Illinois insurance department moves to online-only process for producer, agent licensing
The change will go into effect July 1, 2023, and affects initial license applications, renewal applications and payments.
The Illinois Department of Insurance is moving to an online-only process for insurance producer and agent licensing across all license types and will stop accepting paper applications and checks, the regulator reported.
The change will go into effect July 1, 2023, and affects initial license applications, renewal applications and payments for the 22 licenses handled by the insurance department’s Licensing, Education and Testing unit.
Once in effect, applications and payments must be submitted through the National Insurance Producer Registry (NIPR) system, which the state already uses to handle all other license applications, according to Dana Popish, director of the Illinois Department of Insurance.
“The complete transition to online applications and payments aligns with ongoing measures throughout the department to update and streamline our processes for insurance producers and agents, just as we’ve done for the insurance consumers we serve,” Popish said in a release.
The regulator reported the new system will be more efficient as staff will no longer have to scan paper applications or collect and process checks. Additionally, it will also reduce the department’s environmental impact.
The ability to completely eliminate paper checks comes at a fortuitous time, as the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) reported a surge in check fraud schemes.
During the past three years, check fraud has exploded in the U.S., according to FinCEN, which reported 2021 saw more than 350,000 reports of potential check fraud from financial institutions. This was a 23% increase compared with the year prior. In 2022, the problem ramped up even more as FinCEN reported there are more than 680,000 reports of potential check fraud.
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