rename the position to“ Department of Insurance Assistant Commissioner, Securities Division.”
SB 42, which contains the following provisions:
• Authorize the bid process and creation of a realtime verification system of auto insurance, to be utilized be specified agencies of state government to verify the legitimacy of auto insurance.
• Require insurers and producers to respond to the Department concerning consumer complaints within 14-calendar days.
• Allow for insurers and producers to request an extension regarding value-added service / product pilot programs per K. S. A. 40-2404
• Eliminate the statutory requirement to provide the governor with the Department’ s annual report. Instead, this report must be published on the Department’ s website.
• Simplify the definition of person in K. S. A. 40- 2,125 by removing several, but not all, named regulated entities in the definition. This definition still does not apply to producers.
• Require third-party administrators to maintain a separate fiduciary account for each payor and prohibit co-mingling of funds. Further, third-party administrators must notify the Commissioner of a bankruptcy filing when the filing is made.
• Eliminate the requirement for title agents file an annual audit report with the Department, though require such reports to be made available upon request.
These provisions are effective January 1, 2026.
• Require all title insurance agents to file a $ 100,000 surety bond regardless of county population size, and eliminate the controlled business exemption for title insurers and agents operating in counties with less than 10,000 residents.
These provisions are effective January 1, 2026.
UNSUCCESSFUL KS DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE PROPOSALS
While the above provisions include a substantial number of policy proposals from the Department, some proposals introduced by the Department were not successful in passing during this session. Those include:
• Allow the Department to issue civil penalties for insurance fraud crimes.
• Incorporate the benefits issued by the KAACP into the insurance fraud statutes.
• Allow the expungements insurance fraud convictions to be revealed to the Department of producer and public adjuster applicants.
• Allow Kansans to create Insurance Savings Accounts, to provide tax deductions on contributions and allow expenses for P / C premiums and deductibles.
• Concurrent resolution, the Kansas Legislature urging the U. S. Congress to allow state insurance regulators to regulate the marketing aspects of Medicare Advantage.
LEGAL REFORM
SB54, related to 3rd party funded litigation, was approved by the Governor and will become effective upon publication in the statute book.
This bill amends the state ' s code of civil procedure regarding third-party litigation funding. The bill establishes new rules for how third-party funding agreements in legal cases are discovered, disclosed, and reported within the Kansas court system.
The legislation defines a " third-party agreement " as any arrangement where someone other than the party, their attorney, or family members agrees
6 KANSAS INSURANCE AGENT & BROKER