Questions about flood education requirements?
See PIA's Resource kit, "Answers to your New York state flood insurance training questions."

Each of PIA's flood training courses (see schedule below) meets FEMA's minimum training and education requirements, required for all insurance agents and brokers who sell Standard Flood Insurance Policies issued through the National Flood Insurance Program. Producers completing a PIA course will satisfy the minimum FEMA requirements and earn continuing education credits toward the renewal of their insurance licenses.If you have a question about a WYO carrier's flood education requirements, call PIA's Resource Center first— (800) 424-4244.

Beginning Jan. 1, 2008, the FloodSmart campaign by the National Flood Insurance Program will require flood insurance training as a prerequisite for participation in the Agent Referral and Co-Op Programs. Currently enrolled agents will be asked to provide proof of this training by April 1, 2008. Any agent who does not reply by the April 1 deadline will be removed from the database. The Agent Referral Program generates free, qualified leads for all enrolled agents through the Federal Emergency Management Agency Call Center and through the “Find an Agent” tool on the FloodSmart.gov Web site. The Agent Co-Op Program provides reimbursement up to 75 percent of the cost of advertising. For details, click here.

Section 207 of the Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2004 requires all producers selling flood insurance policies under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) be properly trained and educated about the NFIP to ensure producers may best serve their clients. In order to continue their authority to solicit, negotiate or sell flood insurance, all New York licensed resident insurance producers who sell flood insurance policies through the NFIP must comply with the minimum training requirements of section 207 of the Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2004, and basic flood education as outlined at 70 Fed. Reg., 52,117 (Sept. 1, 2005) or such later requirements as published by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The failure to comply with this basic training requirement may jeopardize the producer's authority to write insurance through the NFIP.

For even more info on the topic of Flood, see PIA's New Flood Insurance Tool Kit for valuable tools to guide you through flood insurance.

Speaker bios Mishell K. Magnusson, CIC, CISR, FIPC
Named The 2004 National CSR of the Year by PIA National, Mishell is a native of the Oneida, New York area. Mishell was also named one of 25 Women in Leadership in Central New York State in 2004. Mishell is a frequent speaker for PIA of New York for CISR programs and various other topics. Mishell is the Immediate Past President of the Federation of New York Insurance Professionals and serves on the board of the Insurance Professionals of the Mohawk Valley.

Sheldon D. Hansen, CIC
Sheldon is a member of Brouwer Hansen and Izdebski Associates which is a General Insurance Agency Formed in January of 2001. The new agency has four office locations in central New Jersey and Mr. Hansen operates from the Toms River location. Prior to the merger, he had owned and managed Hansens Insurance Center Inc. for 22 years. Sheldon graduated from the University of Minnesota with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education and has taught at a variety of levels including insurance professionals.