What is a DRLP?

I’ve been in the industry for nearly six months now and every day brings a new acronym or a new term.  DRLP is the latest.  If you know what a DRLP is, then you’re well ahead of your peers. 

As we’ve discussed recently,19 states require an IA firm to hold an adjuster license.  Each state requires that you indicate who will be the Designated Responsible Licensed Producer, or DRLP.  The term, DRLP, is widely used in the insurance licensing world of producers, adjusters and business entities.

Many states require that insurance agencies or independent adjusting firms hold a business entity license in their state in order to conduct business as said agency or firm. To acquire the license, the majority of states ask that you name a DRLP on the application. In most cases, this DRLP must also hold a producer or adjuster license in the state as well. Essentially, the DRLP becomes responsible for ensuring the company is staying compliant with the state’s insurance laws, rules and regulations.

Who can be a DRLP?  As is common in the world of licensing, this answer varies by state.  Many states require the DRLP be an officer of the company while other states allow you to appoint anyone holding a license in that state as the DRLP. Follow this link for a list of who can be the IA firm’s DRLP.

If the DRLP terminates his or her association with the business entity or does not maintain his or her license or appointments, the business entity’s licenses will be inactivated. A DRLP’s association is a condition of licensure for the business entity. Business entity’s must notify the department of insurance of a replacement DRLP prior to the termination of the existing DRLP in order to avoid the license inactivation of the business entity’s license.

Xeneros helps organizations maintain independent adjuster licenses and the associated requirements.  Xeneros uses an innovative web-based software program which is supported and maintained by a knowledgeable compliance staff. For more information go to www.xeneros.net.

Question Of The Week: Which State Has The Easiest Exam?

This question was recently posed to us and the answer, of course, is not that simple.  The following blog addresses this question.

When it comes down to which state has the easiest adjuster exam to take, you also want to take a look at which states’ license is going to benefit you the most as an adjuster.

If you live in a state that requires adjusters be licenses, you should always test in your home state and acquire that license first. Based off the exam you take in your home state, most states will also recognize your license and allow for reciprocity. To find out your state’s requirements simply visit their Department of Insurance website and look under adjuster licensing.

If your home state does not require a license the most sought after licenses are the Texas and the Florida licenses due to their reciprocity with other states. The Texas license offers many online courses. With the online course, you study and take the exam at the end of the course to receive your certificate of completion. You then submit all the required documentation, along with the licensing fee, to the state of Texas and they issue your license.

If you prefer a classroom setting, you may also want to check into companies such as Mile High Adjusters, and Vale Training, who offer classes to be trained as an independent adjuster.

Once you have a Texas all lines adjusting license it reciprocates with most other states that require a license. There are some misconceptions when it comes to reciprocity. Although Texas reciprocates with most states, this does not mean you can simply go into those states and work based on your Texas license. You must first complete the states application and submit their license fees. You will then be issued a license in their state which will make you eligible to work claims.

When it comes to renewals, many states simply require a renewal fee. However, there are states which do require you complete Continuing Education prior to renewal. All states are different. Some states will accept your home state requirement, even if it does not require CE’s, as meeting their requirement. There are others, such are Arkansas, who requires you complete their CE requirement regardless of your home states requirements.

Others still, such as New York or New Mexico, require a bond. You must secure a bond in order to acquire the license, and submission of the bond upon renewal of the license, or when the bond itself expires.

In review, the first step is to determine whether you’re your home state requires you to be licensed as an independent adjuster. If not, look into possibly obtaining the Texas license. Many states are not recognizing certain states as a “Designated Home State,” which makes applying for other licenses electronically much easier. Texas is one state which allows you to designate them as your home state. Without either a home state license or a designated home state, you will be required to submit paper applications to most states and they take anywhere from two to six weeks to process, whereas an electronic application can be processed in approximately 24-72 hours.

Xeneros helps organizations maintain independent adjuster licenses and the associated requirements.  Xeneros uses an innovative web-based software program which is supported and maintained by a knowledgeable compliance staff. For more information go to www.xeneros.net

New Mexico Computer Glitch Cancels Adjuster Licenses

A computer error during a system conversion caused the licenses of all adjusters affiliated with a firm to be listed as Cancelled.  The insurance department is aware of the issue and has acknowledged that the licenses are still in good standing. 

New Mexico is no longer going to license “Firm Adjusters.” They are converting all licenses to Independent Adjusters with Firm Affiliations. During their system conversion there was a glitch in the system and it cancelled out the Firm Adjuster licenses on 3/7/12. The Cancel Code states Firm Adjuster Fix.

The state is aware of the issue and assures us that all license are active and will be corrected when the adjusters renewal for 2012 is received.  As a reminder, the deadline for renewing adjuster licenses is Monday, April 30th. The state cannot correct the error prior to receiving the renewal.

The New Mexico insurance department also stated they work on an alphabetical system. If an adjuster needs to check the status their license or renewal, the emails addresses are listed below according to the alphabetical system they use:

Letters A-B, U-V go to Aracelie.Alemedia@state.nm.us   Letters C-G and W go to Doris.Gomez@state.nm.us   Letters H-L and X –Y go to Sandra.Padilla-Ramirez@state.nm.us

Letters M-Q and Z go to Felicia.Roybal@state.nm.us   and Letters R-T go to Elizabeth.Smith@state.nm.us

For New New Mexico License information go to the following websites:

Link to their website: http://www.nmprc.state.nm.us/insurance/index.html

Link to verify a license: http://www.nmprc.state.nm.us/insurance/producer-search.html

The Importance of Obtaining a State License vs An Emergency License

Today’s blog is courtesy of compliance expert, Cyndie Jackson.

If you watch the news then you are aware of the recent tornadoes and baseball size hail that recently hit the Dallas, Texas area. Several people will be impacted by these storms and need assistance from their insurance companies and adjusters to take care of any damage their homes may have sustained. Many of these insureds may actually be without a home at this point. The sense of urgency for getting help to these insureds is why we need to look at the procedures in place for emergency licensing.

The state of Texas will only issue an emergency license if the Insurance Commissioner calls an emergency. They do not rely on any other third parties to call a catastrophe. It must come directly from the Insurance Commissioner himself. The Commissioner will not declare an emergency for storms such as the one recently experienced in Dallas as the state feels there are enough licensed adjusters to be able to handle a storm of this size. While this may be true across the country, it may not be true for one small agency using independent adjusters or independent adjusting firm. Therein lies the importance of obtaining a state license. If an adjuster holds a resident or non-resident adjuster license, they can work any and all claims in the state in which they hold a license. If a catastrophe should occur there is no need to wade through the paperwork and cut through the red tape to obtain an emergency license.

If an independent adjuster would like to be a catastrophe adjuster, it would benefit him or her to obtain any state licenses prior to any storms occurring. As we all know, the primary storm areas are along the East coast as well as the Southern coastal states such as Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and Georgia. Most of these states will reciprocate with a Texas license.

In closing, it is imperative you check the states requirements prior to beginning work in their state. Review our previous blog on reciprocity for more information.