeks later start date

The Committee on Budget, Appropriations and Finance heard testimony Feb. 3 on bill 36-0219, which would amend the Virgin Islands producer-and-adjuster licensing law to transition individual insurance producer licenses from annual renewals to a two-year renewal cycle tied to the licensee's birth month.

Attorney Glendina Matthew, director of the Division of Banking, Insurance and Financial Regulation, told the committee the division "strongly supports" the bill but recommended the implementation date be revised from 01/01/2026 to 10/01/2026 so the territory can avoid disrupting ongoing renewal cycles.

The bill aligns the licensing period with an existing 24-hour continuing-education cycle already adopted in January 2024. The change would reduce administrative work for both licensees and the division and allow use of national systems such as the National Insurance Producer Registry and the NAIC state-based platform for licensing, Matthew said.

Why it matters: a two-year licensure term would match continuing-education requirements and reduce paperwork and costs associated with more frequent renewals, proponents said; regulators also said the change would align the territory with licensing periods used in most U.S. jurisdictions.

Key testimony Glendina Matthew outlined the bill's provisions, including: a move to a two-year term for individual producer licenses, continuing-education alignment, and a directive that the Commission of Insurance implement the system. Matthew asked for the later implementation date to ensure a smooth transition and to avoid disrupting renewal cycles already under way for 2026.

Next steps The committee received the testimony and did not record a final vote on this measure in the session transcript. The division said it would be available to answer further questions as the bill moves through committee.