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Updates
Every new Library page, every Register round, and every correction to already-published content, in one dated feed. A “round” is a group of records checked and published together (definitions). The feed is also available as RSS and JSON.
How to check a Florida bail bond agent's license — October 9, 2026
The Licensee Search category, the chapter 648 definitions and qualifications, and what a license does not show.
What is a National Producer Number (NPN)? — October 9, 2026
NIPR's description of the identifier, how it differs from a state license number, and what it does not show.
Churning and twisting page rewritten and corrected — October 9, 2026
The earlier page attributed definitions and a producer comparison duty to NAIC Model 613 that the model text does not contain. It now cites Florida's statute for the definitions and the model for its notice, statement and insurer-notification steps. Related wording on the replacement-notice, 1035-exchange, long-term care replacement and term/whole/universal life pages and the home page card was aligned.
NAIC Complaint Index page updated — October 8, 2026
Added what the NAIC's closed-complaint reports say about their source and what a company-level number cannot tell you about an agent.
Canadian licence-check page corrected and expanded — October 8, 2026
New Brunswick's regulator links searchable licence databases, and the shared disciplinary database covers participating regulators from 2008 onward. Added what each lookup shows and leaves out.
What is an agent of record or broker of record letter? — October 8, 2026
What New York's regulator and an Idaho bulletin say about the letter, and what Idaho lists as its minimum contents.
What can get an insurance agent's license suspended or revoked? — October 8, 2026
The NAIC model's 14 causes and Florida's mandatory and discretionary lists, side by side, with the process points the model sets.
Is a life insurance death benefit taxable? What Internal Revenue Code section 101 says, with its exceptions — October 7, 2026
The general exclusion in section 101(a)(1), each statutory exception, the section 7702 definition of a life insurance contract and the modified endowment contract test.
How to file an insurance complaint in Texas and Florida: the steps each state regulator lists — October 7, 2026
The company-first steps, appraisal options, response times and limits each regulator states on its own complaint pages, side by side.
Special enrollment in an employer health plan: the 30-day rights federal law gives you when you lose other coverage or add a family member — October 7, 2026
The events, 30-day request windows and latest coverage start dates in 29 U.S.C. 1181(f) and 29 CFR 2590.701-6, for losing other coverage, marriage, birth and adoption.
Health plan protections under the ACA: pre-existing conditions, cancellation, dollar limits and coverage to age 26, and what grandfathered plans keep — October 7, 2026
The statute sections and 45 CFR rules on pre-existing conditions, rescission, lifetime and annual limits and age 26, with a table of what grandfathered individual and group plans keep.
Preventive services at no cost to you: what the ACA statute, the federal rule and HealthCare.gov say — October 7, 2026
The four categories in 42 U.S.C. 300gg-13, how the rule treats office visits and out-of-network care, the timing rules, and the grandfathered-plan exemption.
Where to complain about an insurance agent or an insurer in Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan — October 7, 2026
Each province's council takes complaints about agents, brokers and adjusters; a complaint about the insurer goes to a different office. Read from the three regulators' own pages.
Health care sharing ministries and insurance: how federal law, a Florida statute and the Texas Department of Insurance describe the difference — October 6, 2026
The federal tax-code definition, Florida's exemption conditions and required disclaimer, and what TDI says about regulation and complaints. Sources only, no organization named.
Medicare and long-term care: what Medicare.gov and the federal regulations say is and is not covered — October 6, 2026
Custodial care is excluded; skilled nursing facility care is covered only for a limited time, with a 3-day inpatient stay, a 30-day admission window and a 100-day limit.
Who regulates insurance in the US: the states, the NAIC and the federal role, as federal law and the NAIC describe them — October 6, 2026
What the McCarran-Ferguson Act says, how the NAIC describes itself, and the specific federal roles: the Federal Insurance Office, health insurance enforcement, flood and crop insurance.
Bronze, silver, gold and platinum health plans: what the federal definitions and HealthCare.gov say the tiers mean — October 6, 2026
The 60, 70, 80 and 90 percent actuarial-value definitions, the allowed variation, what every tier shares, what the names do not measure, and the catastrophic category.
