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Panel hears SB422 to streamline license revocations and shorten insurer response times
Summary
The Senate Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee heard testimony on SB422, which would let the Department of Insurance revoke nonresident agent licenses when their home-state license is lost and require agents and public adjusters to answer Commissioner inquiries within 14 calendar days. Department counsel said notice letters will still be sent but the pre-revocation hearing requirement would be removed to streamline enforcement.
The Senate Committee on Financial Institutions and Insurance heard proponent testimony on Senate Bill 422, a licensure and disciplinary bill for insurance companies, agents and public adjusters.
Eileen, the reviser, told the committee SB422 "reorganizes certain provisions relating to foreign insurance companies seeking authorization to do business in Kansas," and would amend multiple K.S.A. provisions to clarify admission rules for subsidiaries and affiliates, permit the Department of Insurance to revoke a nonresident agent’s license without a pre-revocation hearing, and require agents and public adjusters to respond to Commissioner inquiries within 14 calendar days.
Eric Turek of the Kansas Department of Insurance said the measure aims to create a uniform response window for consumer complaints, noting that prior practice allowed 15 business days for a reply. "For someone awaiting an emergency surgery or a roof repair after a storm, three weeks just for a response is a long time," Turek said, urging a shorter, consistent timeframe.
Committee members pressed the Department on the proposed removal of the hearing requirement for revocation. Steve Carr, general counsel for the Department of Insurance, explained the provision concerns reciprocal (nonresident) licenses that depend on a valid home-state license. "The only question in Kansas is, do you have a home state license?" Carr said, arguing that a separate Kansas hearing is often unnecessary because Kansas lacks jurisdiction over the reasons a home state revoked a license. He added the agency will continue to send notice letters and will notify agents once revocation occurs.
Senators asked whether a statutory notice requirement already exists; Carr said there is not a statutory notice provision in the current Uniform Insurance Agents Licensing Act and the reviser did not add one in SB422, but he assured members the agency notifies affected licensees as a matter of practice.
The reviser identified the sections to be amended (transcript references to K.S.A. 40-209 and related K.S.A. 40-series sections) and confirmed the bill would take effect upon publication in the statute book. The committee recorded no neutrals or opponents and no dollar amount in the fiscal note. The chair closed the SB422 hearing; no committee vote or formal action was taken during the meeting.
What's next: The committee closed the hearing with no action recorded; any amendments or scheduling for a committee vote were not decided at this meeting.
