Amendment_Report_for

SECTION 1. Section 83-17-251, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

83-17-251. (1) Every individual seeking to be licensed as a life, health and accident insurance producer in the State of Mississippi, as a condition of issuance of an original license, must furnish the Commissioner of Insurance certification on a form prescribed by the commissioner that he or she has completed an approved prelicensing course of study for the line of insurance requested.

(2) The prelicensing course of study hours shall consist of no less than twenty-four (24) classroom hours for life and/or health/accident insurance or property and casualty insurance. Twelve (12) classroom hours are required on life only; and twelve (12) classroom hours are required for health/accident only.

(3) Every individual seeking annual renewal of life, health and accident licenses, or annual renewal of property and casualty licenses, shall complete satisfactorily twelve (12) hours of study in approved courses in his primary line of insurance during each twelve-month period except the initially licensed year. The individual may take an additional twelve (12) hours in his secondary line of insurance. All holders of a property and casualty license shall be required to satisfactorily complete three (3) hours of flood insurance study every three (3) years, which may be applied towards their continuing education requirements.

(4) The continuing educational requirements of this section shall not apply to:

(a) Any individual that is exempt from taking the written examination as provided in Section 83-17-39(1)(b), (c) and (e) * * *;

(b) Any individual that is licensed with a license limited to industrial life, industrial health and accident, small loan property, industrial fire and full-coverage auto;

(c) A person not a resident of this state who meets the continuing educational requirement in the state in which such person resides and Mississippi has a reciprocal agreement with that state; or

(d) Inactive agents as defined in Section 83-17-1.

SECTION 2. (1) An insurer providing a homeowners protection policy, wind policy, windstorm policy, hurricane policy, or like policy, for a dwelling located in the State of Mississippi which exempts from coverage damages caused by a flood including, but not limited to, surface water, storm surge, rising water from a storm, waves, tidal water or overflow of any body of water, or spray from any of these, whether or not driven by wind, shall obtain from the insured a "statement of explanation of flood exclusion." A statement of explanation of flood exclusion shall be in a written form prescribed by the commissioner and executed by the insured in which the insured acknowledges an understanding that such homeowners protection policy does not provide for flood protection. The statement is to explicitly list the stated terms if such occasions or situations are excluded under the policy. The statement is to be separate and apart from the policy and is to be typed in bold print with no smaller than ten-point type. The statement is to be executed by the insured before the insured pays the initial premium and is to be obtained every three (3) years thereafter on the anniversary date of the policy's purchase. Execution by the insured is not delegable to the insurer or any representative of the insurer. Failure or refusal of an insured to execute the statement, either at the initial time the policy is purchased or on a third-year anniversary date as required in this provision, shall not be grounds for the insurer to cancel the policy.

(2) In addition to the requirements provided in subsection (1) of this section, an insurer shall provide the insured with a written notice informing an insured that flood insurance is available from the insurer, insurance agent or the National Flood Insurance Program and advising the policyholder that contents coverage may be available with a flood policy for an additional premium. The insured shall execute a form indicating whether or not the insured desires to purchase a flood policy. The Commissioner of Insurance shall prescribe by regulation standard forms and the language for the written notice required in this subsection.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2006.