The Summary of Benefits and Coverage: what federal rule 45 CFR 147.200 says your health plan must give you — October 6, 2026
What the SBC must contain, its four-page limit, the seven-business-day and 30-day timing rules, the coverage examples and the uniform glossary, from the rule's own text.
Medigap open enrollment and guaranteed-issue rights: what the federal statute and Medicare.gov say — October 6, 2026
The 6-month open enrollment period, the situations in which federal law guarantees you can buy a Medigap policy, and the 63-day windows the statute sets. Rules only, no advice on which policy.
Unlicensed insurance sellers and fake policies: warning signs the Texas Department of Insurance lists — October 3, 2026
The Texas Department of Insurance's guidance on unlicensed insurance, with its license-check steps and warning signs for individuals, seniors and businesses.
How a home or car insurance claim works, from first report to payment: Texas and Washington steps — October 3, 2026
The four steps the Texas Department of Insurance lists, Washington's home and auto claim guidance, and the deadlines each regulator gives.
Replacement cost vs actual cash value: how two regulators describe the difference — October 3, 2026
The definitions, the Texas Department of Insurance's worked roof example and how payment works for each, with Washington's description of its defaults.
What homeowners insurance usually does not cover: flood, earthquake, sewer backup and wear — October 3, 2026
The perils the Texas Department of Insurance says most home policies do not cover, the add-ons it lists, and what FEMA's FloodSmart says about flood.
What homeowners insurance covers and its main parts: Texas and Washington regulators compared — October 3, 2026
Dwelling, other structures, personal property, additional living expenses and liability, as Texas and Washington regulators describe them, with each state's listed limits.
What auto insurance covers, coverage by coverage: Texas and Washington regulators compared — October 3, 2026
Liability, collision, comprehensive, uninsured motorist, injury coverage and add-ons as the Texas and Washington insurance regulators describe them.
Flood risk, flood zones and flood insurance: what FEMA's FloodSmart says and how to check yours — October 3, 2026
How FEMA's FloodSmart describes flood zones and maps, the situations in which it says flood insurance is required, and how to look up your own address.
Medicare Parts A, B, C and D: the names and 2026 costs on Medicare.gov — October 3, 2026
The four parts and Medigap as Medicare.gov names them, which ones require Part B, and the 2026 amounts its cost page lists. Costs only: not eligibility, enrollment or penalty amounts, and no advice on what to choose.
HMO, PPO, EPO and POS: how the plan types differ, as two regulators describe them — October 3, 2026
What HealthCare.gov and the Texas Department of Insurance say about network rules, primary care doctors and referrals in each plan type, side by side.
Deductible, copay, coinsurance and out-of-pocket maximum: what HealthCare.gov says — October 3, 2026
Each term in HealthCare.gov's own words, plus its worked examples showing how the deductible, coinsurance and out-of-pocket maximum fit together over a year.
Small business insurance basics: the six common kinds, as SBA describes them — October 3, 2026
What the Small Business Administration says about required coverage, the six common types, business owner's policies and the steps it lists for buying.
Health savings accounts and high-deductible plans: what the tax code says — October 3, 2026
Who can contribute, the base dollar limits and how they are adjusted, what counts as a qualified expense, and how withdrawals are treated.
COBRA continuation coverage: what the law and HealthCare.gov say — October 3, 2026
The federal COBRA rule and its under-20-employee exception, plus the 60-day Marketplace window and what HealthCare.gov says about Medicaid, CHIP and dropping COBRA early.
Annuity surrender charges, fees and withdrawals: what FINRA says — October 2, 2026
The costs FINRA names, surrender periods, ways to take money out, exchanges and the early-withdrawal tax penalty.
Surprise out-of-network medical bills: what the No Surprises Act says it covers — October 2, 2026
CMS and the statute text on emergency services, certain non-emergency care, air ambulance, and how to dispute or complain.
When a health insurer denies a claim: internal appeals and external review — October 2, 2026
What HealthCare.gov and federal law say about the two appeal routes, the 4-month external-review request window and who to ask.
ACA enrollment: open enrollment, special enrollment, and what HealthCare.gov says to do — October 2, 2026
The Open Enrollment dates and Special Enrollment Period routes HealthCare.gov describes, how it says to apply, and what the page does not say.
