§27-17A-18. Preneed sales agent.

(a) All individuals who offer preneed contracts to the public, or who execute preneed contracts on behalf of a certificate holder, shall be registered with the commissioner as preneed sales agents, pursuant to this article.

(b) All preneed sales agents and funeral directors acting as preneed sales agents shall be affiliated with the certificate holder that they are representing.

(c) A certificate holder shall be responsible for the activities of all preneed sales agents and all funeral directors acting as preneed sales agents, who are affiliated with the certificate holder and who perform any type of preneed-related activity on behalf of the certificate holder. In addition to the preneed sales agents and funeral directors acting as preneed sales agents, each certificate holder shall also be subject to discipline if its preneed sales agents or funeral directors acting as preneed sales agents violate any provision of this article.

(d) A preneed sales agent and a funeral director acting as a preneed sales agent shall be authorized to sell, offer, and execute preneed contracts on behalf of all entities owned or operated by the sponsoring certificate holder.

(e) An individual may begin functioning as a preneed sales agent as soon as a completed application for registration, as set forth in subsection (g), is sent to the commissioner.

(f) The qualifications for a preneed sales agent are as follows:

(1) The applicant must be at least 18 years of age.

(2) The applicant must be in good standing with the commissioner.

(3) The applicant must not have any felony or misdemeanor convictions that relate to any activity regulated by this chapter.

(g) An application for registration as a preneed sales agent shall be submitted to the commissioner with an application fee determined by the commissioner, but not to exceed twenty-five dollars ($25), by the certificate holder in a form that has been prescribed by commissioner rule and approved by the commissioner. The application shall contain, at a minimum, all of the following:

(1) The name, address, Social Security number, and date of birth of the applicant and any other information as the commissioner may reasonably require of the applicant.

(2) The name, address, and license number of the sponsoring certificate holder.

(3) A representation, signed by the applicant, that the applicant meets the requirements set forth in subsection (f).

(4) A representation, signed by the certificate holder, that the applicant is authorized to offer, sell, and sign preneed contracts on behalf of the certificate holder, and that the certificate holder has trained the applicant in the provisions of this article relating to preneed sales, the provisions of the certificate holder's preneed contract, and the nature of the merchandise, services, or burial rights sold by the certificate holder.

(5) A statement indicating whether the applicant has any type of working or agency relationship with any other certificate holder or insurance company.

(h) An individual may be registered as a preneed sales agent on behalf of more than one certificate holder, provided that the individual has received the written consent of all certificate holders.

(i) A certificate holder who has registered a preneed sales agent shall notify the commissioner within 30 days after the individual's status as a preneed sales agent has been terminated.

(j) Upon receipt of an application that complies with all of the requirements of subsection (g), the commissioner shall register the applicant. The commissioner shall by rule provide for annual renewal of registration and a renewal fee not to exceed twenty-five dollars ($25) as set by the commissioner.

(Act 2002-74, p. 221, §1; Act 2014-216, §3.)