Last week, Gov. DeWine signed House Bill 404 into law. This legislation includes an immediate extension for licenses that are set to expire on or before April 1, 2021 and allows them to remain valid until July 1, 2021. This is the second license extension that the Ohio General Assembly has granted. If you recall, an extension was provided earlier this year for licenses that expired during the state of emergency Gov. DeWine declared on March 9, 2020 until Dec. 1st. With the pandemic still impacting our daily lives, the Legislature has again offered an extension.
Bottom-line: Insurance agents with a license expiration date that falls on or before April 1, 2021 will get an extension to renew their license until July 1, 2021. All late fees will be waived and license-holders do not need to take any actions to receive the extension. This extension also applies to driver’s licenses. Note that ODI issued Bulletin 2020-06 earlier this year directing insurers to “temporarily suspend certain actions which they would otherwise be permitted to take due to the expiration of the driver license of a name insured or other covered family member.”
As a result of the extension, ODI will periodically adjust expiration dates within their computer system and the National Insurance Producer Registry (NIPR). While the adjusted expiration dates may appear to be sooner than the extension given, that is only to ensure that your access to NIPR is continuously available. ODI will continuously adjust the license expiration dates of affected licenses until the extension granted ends.
Continuing Education Requirements
Due to the extension of expiration dates, the deadline for completing CE requirements is also extended. CE providers are still offering courses, both online and in other distance learning formats, and agents are encouraged to complete as much as possible to prevent the system from being overwhelmed once the license extension period ends. Additionally, while license-holders will have extra time to renew their licenses, ODI encourages renewals to be completed prior to the extension ending to ensure timely processing.
Should you have any questions or concerns, contact Carolyn Mangas at carolyn@ohioinsuranceagents.com or (614) 552-3051.