New Library page: what five state insurance regulators list — October 2, 2026
A guide to what five state insurance regulators' consumer pages list for license lookups, complaints and fraud reports, and how to use your own state's.
Correction: how the NAIC Complaint Index is described — September 30, 2026
Our NAIC Complaint Index guide, the Library and homepage cards, and the How we check page said the index is the insurer's complaint ratio divided by the industry median, with 1.0 meaning the median. We have not found that definition in the NAIC's own published material, so it has been removed. The pages now say only what the NAIC itself states: a complaint index measures how many complaints a state insurance department receives relative to the size of the company. The point that the index is carrier-level, not agent-level, is unchanged, and the check in our standard is unchanged.
2 new Library pages: checking an agent's license in Texas and in New York — September 30, 2026
State-specific steps for using the Texas Department of Insurance's and the New York Department of Financial Services' own lookup, discipline and complaint pages, with what each regulator's page says it covers and the date we read it.
Twelfth Register round: 1 more agent/broker assessed, 0 listed — September 17, 2026
Twenty-two agents/brokers checked against the standard so far. This round's producer was sourced from repeated trade-press "Top Producer" recognition rather than a disciplinary record; the record stayed inconclusive rather than a pass, since a primary-source license and disciplinary check couldn't be completed this round. The passing directory stays empty.
3 more Library pages: controlled business limits, producer surety bonds, and producer-controlled insurers — September 17, 2026
Several states cap how much of a producer's book of business can come from insuring themselves, their own family, or their own employer, commonly at 25% of commissions, under a statutory "controlled business" restriction. Separately: a surety bond is a third, distinct financial-responsibility mechanism alongside E&O insurance and a premium trust account, most often required for placing business outside a producer's ordinary appointed-carrier channel. And several states require a producer who directly or indirectly controls the insurer they place your business with to disclose that relationship in writing before your policy takes effect, under a NAIC model act built for exactly that conflict of interest.
3 more Library pages: fraud-reporting duty, binding authority, and 1035 exchanges — September 17, 2026
Most states pair a statutory duty on a licensed producer to report someone else's suspected fraud with legal immunity for a good-faith report, under state versions of the NAIC's own model fraud-prevention act. Separately: a binder is real, temporary coverage, but only if the producer issuing it actually holds delegated binding authority from the carrier, and most states that address it cap a binder's duration around 90 days. And a Section 1035 tax-free exchange answers a narrow federal tax question, not the separate state-law question of whether a life insurance or annuity replacement requires the standard disclosure paperwork.
Eleventh Register round: 1 more agent/broker assessed, 0 listed — September 17, 2026
Twenty-one agents/brokers checked against the standard so far. This round's producer was sourced from a carrier's own 2026 Agent of the Year recognition rather than a disciplinary record; the record stayed inconclusive rather than a pass, since a primary-source license and disciplinary check couldn't be completed this round. The passing directory stays empty.
3 more Library pages: NARAB, limited lines licenses, and unlicensed agency staff — September 17, 2026
A 1999 federal deadline required states to make nonresident producer licensing reciprocal or face a federal licensing body; states met it, and a 2015 law built that federal alternative anyway as a voluntary option whose governing board still hasn't been appointed and confirmed more than a decade later. Separately: a limited lines license (travel, bail bond, pet, crop, and more) is a genuinely narrower credential than a major-line license, tied to a specific product rather than a broad category of coverage; and most states license the specific acts of selling, soliciting, and negotiating insurance, not every job at an agency, so an unlicensed customer service employee performing purely administrative tasks isn't automatically a compliance problem.
Tenth Register round: 2 more agents/brokers assessed, 0 listed — September 17, 2026
Twenty agents/brokers checked against the standard so far. Both this round's producers were sourced from independently-published or carrier-administered trade recognitions rather than disciplinary records; both records stayed inconclusive rather than a pass, since a primary-source license and disciplinary check couldn't be completed this round. The passing directory stays empty.
3 more Library pages: Texas licensing, child-support license suspension, and the change-of-address duty — September 17, 2026
Texas requires no mandatory pre-licensing coursework on its ordinary licensing route and runs a real 90-day temporary license letting a sponsored candidate sell before passing the exam; a 1996 federal welfare-reform mandate lets nearly every state suspend an insurance producer's license over unpaid child support, through a track entirely separate from any insurance disciplinary process; and most states require a producer to notify their Department of Insurance of a legal name or address change within a set window, commonly 30 days, with the failure to do so its own separate violation.
