Wishing you a successful 2026! •
FROM THE COMMISH
COMMISSIONER ' S LETTER
CHARGING INTO A NEW YEAR! written by Commissioner Vicki Schmidt, Kansas Insurance Dept.
Happy 2026! It’ s hard to believe January is already over, but we’ re looking forward to a great year ahead. The Kansas Legislature is now back in session, and we have a busy schedule focused on addressing affordability and fighting fraud.
Before we get into what’ s new in 2026 for the Kansas Department of Insurance( KDOI), let’ s look back at a few highlights from 2025:
• More than $ 56.7 million recovered for Kansas consumers bringing the total to $ 202.7 million since 2019 when I first came into office
• Another $ 9 million dollars in reduced fees tallying up to $ 96.5 million total since 2019
• Over 2,235 hours of free CE, including the popular Know Your Regulator series
The Department’ s licensing division continues to support the growth of licensed producers in Kansas. Here is a snapshot of the numbers from the licensing division for 2025: presented on the dos and don’ ts of producer licensing, maintaining your producer license, your obligations as a license holder, examples of common application issues and more. Stay tuned for more free CE opportunities as the year goes on and share your suggestions for future CE topics via email at KDOI @ ks. gov.
It was great seeing you at the 2026 Annual Convention, and I thank the KAIA staff for the inviation to join you at the event!
Be sure to sign up for the Department’ s newsletter, the Regulator Roundup, at insurance. kansas. gov / about / news, where we’ ll notify you of department happenings.
Wishing you a successful 2026! •
• New resident agent licenses issued: 2,325
• Resident agent license renewals: 8,291
• Total resident agents: 22,219
• Total licensed agents: 214,784
• New resident agencies licenses issued: 170
• Resident agency licenses renewals: 1,095
• Total resident agencies: 2,173
• Total licensed agencies: 14,617
KDOI and KAIA have partnered again to provide a series of continuing education( CE) presentations for agents and agencies. The first of 2026 Know Your Regulator CE presentations was featured at the KAIA Annual Convention on February 2. where Monicka Richmeier, Director, Producer Licensing,
32 KANSAS INSURANCE AGENT & BROKER