| COMMISSIONER’S MESSAGE |
REFORMS CREATED TO ENSURE
INTEGRITY IN YOUR PROCESS
Partnering with the Department of Revenue generates a win-win.
ï‚´ by Vicki Schmidt
hrough my first nine months at the Kansas Insurance
Department, we have made some important reforms
to enforce the laws in statute, improve operations,
and provide better service to consumers. T When people do not pay their taxes, it increases the
burden on everyone else. There are a lot of hardworking
Kansans who pay their taxes every day, and I hope that this
new process helps lessen the burden.
One of the reforms I am most pleased about implementing
is ensuring integrity in the producer license application
process. I think honesty is an integral part of every job, but
especially important for insurance agents who are to be a
trusted source in helping consumers make decisions that
may significantly impact their lives. While there is still too much government bureaucracy to
wade through, I wanted to provide you with an example
where two government agencies actually worked together.
That does not happen nearly enough. I appreciate the
Department of Revenue working with us to verify this
information as it is beneficial to them as well!
At my direction, we now verify if an applicant is delinquent
paying taxes with the Department of Revenue - regardless
of what they state on the application. It is an honor to serve you and your family in the Kansas
Insurance Department.
Since the department began this process, we found the
Department of Revenue denied or was unable to verify the
tax status of roughly 16 percent of applicants. This means
they either are, in fact, delinquent in paying their taxes or
have another issue that prevents verification.
Once this occurs, we notify the applicant that they will need
to provide a certificate of tax clearance to the department
or be in a payment plan with the Department of Revenue
for us to move forward with the license application. I am
proud to report that we have turned nearly 150 (70 percent)
of the denied or unable to verify applications into an
approved status.
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