[Until January 30, 2003, this section reads as follows:]

1. (A) In addition to the requirements contained in Section 38-43-105, any applicant or agent licensed to sell property and casualty insurance or to sell life, accident and health insurance, or both, or qualified for this licensure, must complete biennially a minimum of twenty-four hours of continuing insurance education in order to be eligible for licensure for the following two years.

   However, if an agent is licensed in both property and casualty and life, accident and health, the agent must complete at least one-third of the twenty-four required biennial continuing insurance education hours in courses related to each of these types of licenses or qualification for licensure. Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection or any other provision of law, a maximum of twelve credit hours earned in a twelve-month period may be carried forward to the next biennial continuing insurance education period, as long as the hours carried forward are in excess of the required minimum for a particular reporting period.

2. (B) The forty-hour prelicensing educational requirement contained in Section 38-43-105 is sufficient to fulfill the requirements of this section for up to the first two years. Any waiver of this forty-hour requirement, as provided in Section 38-43-105(a)(2), is sufficient to meet the continuing insurance education requirements of this section.

3. (C) The director or his designee shall administer these continuing education requirements and shall approve courses of instruction which qualify for these purposes. In administering this program, the department, in its discretion, may promulgate regulations whereby agents provide to a continuing education administrator established within the Department of Insurance proof of compliance with continuing education requirements as a condition of license renewal or, in the alternative, contract with an outside service provider to provide recordkeeping services as the continuing education administrator. The costs of the continuing education administrator must be paid from the continuing insurance education fees paid by agents in the manner provided by this section, except that course approval responsibilities may not be designated to the continuing education administrator. The continuing education administrator shall compile and maintain, in conjunction with insurers and agents, records reflecting the continuing insurance education status of all licensed or qualified agents subject to the requirements of this section. The continuing education administrator shall furnish to the insurer, within ninety days of the agent's renewal date, as specified by regulation, a report of the continuing insurance education status of all of its agents. All licensed agents shall provide evidence of their continuing insurance education status to the continuing education administrator at least one hundred twenty days before the annual renewal date. Any continuing insurance education approved courses taken subsequent to one hundred twenty days before the renewal date must be applied to the following biennial continuing insurance education required period.

   The department may promulgate regulations prescribing the overall parameters of continuing education requirements, and these regulations shall expressly authorize the director or his designee to recognize product-specific training offered by insurers, subject to those parameters and guidelines as are promulgated by the regulations. The director of the department shall appoint an advisory committee to make recommendations with respect to courses offered for approval, but the director or his designee shall retain authority with respect to course approvals, subject to those regulations as are promulgated. When the advisory committee is approved, it shall meet regularly as needed, but no less than semiannually, to review new course applications. Also, the advisory committee shall review modifications of courses previously approved and review previously promulgated regulations to make recommendations regarding any need for modifications, deletions, or new regulations. The advisory committee must be comprised of sixteen representatives. In making these appointments, the director may accept nominations for qualified individuals from the Professional Insurance Agents of South Carolina; the Independent Insurance Agents of South Carolina; the South Carolina Association of Automobile Insurance Agents; the South Carolina Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors; the Association of South Carolina Life Insurance Companies; the Direct Writers Insurance Companies; insurers that are not members of any national insurance trade association; and any other individual, group, or trade or professional association.

   Vacancies on the advisory committee must be published in newspapers of general, statewide circulation. Advisory committee members must be appointed for a term of two years each and shall serve until their successors are appointed and have qualified. Any vacancy must be filled for the unexpired term only.

4. (D) The license of any agent may not be renewed for any license year unless the agent has completed the mandated continuing insurance education requirements during the previous two-year accreditation period. Each insurer is responsible, annually at renewal, for furnishing to the department certification that its agents meet the continuing insurance education requirements. Insurers appointing individuals who are qualified but not currently licensed for any insurer are also required, in connection with the appointment of such an agent, to certify to the department that the agent meets the continuing insurance education requirements. Each agent is responsible for payment to the continuing education administrator of a reasonable annual fee for operation of the continuing insurance education program. These fees must be used to administer the provisions of this section.
5. (E) This section also applies to nonresident agents unless otherwise provided herein. However, any nonresident agent who successfully satisfies continuing insurance education requirements of his resident state and certifies this information to the continuing education administrator as specified in subsection (C) is deemed to have satisfied the requirements of this section regardless of the requirements of that other state.
6. (F) Insurance agents licensed solely for credit life or credit accident and health insurance, credit property insurance, crop hail insurance, automobile physical damage insurance, mortgage guaranty, or mortgage, title, travel accident and baggage, or the federal crop insurance are exempt from the provisions of this section. Insurance agents licensed solely for domestic insurance companies which have less than one million dollars in written premiums in any calendar year are exempt from the provisions of this section. Licensed special agents, or any or all of them, that the department by regulation shall specify are exempt from the provisions of this section.
7. (G) The department is authorized to promulgate regulations to implement the provisions of this section.
8. (H) A licensed agent reaching the age of fifty-five, with a minimum of twenty years of continuous licensure, is exempted from the requirements of this section as to the line or lines which are otherwise subject to the provisions of this section.

9. (I) All information received by the advisory committee in the course and scope of its duties must be treated as confidential and proprietary and not used or disclosed outside the requirements of the duties imposed on it by law.