Ninth Register round: 3 more agents/brokers assessed, 0 listed — September 16, 2026
Eighteen agents/brokers checked against the standard so far. This round vetted two producers via a carrier-official trade recognition rather than a disciplinary record -- both records stayed inconclusive rather than a pass, since a primary-source license and disciplinary check couldn't be completed this round. A third producer's Massachusetts license was found revoked over a false address on the license application. The passing directory stays empty.
3 more Library pages: Florida licensing, stop-loss insurance, and life insurance illustrations — September 16, 2026
Florida splits producer licensing and insurer regulation across two separate state agencies and requires more than three times the prelicensing coursework for a property & casualty license than a life/health one; stop-loss insurance, which a self-funded employer health plan buys to cap its own risk, is still a real, licensed insurance sale subject to NAIC minimum attachment-point rules; and a life insurance illustration is required to split every projected number into a guaranteed and a non-guaranteed column, with a specific rule barring any promise of a "vanishing premium" that isn't actually guaranteed.
3 more Library pages: bail bond agent licensing, a federal group health broker disclosure rule, and graded death benefit marketing — September 16, 2026
A bail bond is legally a form of surety insurance, and the person writing one is, in nearly every state, a licensed and appointed insurance producer under its own limited line; a 2021 federal law now requires a broker or consultant on an employer's group health plan to disclose their expected compensation to the plan sponsor, not the individual employee; and "guaranteed acceptance" life insurance usually comes with a graded death benefit limiting an early payout, which a producer is required to disclose plainly rather than let a buyer discover later.
Eighth Register round: 1 more agent/broker assessed, 0 listed — September 16, 2026
Fifteen agents/brokers checked against the standard so far; this round tried a winners-first approach rather than starting from a disciplinary record, but the result was inconclusive rather than a pass, so the passing directory stays empty.
3 more Library pages: indexed annuities vs. RILAs, preneed funeral insurance licensing, and discount medical plans — September 16, 2026
A fixed indexed annuity and a registered index-linked annuity (RILA) share almost identical marketing language but split sharply under federal law, with only the RILA requiring a FINRA securities registration on top of a state license; preneed funeral insurance runs through a licensing structure that varies by funding method and, in some states, a licensing authority other than the Department of Insurance entirely; and a discount medical plan isn't insurance at all, doesn't require a producer license, and comes with its own bold-disclosure rule after a documented 2010 nationwide enforcement sweep against deceptive marketing.
4 more Library pages: agency licensing, Medicare Advantage certification, and two military-specific producer rules — September 16, 2026
An insurance agency is usually its own separately licensed business entity, distinct from any individual producer's license; a Medicare Advantage or Part D agent has to clear a federal annual training-and-testing certification (not just a state license) before selling a plan; a December 2024 federal law lets a military spouse's state license follow them across a PCS move; and a 2006 federal law layers specific disclosure and reporting rules onto any life insurance sale made on a US military installation.
Seventh Register round: 1 more agent/broker assessed, 0 listed — September 16, 2026
Fourteen agents/brokers checked against the standard so far; none has passed yet, so the passing directory stays empty -- not by omission, but because nobody has cleared it.
3 more Library pages: pet insurance training, travel insurance's entity-level license, and how producers actually get licensed — September 16, 2026
Pet insurance is almost always sold under an ordinary P&C license, but a 2022 NAIC model act layers a pet-specific producer training requirement on top of it in a growing list of states; travel insurance runs through its own "limited lines" license usually held by a business entity, not the counter clerk or checkout page that sold it to you; and the front-end pipeline our other licensing guides don't cover -- state-specific pre-licensing education, the exam, the fingerprint background check, and the NIPR application behind every new producer license.
3 more Library pages: title insurance licensing, crop insurance certification, and the LTC Partnership program — September 16, 2026
Title insurance agents hold their own NAIC-modeled license and answer to a federal anti-kickback law (RESPA) that runs alongside ordinary state anti-rebating rules; selling federal Multi-Peril Crop Insurance requires clearing a separate USDA competency exam on top of the state limited-lines license; and a Long-Term Care Partnership policy's real Medicaid asset-protection benefit depends on a producer completing a specific federal training requirement, with portability across states limited to actual reciprocity agreements.
