The Oregon Legislature passed SB 251 during the 2019 legislative session that, among other things, cleans up and modernizes the adjuster and consultant licensing language. Changes included in the new law:
I. The definition of adjuster has changed.
II. Designated home state (DHS) is recognized for licensing purposes.
III. Adjusters must have 24 hours of continuing education (CE) to renew.

The licensing changes take effect on January 1, 2020.

The Definition of Adjuster Has Changed
The definition of adjuster changed from “one who adjusts” to “a person that receives a fee, a commission or other compensation to investigate, negotiate, or settle first party or third party losses that arise as claims under the terms of an insurance contact that insures a domestic risk.” This change will help better clarify when a person needs a license.

Designated Home State Is Recognized for Adjuster Licensing Purposes
Oregon has been recognizing the use of DHS by so-called “desk rule” for some time, but this just formalizes our adoption of the DHS process. With this change, an individual who is a resident in a state that does not license adjusters may designate another state to act as the home state for adjuster licensing purposes. The state designated by the individual then licenses the person following the process it would for any actual resident of the state, requiring items such as a criminal records checks and testing that are usually waived for non-resident licenses. The individual can then use the DHS license as a resident license for purposes of obtaining non-resident licenses in other states. The use of DHS is common among regulators as it streamlines licensing for non-residents who otherwise would have issues since the actual home state doesn’t offer that license type.

Adjusters must have 24 hours of continuing education (CE) to renew
By far, the biggest change our licensees will see from the new law is the new requirement to complete continuing education prior to renewing the individual adjuster license. The new law requires adjusters to have 24 hours of continuing education prior to renewal, including 3 hours of ethics and 3 hours of Oregon law.

The statute gives credit for courses approved in Oregon and taken for another insurance license, such as a producer license. So if Jane Smith holds both an Oregon adjuster license and Oregon resident producer license, she will only have to complete 24 hours of CE to renew both licenses, not 48 hours.

For a non-resident license, they can receive credit for courses taken for another state so long as the course is also approved in Oregon. The education provider can bank the credits for Oregon as well as the other state, again only if the course is approved in both states. Please check to see if the course is approved in Oregon using the lookup at https://sbs.naic.org/solar-externallookup/#_
ga=2.38310051.1091920671.1574895598-158653359.1528398642. The licensee will still have to take 24 hours of continuing education, even if the home state requires fewer hours. The non-resident licensee will be required to take 3 hours of Oregon Law and 3 hours of ethics.

The new CE requirement applies to any individual who has had the full 24 months to complete the continuing education. As such, the first licenses that this will apply to those are those issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2020. Our staff will be enforcing the education requirement for all licenses that expire on January 31, 2022 or later.