Free Minnesota Property practice questions

Answer: A. Within 90 days

Minnesota excuses an applicant previously licensed for the same lines in another state from prelicensing education and examination. Where the prior license is no longer current, the exemption is available only if the application is received within 90 days of the cancellation and the prior state certifies good standing at the time of cancellation, or the NAIC Producer Database shows the producer was licensed in good standing for the line requested. Thirty days, 180 days, and 12 months are not the period this exemption sets.

Answer: B. The commissioner, through rules that are consistent with sections 72C.01 to 72C.13

Section 72C.12 gives the commissioner, in addition to the powers and duties stated elsewhere in sections 72C.01 to 72C.13, the power to adopt rules that are consistent with those sections in order to effectuate their purpose. The section gives that power to the commissioner and to no one else it names, so the Attorney General, individual insurers, and the guaranty association do not hold it under this section.

Answer: D. The holder must be licensed for the line of authority covering the class being sold

Minnesota bars any person from selling, soliciting, or negotiating a class of insurance in the state unless that person is licensed for the matching line of authority. The license therefore has to fit the line, so a single license does not open every class. The requirement reaches soliciting and negotiating as well as selling. The same section also states that the license does not, on its own, create actual, apparent, or inherent authority to represent or commit an insurance carrier.

Answer: B. Within five business days, send the inspection report to the applicant and the commissioner and explain how to appeal

Section 65A.36, subdivision 4, applies both when the plan declines a risk for failing reasonable underwriting standards and when it will write coverage on condition that the property be improved. In either case the plan must, within five business days, give the applicant and the commissioner copies of the inspection report and tell the applicant about the right to appeal to the governing board and to the commissioner and how to pursue it. A conditional offer therefore triggers the duty just as a declination does, the report goes to both the applicant and the commissioner, and the deadline is five business days, not 30 days.

Answer: C. It is barred for the adjuster, an appraiser, and either one's employer

Minnesota forbids an appraiser, an adjuster, or the employer of either from insisting that repairs be done at a particular repair facility. The prohibition in that subdivision carries no exceptions, so a discount to the insurer, a disclosure of the adjuster's interest, or an accompanying cash settlement offer does not make the demand permissible.

Answer: D. It is still a violation, since neither pre-sale inspection nor a refund offer cures a misleading statement

Part 2790.0500, subpart 1 bars any advertisement or representation, written or oral, that uses words or omits information in a way that has the capacity, tendency, or effect of misleading purchasers or prospective purchasers about the nature or extent of a benefit, a covered loss, or the premium. The same subpart states that making the policy available for inspection before the sale, or offering to refund the premium to an unsatisfied purchaser, does not cure a misleading statement. Printing the refund offer prominently is still only a refund offer, and sending the policy with the mailer is still only access to the policy, so neither changes the result.

Answer: B. Property and casualty coverage for individuals and families, mainly noncommercial

Among the major lines an individual producer may hold, Minnesota defines personal lines as property and casualty coverage sold to individuals and families for primarily noncommercial purposes. It is therefore both property and casualty, and it is aimed at households rather than businesses. A property-only line covering business and household risks does not match that definition. Life and health coverage belongs to the separate life and accident and health major lines. Liability coverage for small businesses is commercial business, outside a definition limited to primarily noncommercial purposes.

Answer: B. It must include the standard policy's mortgagee provisions exactly, without any change

Minnesota lets a policy that covers fire together with other perils, on an unspecified basis or for a single premium, depart from the exact standard-form language only on conditions. As to fire, it must give the insured every right and benefit of the standard policy, so fire coverage cannot be narrower even at a lower premium. The standard policy's mortgagee provisions must be carried into the policy without change, so rewording them is not allowed even with approval; the commissioner's role is to be satisfied that the policy complies. The conditions contain nothing restricting such policies to commercial buildings.

Answer: D. The appraiser must be carrying appraiser identification and must show it to the owner on request

While performing appraisal duties, an appraiser must have appraiser identification on hand and must produce it when asked by the owner of the vehicle being inspected, by the repair shop representative involved, or by a representative of the commissioner of commerce. The vehicle owner is one of those people in their own right, so the duty does not depend on the commissioner's representative or the repair shop asking, and the statute provides no substitute such as a later phone confirmation from the insurer.

Answer: B. The commissioner of commerce

Section 65A.27 supplies the definitions used throughout sections 65A.27 to 65A.304, and its subdivision 2 states that the commissioner means the commissioner of commerce. That definition names only the commerce official, so the commissioners of public safety, labor and industry, and revenue are not the officials these homeowner's insurance sections refer to.