Sixth Register round: 1 more agent/broker assessed, 0 listed — September 16, 2026
One more producer checked against our published standard, bringing the total to 13 assessed -- didn't clear it, so the passing directory stays empty. We don't name a failing agent or broker publicly; see the Register for why.
3 more Library pages: New York's Regulation 187, variable products' FINRA layer, and lines of authority — September 16, 2026
New York's own, stricter best-interest rule for life insurance and annuity recommendations, including the constitutional fight it survived at the state's highest court in 2022; why a variable annuity or variable life policy needs both a state insurance license and a separate FINRA securities registration, plus the public BrokerCheck tool that checks the second one; and what a producer license's "line of authority" actually is, since an active license for the wrong line is a real, checkable gap.
7 more Library pages: LTC suitability, credit-based scoring, flood insurance training, emergency suspension, renewal-commission vesting, and two new Quebec/Canada explainers — September 16, 2026
Long-term care insurance's own NAIC suitability and replacement framework, separate from the life/annuity rules covered elsewhere; the real consumer protections behind credit-based insurance scoring, including a re-underwriting right after specific life events; the federal training requirement most producers selling NFIP flood coverage never mention; the narrower emergency-suspension track some states use to act before a hearing; a real, decided case on how ambiguous renewal-commission vesting language gets litigated when a captive agent's contract ends; and two new Canada-only explainers on Quebec's two-body AMF/Chambre disciplinary process and provincial E&O insurance requirements, which mostly run the reverse of the US default.
Fifth Register round: 2 more agents/brokers assessed, 0 listed — September 16, 2026
Two more producers checked against our published standard, bringing the total to 12 assessed -- neither cleared it, so the passing directory stays empty. We don't name a failing agent or broker publicly; see the Register for why.
3 more Library pages: the federal felony bar, managing general agents, and premium trust accounts — September 16, 2026
A federal law, separate from state licensing, bars anyone convicted of a dishonesty or breach-of-trust felony from working in insurance without a regulator's written consent; a managing general agent (MGA) is a distinct, separately regulated role holding real delegated underwriting and sometimes claims authority from an insurer; and most states hold a producer responsible for premium funds in a trust or fiduciary capacity, with a dedicated trust account required in a large share of them.
3 more Library pages: viatical vs. life settlements, producer termination for cause, and the ACA Marketplace's Navigator/CAC/agent framework — September 16, 2026
The one distinction that actually separates a viatical settlement from an ordinary life settlement -- and why it changes whether the payout is tax-free; the mirror image of a producer's duty to self-report, covering what an insurer has to tell the state when it fires a producer "for cause"; and a Library-only explainer of the real federal rules distinguishing a Navigator, a Certified Application Counselor, and a Marketplace-certified agent or broker.
Correction: a model act's name, on the life settlement broker page — September 16, 2026
Our life settlement broker licensing page cited "the NAIC Life Settlements Model Act." That framework's actual title, per the NAIC's own model law list, is the Viatical Settlements Model Act (#697) -- a separate industry group, NCOIL, publishes its own similarly-named Life Settlements Model Act. The model number and every substantive point on the page were accurate; only the name has been corrected, with a dated note left on the page itself.
Fourth Register round: 2 more agents/brokers assessed, 0 listed — September 16, 2026
Two more producers checked against our published standard, bringing the total to 10 assessed -- neither cleared it, so the passing directory stays empty. We don't name a failing agent or broker publicly; see the Register for why.
Third Register round: 3 more agents/brokers assessed, 0 listed — September 16, 2026
Three more producers checked against our published standard, bringing the total to 8 assessed -- none cleared it, so the passing directory stays empty. We don't name a failing agent or broker publicly; see the Register for why.
Second Register round: 3 more agents/brokers assessed, 0 listed — September 16, 2026
Three more producers checked against our published standard, bringing the total to 5 assessed -- none cleared it, so the passing directory stays empty. We don't name a failing agent or broker publicly; see the Register for why.
