Quest CE

On July 27, 2010, The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published a request for public comment to conduct its study of the obligations and standards of care of broker-dealers and investment advisers providing personalized investment advice about securities to retail investors.

The study is required under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, which President Obama signed into law on July 21, 2010. As required by the Dodd-Frank Act, the SEC is requesting public input, comments, and data on issues related to the effectiveness of existing standards of care for brokers-dealers and investment advisers, and whether there are gaps, shortcomings, or overlaps in the current legal or regulatory standards.

The public comment period will remain open for 30 days, following publication of the comment request in the Federal Register.

Historically, the SEC has acted as the “watch dog” to investment advisors whereas broker dealers are held accountable by FINRA, the Self Regulatory Organization (SRO) that performs market regulation under contract with brokerage firms and trading markets. Several SEC Commissioners have made comments in the past that favor an SRO model and FINRA continues to assert that it can take on the job of adviser oversight.

The results of the study could significantly impact adviser oversight in the future and potentially lead to a module similar to that of FINRA or FINRA could become an overseer to the Investment Advisor industry, in addition to their role as SRO to broker dealers.

For more information on this topic visit the SEC’s website www.sec.gov

The State of South Carolina no longer requires a South Carolina State-Approved monitor for online (self-study) courses. A Disinterested Third Party may monitor exams, which can include someone who is NOT:
(A) a minor
(B) a relative of the producer
(C) an immediate supervisor/manager of the producer
(D) a person with an economic or other interest in assuring the successful outcome of the examination

Employment by the same company or working for the same employer does not mean a person has ‘an economic or other direct interest in assuring the successful outcome of the examination.’ For example, a co-worker of the producer taking the competency exam may administer the examination as long the other requirements are met and the co-worker does not regularly work with the producer in a marketing or sales capacity.

To view our South Carolina online course library click HERE.

Quest CE is proud to announce their Oklahoma 4-Hour Annuity Training Course has been approved by the state and meets the Oklahoma Administrative Code 365:25-3-1 for a onetime, four (4) hour annuity training course.

This course provides the required training and education required by Oklahoma licensed producers who desire to sell, solicit or negotiate the sale of annuities; or currently sell, solicit, or negotiate the sale of annuities.

Topics must include, but are not limited to, the following:

• types of annuities and various classifications of annuities
• identification of the parties to an annuity
• how fixed, variable and indexed annuity contract provisions affect consumers
• the application of income taxation of qualified and non‐qualified annuities
• the primary uses of annuities
• appropriate sales practices, replacement and disclosure requirements

To purchase the Oklahoma 4-Hour Annuity Training Course please CLICK HERE

Nevada continues to expand its online license application offerings.

Applicants may now apply online quickly and easily for the following Individual License Types:
• Resident Producer
• Non-resident Producer with expanded available lines of authority
• Non-resident Surplus Lines Broker
• Non-resident Independent Adjuster
• Non-resident Associate Adjuster

In addition to the Individual License types, the following Firm License types are also available online:
• Resident Producer Firm
• Non-resident Producer Firm with expanded available lines of authority
• Non-resident Surplus Lines Broker
• Non-resident Independent Adjuster

To view our Nevada online course library click HERE.

If you have not already completed your continuing education, you only have 90 days to fulfill your Minnesota CE requirements. Don’t wait until the last minute to finish your continuing education. Sign up with Quest today and receive 15% off your entire purchase by using discount code “EARLYBIRD”.

Quest CE offers non-company sponsored courses, therefore all continuing education courses may be taken online. Minnesota insurance producers need 24 hours of continuing education during each licensing period. Additionally, three (3) of those hours must be an ethics course.

To view our library of Minnesota Insurance CE courses please click here

On July 1, 2010, legislation was implemented which impacts pre-licensing education, continuing education, fingerprinting, and renewal dates for individual insurance producers and adjusters.

For both producer and adjuster license types, renewal dates will be moved from a date certain (October 31) to the last day of the licensee’s birth month. As part of the transition plan, all active Minnesota individual licenses with a current expiration date of 10/31/2010 will still renew on 10/31/2010; similarly, licenses with an expiration date of 10/31/2011 will still renew on 10/31/2011.

Upon renewing, a new expiration date will be assigned based on the licensee’s birth month. Business Entity license renewals are unaffected. New individual licenses issued after August 1, 2010, will have the new birth month renewal.

