(a) To be certified as a continuing education course, the course content shall be designed to enhance the knowledge, understanding, and/or professional competence of the student as to one or more of the following topics: insurance principles and coverages; applicable laws, and rules; recent and prospective changes in coverages; technical policy provisions and underwriting guidelines and standards; law and the duties and responsibilities of the licensee; consumer protection; or insurance ethics. The course content may also include instruction on management of the licensee's insurance agency. Ethics and consumer protection course credit shall apply equally to all license types and the content for ethics and consumer protection topics shall be designed to relate to the business of insurance and provide instruction consistent with one or more of the following topics:   (1) Chapter 541 of the Insurance Code, entitled Unfair Methods of Competition and Unfair or Deceptive Acts or Practices;   (2) Chapter 547 of the Insurance Code, entitled False Advertising by Unauthorized Insurers;   (3) Chapter 542, Subchapter A, entitled Unfair Claim Settlement Practices;   (4) Chapter 17, Subchapter E, of the Business and Commerce Code, entitled Deceptive Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Act;   (5) Analogous laws as specified by the department, including:     (A) Chapter 1952, Subchapter G, of the Insurance Code, entitled Repair of Motor Vehicles;     (B) Chapter 542, Subchapter B, of the Insurance Code, entitled Prompt Payment of Claims;     (C) Chapter 542, Subchapter D, of the Insurance Code, entitled Notice of Settlement of Claim Under Casualty Insurance Policy;     (D) Chapter 542, Subchapter E, of the Insurance Code, entitled Recovery of Deductible From Third Parties Under Certain Automobile Insurance Policies;     (E) §5.501 of this title (relating to Notice Requirements to Claimants Regarding Motor Vehicle Repairs); and     (F) Insurance Fraud (Penal Code Chapter 35);   (6) Corporate ethics;   (7) Ethical challenges of licensees;   (8) Ethical behavior of an insurance company;   (9) Ethical behavior of an agent or adjuster;   (10) Duties of the licensee to company, client, and customer;   (11) Duties of insurer/HMO to agents/clients;   (12) Fiduciary responsibility;   (13) Unfair marketing practices;   (14) Difference between ethics and laws;   (15) Confidentiality, privacy, and ethics;   (16) Ethical analysis of the licensee's job;   (17) Philosophical approaches to ethics; or   (18) Business ethics. (b) To be certified as an adjuster prelicensing education course or program, the course content must enhance the student's knowledge, understanding, and/or professional competence regarding the subjects set forth in §§19.1017 and 19.1018 of this title (relating to Adjuster Prelicensing Education Course Content and Examination Requirements and Adjuster Prelicensing Examination Topics). Unless specifically stated otherwise, this subchapter shall apply equally to courses certified for continuing education and adjuster prelicensing purposes. (c) To be certified as a long-term care partnership certification course, the course content must enhance the student's knowledge, understanding, and professional competence regarding the subjects specified in §19.1022 of this subchapter (relating to Long-Term Care Partnership Certification Course). Unless specifically stated otherwise, this subchapter shall apply equally to courses certified for continuing education and long-term care partnership certification and long-term care partnership continuing education purposes. (d) To be certified as a Medicare-related product certification course, the course content must enhance the student's knowledge, understanding, and professional competence regarding the subjects specified in §19.1024 of this subchapter (relating to Medicare-Related Product Certification Course). Unless specifically stated otherwise, this subchapter shall apply equally to courses certified for continuing education, Medicare-related product certification, and Medicare-related product continuing education purposes. (e) To be certified as a small employer health benefit plan specialty certification course, the course content must enhance the student's knowledge, understanding, and professional competence regarding the subjects specified in §19.1026 of this subchapter (relating to Small Employer Health Benefit Plan Specialty Certification Course). Unless specifically stated otherwise, this subchapter shall apply equally to courses certified for continuing education and small employer health benefit plan specialty certification. (f) To be certified as an annuity certification or continuing education course, the course content must enhance the student's knowledge, understanding, and professional competence regarding the subjects specified in §19.1028(g)(1) - (4) of this subchapter (relating to Annuity Certification Course). Unless specifically stated otherwise, this section shall apply equally to courses certified for continuing education and annuity certification. (g) The following course content shall not be considered applicable to a licensee's continuing education requirements:   (1) Meetings held in conjunction with the regular business of the licensee or courses or training relating to the marketing and business practices of a specific company;   (2) Course content teaching general accounting, speed reading, other general business skills, computer use, or computer software application use;   (3) Course content teaching motivation, goal-setting, time management, communication, sales, or marketing skills;   (4) Course content providing for prelicensing training qualifying examination preparation;   (5) Course content that does not meet the requirement of subsection (a) of this section; and   (6) Course content that is substantially:     (A) a glossary, dictionary, or index of insurance terms without independent distinction as to the application of these terms to the business of insurance through case studies or analysis based on actual or hypothetical factual situations that apply to the business of insurance; or     (B) a recitation of statutes, rules, legal principles, or theories without independent distinction as to the application of these issues to the business of insurance through case studies or analysis based on actual or hypothetical factual situations that apply to the business of insurance. (h) A single continuing education course may include both ethics and consumer protection credit topics with other topics meeting the requirements of subsection (a) of this section.

Source Note: The provisions of this §19.1006 adopted to be effective January 10, 1997, 22 TexReg 49; amended to be effective January 6, 2003, 28 TexReg 75; amended to be effective August 5, 2008, 33 TexReg 6138; amended to be effective February 21, 2010, 35 TexReg 1271