4 more Library pages: life settlement brokers, self-reporting, E&O claim triggers, and bad-faith claims — September 15, 2026
Selling an existing life policy for cash runs through its own separately-licensed role with a state-specific rescission window; a producer has an affirmative duty to self-report an administrative action or criminal prosecution to every state where they're licensed, on their own; industry claim data shows what actually triggers a real errors-and-omissions claim against an agent; and a plain explainer of what "bad faith" claims handling means legally, and why it's usually a separate claim from a regulatory violation.
First Register round: 2 agents/brokers assessed, 0 listed — September 15, 2026
The first two producers checked against our published standard didn't clear it, so the passing directory stays empty -- not because vetting hasn't started, but because neither passed. We don't name a failing agent or broker publicly; see the Register for why.
3 more Library pages: surplus lines licensing, renewal/CE, and non-resident licensing — September 15, 2026
Surplus lines coverage requires a genuinely separate producer license and carries no state guaranty-fund backstop if the carrier fails; a license renewal cycle and continuing-education requirement keep an "active" result true over time, and inactive, lapsed, and revoked are three different, non-interchangeable statuses; and a producer needs a specific, checkable non-resident license in your state before selling to you there, not just a clean license at home.
5 more Library pages: disciplinary-record searches, insurer insolvency, adjuster types, annuity training/oversight, and appointment verification — September 15, 2026
How to search a state DOI's own disciplinary record and read a consent order; what actually happens if your insurer becomes insolvent, including the real state guaranty-association dollar caps and the surplus-lines gap; the three genuinely different kinds of claims adjuster and who each one represents; the training and insurer-supervision mechanics behind the annuity best-interest standard; and how to actually verify a producer's carrier appointment rather than just taking their word for it.
3 Canada Library pages: a Phase 1 pilot, Library-only — September 15, 2026
How Canada's provincial insurance regulators actually work (no NIPR equivalent, a split regulator in Ontario, a license/discipline split in Quebec), a province-by-province guide to checking a license plus the shared CIRDA disciplinary database, and what license reciprocity between provinces does and doesn't mean. Comparative and educational only -- our published standard and Register remain United States-only, and no specific Canadian agent, broker, or agency is named or vetted.
Does selling GAP insurance require an insurance license? — September 15, 2026
GAP is legally two different products through two different channels: a dealer-sold debt-cancellation waiver, exempt from producer licensing in most states under an industry-drafted GAP Alliance model act (not an NAIC model act), and a true insurance-policy endorsement that does require a licensed producer. New York applies a narrower, statute-based three-part test to the waiver channel.
8 more Library pages: data security, annuity best interest, replacement paperwork, Medicare marketing, public adjusters, commission disclosure, policy types, and California licensing — September 15, 2026
What the NAIC's data security model law requires of an agency handling your information; the four obligations behind the 2020 annuity best-interest standard; the actual replacement-notice paperwork behind a policy swap; how Medicare Advantage and Medigap marketing rules genuinely differ; public adjusters as a distinct, separately-licensed profession; what an agent actually has to disclose about their own commission; the regulatory differences between term, whole, and universal life; and what's genuinely distinct about California's own licensing regime.
6 more Library pages: appointment, rebating, E&O, free-look, captive vs. independent, and how to complain — September 15, 2026
Why a carrier appointment is a separate, filed fact from a license; why anti-rebating law limits what an agent can offer you; which states actually mandate E&O insurance; how long a free-look period really runs; the legal difference between a captive agent and an independent broker; and how to file a complaint with your state's Department of Insurance.
The Register is open -- zero agents/brokers assessed so far — September 15, 2026
The standard is published and vetting is starting. We're showing the honest current count (zero) rather than filling this page with placeholder claims; the first real assessments will appear here as they're completed.
3 Library pages: the foundation — September 15, 2026
How to check whether your insurance agent is actually licensed (NIPR and your state's own DOI lookup), what the NAIC Complaint Index measures and its carrier-vs-agent attribution limits, and what churning and twisting actually mean under NAIC's life/annuity replacement rules.
The Insurance Record launches — September 15, 2026
A published standard for individual insurance agents and brokers, tied to state producer licensing verified through NIPR, NAIC model regulations on appointment, anti-rebating, deceptive marketing, and life/annuity replacement -- plus a public Register that will report findings honestly, with no paid placements and no pay-to-list badge.