   1. (A)

      1. (1) In addition to the requirements contained in Section 38-43-105, any applicant or producer licensed to sell property and casualty insurance or to sell life, accident and health insurance, or both, or qualified for this licensure, must complete biennially a minimum of twenty-four hours of continuing insurance education in order to be eligible for licensure for the following two years. A person who falsely represents that he or another person has met the continuing educational requirements of this section, after being afforded notice and an opportunity for a hearing by the Administrative Law Judge Division, is subject to the penalty provided in Section 38-2-10.
      2. (2) However, if a producer is licensed in both property and casualty and life, accident and health, the producer must complete at least one-third of the twenty-four required biennial continuing insurance education hours in courses related to each of these types of licenses or qualification for licensure. Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection or any other provision of law, a maximum of eighteen credit hours earned may be carried forward to the next biennial continuing insurance education period, as long as the hours carried forward are in excess of the required minimum for a particular reporting period.
   2. (B) The forty-hour prelicensing educational requirement contained in Section 38-43-105 is sufficient to fulfill the requirements of this section for up to the first two years. Any waiver of this forty-hour requirement, as provided in Section 38-43-105(A)(2), is sufficient to meet the continuing insurance education requirements of this section. However, the producer must still pay the continuing education fee required by subsection (D).

   3. (C)

      1. (1) The director or his designee shall administer these continuing education requirements and shall approve courses of instruction which qualify for these purposes. In administering this program, the department, in its discretion, may promulgate regulations whereby producers provide to a continuing education administrator established within the Department of Insurance proof of compliance with continuing education requirements as a condition of license renewal or, in the alternative, contract with an outside service provider to provide recordkeeping services as the continuing education administrator. The costs of the continuing education administrator must be paid from the continuing insurance education fees paid by producers in the manner provided by this section, except that course approval responsibilities may not be designated to the continuing education administrator. The continuing education administrator shall compile and maintain, in conjunction with insurers and producers, records reflecting the continuing insurance education status of all licensed or qualified producers subject to the requirements of this section. The continuing education administrator shall furnish to the insurer, as specified by regulation, a report of the continuing insurance education status of all of its producers. All licensed producers shall provide evidence of their continuing insurance education status to the continuing education administrator by May first of the biennially compliance year unless granted an extension. Any continuing insurance education approved courses taken subsequent to this May first deadline must be applied to the following biennial continuing insurance education required period.
      2. (2) The department may promulgate regulations prescribing the overall parameters of continuing education requirements, and these regulations shall expressly authorize the director or his designee to recognize product-specific training offered by insurers. The director shall appoint an advisory committee to make recommendations with respect to courses offered for approval, but the director or his designee shall retain authority with respect to course approvals. When the advisory committee is approved, it shall meet regularly as needed, but no less than semiannually, to review new course applications. Also, the advisory committee shall review modifications of courses previously approved and review previously promulgated regulations to make recommendations regarding any need for modifications, deletions, or new regulations. The advisory committee must be comprised of sixteen representatives. In making these appointments, the director may accept nominations for qualified individuals from the Professional Insurance Agents of South Carolina; the Independent Insurance Agents of South Carolina; the South Carolina Association of Automobile Insurance Agents; the South Carolina Association of Insurance and Financial Advisers; the Association of South Carolina Life Insurance Companies; the Direct Writers Insurance Companies; insurers that are not members of any national insurance trade association; and any other individual, group, or trade or professional association.
      3. (3) Vacancies on the advisory committee must be published in newspapers of general, statewide circulation. Advisory committee members must be appointed for a term of two years each and shall serve until their successors are appointed and have qualified. Any vacancy must be filled for the unexpired term only.
   4. (D) The appointment of any producer may not be renewed unless the producer has completed the mandated continuing insurance education requirements during the previous two-year accreditation period. The license of a producer who fails to comply with the provisions of this section shall lapse in accordance with the provisions of Section 38-43-110. Each insurer is responsible, biennially before renewal, for furnishing to the department certification that its producers meet the continuing insurance education requirements. Each producer is responsible for payment to the continuing education administrator of a reasonable annual fee for operation of the continuing insurance education program. These fees are not refundable nor proratable and must be used to administer the provisions of this section.
   5. (E) This section also applies to nonresident producers unless otherwise provided herein. However, any nonresident producer who successfully satisfies continuing insurance education requirements of his resident state and certifies this information to the continuing education administrator as specified in subsection (C) is deemed to have satisfied the requirements of this section regardless of the requirements of that other state.
   6. (F) Insurance producers licensed in accordance with the provisions under Section 38-43-105(E) for limited lines insurance or limited lines credit insurance are exempt from the provisions of this section. Insurance producers licensed solely for domestic insurance companies which have less than one million dollars in written premiums in any calendar year are exempt from the provisions of this section. Licensed special producers, or any or all of them, that the department by regulation shall specify are exempt from the provisions of this section.
   7. (G) The department is authorized to promulgate regulations to implement the provisions of this section.
   8. (H) A licensed producer reaching the age of fifty-five, for any lines of authority for which he has a minimum of twenty years of continuous licensure, is exempted from the requirements of this section as to the line or lines which are otherwise subject to the provisions of this section. A licensed producer reaching the age of sixty for any lines of authority for which he has a minimum of twenty years of active licensure, is exempted from the requirements of this section as to the line or lines which are otherwise subject to the provisions of this section.
   9. (I) All information received by the advisory committee in the course and scope of its duties must be treated as confidential and proprietary and not used or disclosed outside the requirements of the duties imposed on it by law.

   [From and after January 31, 2003, this section reads as follows:]