Effective January 1, 2011 Iowa Administrative Rule 191-15.72 requires all Insurance Producers selling or soliciting Annuity Products in the State of Iowa to obtain four (4) continuing education credits by an APPROVED vendor offering an Annuity Products Course. This is a one-time requirement and is not a condition of license renewal.

This is a separate requirement than the already existing rule 15.80 for Indexed Insurance Products.

Quest has filed this course to be approved, and expects approval within the next few weeks.

To view our Iowa online course library click HERE.

The Illinois Department of Insurance has announced they will implement the State-Based Systems licensing system on July 26, 2010. The transition to SBS will advance services to licensees and develop uniformity among the states that already adopted SBS for insurance regulation needs.

This improvement will allow for CE Providers to use the student’s National Producer Number (NPN) when submitting course completion information, previously the student’s Social Security Number (SSN) was only allowed.

SBS was developed by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) to serve the regulatory needs of states, improve efficiency of the producer licensing process, and improve the uniformity of multi-state licensing. SBS is currently used by twenty different states.

To view our Illinois online course library click HERE.

Quest CE is proud to announce Correspondence CE Training, a brand new product to their Continuing Education suite. Industry professionals need multiple hours of Ethics and Annuity training, depending on the state in which they hold a license. Correspondence CE Training offers an effective solution to comply with the unique state specific Ethics and Annuity training requirements.

Correspondence CE Training is simple and efficient. Quest will file one of their multi-hour Ethics or Annuity Training courses for a multi-hour instructor led Correspondence CE Training course.

Correspondence CE Training addresses several of the challenges associated with hosting large multi-hour seminars for state specific requirements. Now you can train a large audience by having them learn the material on their own and be tested after a short 1-hour review session.

For the price of $50*/participant, this fee includes the following:
• Set-up Cost
• Managing the RSVP system
• 1-Hour Review Session
• Scoring
• Processing
• Resending the exam for those who fail

Place an order during the month August with one of our dedicated Account Representatives and receive 10% your purchase price for Correspondence CE Training. Contact Quest CE at 877-593-3366 or e-mail Quest at Sales@questce.com for more information.

* The cost does not include applicable state rostering fees, or any printing fees. Standard seminar set-up fees for the 1- hour review session would apply.

Quest CE is proud to announce the technological update of e-Affidavits. The online monitor affidavit is convenient and will prevent errors from occurring. Students will no longer need to print out the affidavit, have it completed, fax it in and wait for it to be reviewed. The e-Affidavit saves time and paper, both two important resources.

The advancement of e-Affidavits will make the CE course completion and submission process easier and expedient.  Prior to taking the exam, students must review the online course material. Then, the monitor completes the e-Affidavit and creates a password.

After the student completes the exam, the monitor will enter the password to show the results. When the student successfully completes the exam, the certificate will become available immediately, versus having to wait for the affidavit to be reviewed in order to receive the certificate.

At Quest, we are proud to stay compliant with state online regulations and guidelines. Several states are becoming strict in the way in which they allow CE courses to be taken. Quest accommodates clients’ needs by providing simple, user-friendly solutions to complete CE requirements.

“To remain the leader in our industry, Quest continually improves the functionality of our learning management system. The ability to develop an e-Affidavit is yet another example of what sets Quest apart in this industry,” said Jessica Kruse, Team Leader of Online Services. “Technology advances like e-Affidavits improve efficiency with reduced time and paper involved in the process, this makes for a better student experience.”

This value-added update fits the vision of Quest, providing the best products and services to our clients. At Quest we take pride in creating advanced customized solutions, making Continuing Education more comprehensive and efficient for our students. To sign up for courses today please visit: http://learn.questce.com/

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About Quest

With a client retention rate of 95.17% and a growth rate of over 400% since January 1, 2005, more and more people are discovering why Quest CE is the Next Generation of Compliance Training Solutions. Quest CE serves more than 160 leading insurance carriers, broker/dealers, banks, and other financial institutions. Quest is a privately held firm which allows them to quickly meet the ever-changing needs of their clients. Quest’s commitment is to provide advanced custom solutions at cost effective rates while providing a level of service that greatly surpasses that of our competitors.  Quest provides a single source solution for organizations training and compliance needs, saving you both time and money.