Building Trust in Insurance Trust Accounting
Two Continuing Education Classes for Insurance Retailers and General Agents
For the first time in the P&C insurance brokerage industry there are now two continuing education classes offered on insurance fiduciary duty and trust account financial solvency management. These are two issues critical for insurance retailers and general agents to understand completely and be knowledgeable about what it takes to be insurance code compliant. The single reason for these two important CE classes is to emphasize the legal consequences of improperly managing trust funds. The California Insurance Code makes mismanagement a criminal violation. Few CE classes can be labeled more crucial than these two PAULMAR GROUP developed and California Insurance Department approved classes.
Paulmar trust accounting education program was developed to meet two objectives:
First, enable P&C agency owners understand and comply with fiduciary mandates. Violations do have dire consequences.
Second, help industry professionals and associations promote the introduction of insurance trust accounting in the retailing and wholesaling industry practice. There are significant financial gains to both agencies and insurance companies.
California Insurance Code, Section 1733:
All funds received by any person ... as premium or return premium ... are received and held by that person in his or her fiduciary capacity. Any such person who diverts or appropriates those fiduciary funds to his or her own use is guilty of theft and punishable for theft as provided by law.
Paulmar Group researched the fiduciary provisions published by the US states and found only the provision above. We would welcome help from anyone who can locate such provisions published by other states. Paulmar also located an undated list of US “trust states”, which is included on this website.
A: These classes will answer questions you never even knew existed.
Q: Can these classes help what we are already doing?
A: Demonstrating you have total compliance in trust account management is important to the reputation of your agency. Offering peace of mind when it comes to this important function adds value to the client services you deliver.
Q: Why should I worry about something that my clients never see or even ask about?
A: Mistakes and errors have no room in this critical back room operation that must be conducted daily in agencies and brokerages. The trust account fund size has no bearing upon the need to safeguard your reputation and professionalism.
Q: We are not a big agency with a huge trust account, so can we skip this class?
A: Fiduciary duty is so critical to modern day agency operations that not one employee can be allowed to not know their duties to the fullest extent possible.
Q: Does everyone in my agency have to take this type class?
Fiduciary Duty Never Takes a Holiday
Offered Courses
Two self-study classes on fiduciary duty and trust accounting for P&C insurance agencies
The first two-hour class is now available online as a self-study course. Learn the fiduciary obligations of licensed insurance agents and brokers at your own pace: work through the illustrated lesson slides, take the short quiz, and download your certificate of completion when achieving a passing grade of 85% or more.
The second two-hour class is now available online as a self-study course. Learn the trust-account management, accounting and record-keeping tasks that keep an agency's insurance trust financially solvent and compliant: work through the illustrated lesson slides at your own pace, take the short quiz, and download your certificate of completion when achieving a passing grade of 85% or more.