Temporary Licenses & Appointments

Temporary Licenses

The Commissioner may issue a temporary intermediary license for a period of not more than one year. Temporary licenses are issued only to a personal representative of a deceased or mentally or physically disabled intermediary, for one of three purposes:

• To give time for the sale of the goodwill of the intermediary’s business.
• For the recovery or return of the intermediary to the business.
• To provide the training and licensing of new personnel for the intermediary’s business. Temporary licenses can also be issued to personal representatives of an intermediary who has entered active duty in the U.S. armed forces, for those same purposes. A temporary licensee is a fully qualified intermediary for all purposes other than the licensing process itself, the duration of the license, and the limits described above. The Commissioner can limit a temporary licensee’s authority by order to protect insureds and the public, and can revoke a temporary license if interests are endangered. A temporary license can’t continue after the owner or personal representative disposes of the business.

Appointment by the Insurer

Holding a license is not the same as being authorized to write business for a specific insurer. To write for an insurer, you have to be appointed by that insurer. Wisconsin requires the appointment to be filed within fifteen days after the earlier of:

• The date the agent contract is executed, or
• The date the first insurance application is submitted. The appointment is entered into the OCI licensing system in the format the Commissioner specifies.

Special Rules for Long-Term Care and Annuities

Two product types have additional pre-sale requirements:

• Long-term care insurance: The agent must hold a license, be appointed, AND have completed the required long-term care training before they can solicit, negotiate, or sell long-term care insurance.
• Annuities: The agent must complete the insurer-specific annuity product training AND the required four-hour annuity training before soliciting the sale of any annuity product.

Renewal Invoicing

Insurers receive an annual appointment renewal invoice for every individual intermediary serving as their agent. Payment is required once a year in March from each insurer.

Termination of Appointment

When an insurer terminates an agent’s appointment, the insurer must:

• Notify OCI electronically no later than thirty days after the termination date.
• Notify the intermediary in writing — before, or within fifteen days of, filing the termination notice with the Commissioner — that they’re no longer appointed, that they may not act as a representative of the company, and that all materials indicating an agency relationship must be returned.

Regulation Charges (Renewal Fees)

The biennial regulation amount paid by each licensed individual intermediary is $35 for a resident intermediary and $70 for a nonresident intermediary. OCI sends the renewal notice to the intermediary’s business email address at least sixty days before the expiration date. If the fee isn’t paid by the expiration date, the license is revoked.

How Long Does a License Last?

An intermediary’s license remains in effect until one of these things happens:

• The Commissioner revokes, suspends, or limits it.
• The intermediary voluntarily surrenders it.
• The intermediary dies.
• A court finds the intermediary mentally incompetent.
• The Commissioner finds, after a hearing, that the intermediary is no longer qualified. Subject, of course, to fee payment and CE compliance every renewal cycle. Skip either of those and the license is revoked.