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Volume 1, No. 1 - June 2012
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Education Central

- Things to know about your continuing education

How to Verify We Received Your CE Hours Online

Congratulations! You took the major step of pausing from your everyday business to make sure you can stay in business, you took a required CE course. Now you go online to view your CE records in your MyProfile account and don't see the posting of credits from the course you just took. What do you do now?

It can be very nerve-racking when your CE records in your MyProfile account do not match your actual completed courses, especially if you waited to complete them right before your compliance due date. Here are some bits of information to remember when verifying your online CE records.

  1. Education providers, by statute, have up to 30 days to report the successful completion of CE hours (This is reduced to 21 days effective October 1, 2012). Seminar courses usually take the longest to be reported.
  2. If the allowed time has passed since you successfully completed your course, call the education provider and ask them to update your record.
  3. Do not mail or fax in your certificate of completion unless it has been specifically requested by the Department. The Department works with the providers to get credit reported through our online system.
  4. Be sure to review your transcript online via your MyProfile account for a complete list of all reported credits.
  5. Be sure to review prior compliance cycles when trying to verify the allocation of your completed hours.
  6. Any hours eligible for carry over to the next compliance cycle will take 45 days after the end of your current compliance period to post.
  7. If you are having difficulties communicating with your CE provider, please call our main helpline at (850) 413-3137. The Department is willing to assist you in any way we can.

How to Search for Approved CE Courses

Looking for continuing education (CE) courses to be sure you get all your hours completed? Our online course search can easily help you out and lists those courses approved by the Department.

  1. Go to our website at www.MyFloridaCFO.com/Agents.
  2. Click on MyProfile on the left panel and log in to your account.
  3. Once in your MyProfile inbox, click on Locate at the top left. Then click on Future Course Offerings.
  4. Select the Course Authority for the type of license held or course you need to take.
  5. You can also make other choices, like Study Method and Location, to narrow your search results.
  6. If you click on Perform an Advanced Search, you will have additional options to narrow your search results, such as Course Date and Course Level.

Because many factors may affect your continuing education requirement (e.g. licenses held, number of years licensed, etc.), we encourage you to periodically check your MyProfile account to determine your individual continuing education compliance requirements and status. You will also be able to find more approved CE courses after logging in to your MyProfile account as the public search limits the results to the first 100 course offerings.

We wish you well as you continue to complete your hours to keep your knowledge current in an ever changing insurance market. And remember, your CE compliance date is your DUE date, not your DO date.

CE Providers: Are you ready to advertise your course?

Advertising is important in procuring students for your course and will help to expand your customer base.  However, failing to abide by the Florida Administrative Code rules in your advertising can create serious damage to your reputation as a CE provider.

Many education providers have found it effective to advertise, in addition to the information provided on our website, to our vast pool of licensed insurance agents and adjusters of the availability of courses that can help them meet their CE requirements.  It is also important to remember to play by the rules.  Here is some helpful information to keep in mind when preparing to advertise your approved CE course.

Key factors to remember:

  1. No advertisement is permitted of courses that have not been pre-approved by the Department.
  2. Advertisements shall be truthful, clear and not misleading.
  3. The following should be prominently displayed on any advertisement:
    • The statement: "This course has been approved by the Florida Department of Financial Services for insurance continuing education credit."
    • Name and ID# of sponsoring provider.
    • The number of CE hours for which the course has been approved.
    • Any discrepancies between total hours of the coursework and approved CE hours
    • Course level assigned to the course.
    • Insurance license classification(s) for which the course has been approved.
    • When multiple courses are advertised in a single offering: Individual course names, ID numbers, and credit hours.
  4. The following are not permitted on advertisements:
    • The wording "approval pending" or similar language.
    • Any sales promotion for any entity including those that may be underwriting the cost of the course.
    • Any guarantee of passing.

Please note that education providers must send email advertisements from their own email domain. The domain name used must not be deceptive or misleading.

 

© 2012 Florida Department of Financial Services